tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222540551113989884.post295158840466248509..comments2010-03-08T08:11:59.531-08:00Comments on Sharing with Sherry: The Value of Using Internet ResourcesSharing with Sherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759723881574919919noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222540551113989884.post-21452222264773331352010-01-27T20:12:30.488-08:002010-01-27T20:12:30.488-08:00Wow, a lot of errors when typing that much on an i...Wow, a lot of errors when typing that much on an iPhone. The capital letters come after I hit shift instead of "A."Matt Grangerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983403132446069986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222540551113989884.post-48328678299488520162010-01-25T09:21:21.519-08:002010-01-25T09:21:21.519-08:00This really brings up some interesting ideas. I ca...This really brings up some interesting ideas. I cannot agree more that we need to teach students how to use social media appropriately and these types of activities are engaging, collaborative, and necessary in the world we live in today. However, this is a bigger undertaking than many think and really needs to be thought through. <br /><br />Two years ago, I set up a Ning site for our fifth graders and it was powerful. We had very interesting conversations about photos from the 1960's on the Civil Rights movement. The conversations were richer than I had heard fifth graders have in the past. The teachers were involved. The lessons extended past the walls of the school, and we were hitting curriculum standards. <br /><br />Then, a few things happened that the teachers were not prepared for.<br /><br />1. Students were posting things not on topic on each others pages.<br /><br />2. Students started creating their own Ning sites and they were not school appropriate.<br /><br />3. Some students did not have Internet access at home and were not a part of the group in the same way that the rest of the group was. They were missing part of what was social about the experience and then the academic part was not as effective. <br /><br />The teacher’s lounge was filled with stories about how the students were all “talking” on their ning pages. And the teachers were not happy that they were not talking about school. This surprised me. I guess I didn’t really see why they couldn’t “talk” to eachother on the Ning. As long as they were not being inappropriate, it didn’t really need to be about the topic given by the teacher. Who cares, if anything, it helped them to learn how to use the technology better. It made them excited about signing in and using it. <br /><br />I think what makes this type of technology exciting is the authentic conversation. Some things need to assigned, but other topics should be generated by the students. This makes some of the teachers (and principals) uncomfortable. What this says to me, is that the process, project and obstacles need to be thought about.Kathleen Risolvohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08473671688641055610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222540551113989884.post-83395245481674225792010-01-22T01:06:03.534-08:002010-01-22T01:06:03.534-08:00Great post. I have been thinking about setting up ...Great post. I have been thinking about setting up a ning social network for my students, now tha I'm teaching 5th grade. It would be private and I would use the gmail trick of setting up the dummy email accounts to create the ning accounts. (I'll post that trick later. I'm sitting at the PADS shelter right now and can't access the wireless. It's on my computer.) then we could use the site for collaboration Nd communication on many levels. But what I would emphasize at the end of the year is that we can use it over the summer to keep in touch, and...and...are you ready for this...they can continue in the conversation when they move on to middle school and beyond. As I add new students each year, the community grows. Now there are older students who can contribute to the conversation. They can help with answering homework questions. They can offer a different perspective to discussions. They can comment on posted student work.<br /><br />If any of the older students turn ignorant and use this as a place to post inappropriate comments or material, I can suspend their <br />membership. However, I think many of them that actuLly continue to be involved will see it as a cool thing to be a mentor and "expert" to the younger kids.<br /><br />Who knows. It's just an idea I have been toying with. And, of course, I'll have to make sur that the tech department knows what I'm doing so they don't see ning hits on the server logs and panic and block it.Matt Grangerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983403132446069986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222540551113989884.post-42195124891325676482010-01-20T14:00:53.615-08:002010-01-20T14:00:53.615-08:00Your post and the graph are quite interesting and ...Your post and the graph are quite interesting and helpful to the question. The Internet is so much more than "information," and the kinds of activities that social networking sites afford are very much the activities (collaboration, communication, shared inquiry) that can support higher-order thinking. But can educators get to the point that they are willing to allow in the wheat WITH the chaff of idle chatter and/or potentially harmful information or activities? My guess is, probably not. So students will explore on their own, out of school, and will be less likely to learn how to use such sites appropriately. <br /><br />Okay, I'm feeling pessimistic today....Craig A. Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18160288758906798678noreply@blogger.com