Blog Post #6 Communities of Practice

I believe that my school is a little behind when it comes to technology. The best example I have of this is all the fear and propaganda surround social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace. My first couple of years of teaching most of the teachers expressed their disdain for social networks. Teachers would say to other teachers, "Whatever you do, don't talk to students online, because you will get in trouble." I knew there was something fundamentally wrong with this concept, but I played along so as not to get in trouble. I just started teaching, so I didn't want to make any waves, right?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was nothing inherently evil about social networking sites that were evil. What was important was the content. Thats when I decided to communicate with my students using MySpace. Using MySpace gave me a new way to reach my students, and gave my students a new way to contact me. I especially like to use these services to keep in touch with students that have already graduated. I really didn't see any difference as long as I maintained the same professional demeanor that I used in the classroom.

The main reason I think students should be connected to their teachers on social networks, is to teach the students online etiquette, or netiquette. Students need to be aware that what they post online creates a digital footprint, and once something is out there, it is hard to get it back.

Sources:

Social Networking in the classroom

The Maricopa Experience