From reading the article this week, I gained great insight on social networking. Social networking has made a huge increase in today’s society. It has made such a great chance that it will be impossible for educators to not incorporate some type of social networking into the classroom. I believe social media in the classroom would be more appropriate for higher grade levels because they would be more familiar with how social media works. As a beginning teacher, I use an application app called “Classdojo”. This app is a great way to communicate with parents daily. It allows me to give my students incentive points on positivity. I also post students’ work on this app to share with parents.
As a first-year first grade teacher, I haven’t learned about any social media sites that would benefit me and my classroom. In high school, I remember when my teacher had us blogging on twitter and responding through quick posts. Twitter would be a great tool to use for teachers teaching higher grade levels. This app would allow teachers to post important announcements & students would be able to complete blog posts and share assignments. To ensure appropriate activity with social media, teachers should make sure they inform their students about the importance of them using the site. If this isn’t informed to students and parents, it could be used negatively. In the article, Burbules states “as with other technologies, the enthusiasm of trying something “new” can interfere with thoughtful and critical reflection on when these technologies are or are not serving our educational purposes” (Burbules, 2016 p. 551). As educators when using social networking in our classroom we want to make sure we are providing the best technology for students.
Reference
Burbules, N. (2016). How we use and are used by social media in education. Educational Theory, 66(4), 551-565. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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