Journal 1

Journal 1
Social Networking for the K-12 Set
Jim Klein

The article is about social networking through technology. In the article they discuss building SUSD Teacher and Student Community sites, to allow students and educators to communicate better. They set aside goals that included the following: to create a user friendly site that allows the sharing of various items; good foundation for communication; the chance to discuss important and new issues; and to create a successful learning atmosphere that works. One of the reasons this idea was built was to try and find a way to have a more secure network that only “members” can create information. The members in this case would be the teacher community and the student community. The teacher community allows the teachers to post information such as newsletters, announcements, lesson plans both for Internet work and class work. This site also allows teachers to talk to other teachers and support staff. The student community allows students to work as a group from school and home and post their work online. The students can review other students work as well as receive feedback. The site is set up so that teachers have to approve all student content before it gets posted onto the site to make sure everything is appropriate and no one is giving too much personal information.

I believe this article is very informative and a great idea. With the growing use of technology in our society, I believe the education system should benefit from it. I think it teaches students about the proper use of computers and the internet, as well as helping them learn how to communicate in a new field. There are quite a few parents that are not able to come during school hours to talk to the teacher. Before the internet it was difficult for the parents to reach the teacher. The site allows a broader line of communication between the students, parents, and teacher. I like the part where teachers can communicate with other people in the field. This allows you to brainstorm and give each other ideas or plan something together. I believe using technology in the classroom can be very beneficial. As long as there is a system in place, I believe social networking through the internet is an excellent idea.
I would implement this into my classroom. I personally would monitor the sites very carefully in order to make sure no personal information or inappropriate information is on the site. I would make sure the site has all the information students and teachers need in order to get through the school year as easy as possible but without taking aware the importance of being inside a classroom and having a face to face interaction.

QUESTIONS:

1. Why is it important for schools to work on sites that are secured?
To be able to protect the students and make sure that other people cannot get their information.


2. What are some of the goals that the site as been put aside for this site?
To create a user friendly site that allows the sharing of various items, good foundation for communication, the chance to discuss important and new issues, and to create a successful learning atmosphere that works