Social Networking
The first thing many people think of when the term social networking is used is My Space and Facebook. These are only two of the commonly used social tools available to us. Educationally I would question their value, as I find they are great for social stuff, keeping in touch, sharing images, thoughts etc…. but to put it into a school situation, not really useful, and the fact they are blocked makes them irrelevant to our purpose. I have accounts in both, and they are social, even though I have many work friends as friends, apart from some groups I have joined, they are mainly social in nature.
The role of social networking can, however, be very powerful. It can bring communities of like minded people together, and turn the world into a real global community, with help at hand at the tip of your fingers on the keyboard. Sharing and collaboration can become a wonderful part of this community. Ning is a space which allows anyone to set up their own social network, and there are many vibrant educational communities out there, by creating a “Ning” identity you have access to these communities, or to create your own. Some are set up for specific groups or events, others are long term projects. Not sure how many widgets I can post in here, but I will try to link to some of the ning communities I am involved with.
View my page on Classroom 2.0
View my page on My Learning Space
View my page on Web 2.0 Learning
Facebook and MySpace are not options due to blocking by Department filters, however, it is possible to create communities using Ning, which means you can create a web community for your class, your club or a project. Imagine Andrew’s Farm Ning, open to share his amazing work with the world. Or a Year 7 global project where they get together with another school to work on a theme based project, or a classroom ning, so students and parents can log in to see what is going on in your class. Very powerful stuff.
Still confused??? here is a little video by the very clever people at Commoncraft on Social Networking
