Thing 18: Explore Social Networking

Thing 18 is an introduction to Facebook and Twitter! It asks us to sign up for a Facebook if we don't already have one, but I've already got that part under control. So I'll skip straight to the questions I need to address:

1. Why is it important that educators know how social networking works?
In addition to using blogs to keep up with parents and students, teachers can reach out to fellow teachers to get ideas on lesson plans as well as ways to give students additional help if needed. In addition to the do's, teachers also need to know the don't's. For example: a young teacher may be tempted to post on their Facebook pictures from girls night out on Saturday for their friends. This is not the best idea, even if that profile is set to private, parents could potentially see those pictures. 

2. What new insights did you gain about these popular sites? 
I must say that I've had my Facebook account for a while now, so this activity didn't give me much more insight into it.

3.What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored? 
Well I guess I can just talk about what I already like about Facebook. It is a great way to catch up with old friends and family, but at the same time you always have "that person" who adds you and you either don't know who they are, or you remember them as being someone in high school who didn't like you back then. What do you do? Do you add them and try and make friends? Do you ignore them and risk their feelings being hurt? It's a tricky situation but in general I think Facebook is a very useful application in both personal and professional settings.

4.  Which site had the most useful features? 
Ok I'll be honest, I don't understand Twitter. I don't. You say something that has to be under a certain character count and other people read it. Facebook is WAY more useful in every way possible. 

5.Can you see a classroom or school application for any of these sites?
This is a tricky one to answer when it comes to Facebook. I can see maybe creating a group and inviting parents to join, which would be a handy way to keep them informed about what's going on in the classroom and in the school as a whole. But going back to my answer to number 1, if you're going to have a personal Facebook, you may or may not want to include your parents as a part of it.

Question of the Day: If you were a teacher, would you include Facebook or Twitter in your bag of tools?