“It's amazing in many ways that in just a few short years, we have gone from a Web that was primarily "read only" to one where creating content is almost as easy as consuming it. One where writing and publishing in the forms of blogs and wikis and podcasts and many other such tools is available to everyone. One where we can connect not just to content but to people and ideas and conversations as well.” (Richardson, 2006) |
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Social networking has been around since the earliest days of the internet, but recent years have witnessed an enormous surge in the development and use of these web services. Currently, informal groups such as classmates, friends, and colleagues are easily able to connect online to chat, share files, email, or just browse one another’s websites. As of early September 2007, one service, MySpace.com, counted over 200 million accounts. Perhaps its closest competitor in this field, Facebook.com, claimed over 2 million members and expects to reach 60 million by year’s end. (Stone, 2007) The remarkable growth in popularity is further demonstrated by the fact that Facebook.com ranked 60th among the most visited websites in September 2006; one year later it ranked 7th among most visited sites, rapidly moving to close the gap with MySpace.com. Obviously, the number of people accessing these sites is astronomical, with the majority under the age of 30 and a large percentage of these accounts belonging to middle and high school students.
The attraction of MySpace and Facebook for our students seems to lie in the opportunity for individual expression through words, music, and pictures. Content areas on individual accounts include “About Me,” “Interests,” “Who I’d Like to Meet,” and “I Support.” In addition, there are sections for “Friends,” “Comments,” “Classified Ads,” and “Bulletins.” Users can add music and video, customize the appearance of their “space,” send and receive email, and send and receive instant messages. The possibilities for creative input are endless.
However, the same free, unfiltered, uncensored expression of individuality that makes social networking so appealing to our students can wreak havoc among parents, teachers and administrators who fear the repercussions of giving students so much latitude. Oddly enough and worthy of note is the fact that these same non-conforming, unconventional, and somewhat rebellious traits are embraced by our society as admirable in our visual artists, musicians, authors, chefs, landscapers, social reformers, and indeed, our teachers; for they support the spirit that fuels positive growth and change in our society, stimulate thinking and problem solving, and seek to entertain and soothe. So, it seems, the task before educators is to deliberately promote and grow the same characteristics in our students that are nurtured on MySpace and Facebook without getting our schools and ourselves in hot water. This can present an uncomfortable and somewhat daunting challenge to the most seasoned professional. As a teacher, it is important to ask: is there a place for our face on MySpace?
The answer is most certainly, “Yes!” While it may not be prudent for us to actually interact with students via a MySpace account, a similar experience can be easily and safely brought into the classroom. Most teachers already have access to educational tools that are capable of providing “MySpace-like” opportunities. For example, teachers can guide students in using virtual classroom environments such as Moodle or Blackboard, and incorporate many of the opportunities afforded by MySpace, such as blogs, chats, discussions, videos, music, email, etc., linking these activities with curricular plans and best practices. With a master teacher at the helm, these endeavors can become educationally relevant learning activities.
Similarly, other widely available software can be used for creating MySpace-like projects, such as PowerPoint™, Inspiration™, StarOffice™, and Word™. Imagine, for example, a middle school social studies teacher assigning a student the task of developing a “MySpace” for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. using Microsoft Word. The student could include information such as Dr. King’s education, hometown, family background, travels, interests, friends, goals, likes/dislikes, and whom he would “block” from his MySpace. Likewise, the student could include appropriate pictures, music, video, and podcasts. The teacher could then link this Word document with the ones other students have created to make a “social network” of Civil Rights Leaders. Of course, similar MySpace-like projects could be developed across the curriculum, and throughout most grade levels. This also opens the door for other important contemporary discussions of issues such as online publishing and media literacy.
So, the challenges that widely popular sites such as MySpace and Facebook present can also be wonderful opportunities for the savvy teacher to make authentic connections with students, and to help acknowledge and encourage their creativity and individualism. Perhaps we, as educators, should stop cursing the darkness of social networking sites, and embrace the light of this “teachable moment” in time. Indeed, there does seem to be a place for your face on MySpace.
Sources:
Alexa Top Sites. (2007, November 6) Retrieved on November 6, 2007 from http://www.alexa.com/.
Richardson, Will. (2006, October) “The New Face of Learning: The Internet Breaks School Walls Down,” Edutopia, October 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2007, from http://www.edutopia.org/new-face-learning.
Stone, Brad, (2007, October 25) “Microsoft to Pay $240 Million for Stake in Facebook,” New York Times, Oct. 25, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/technology/24cnd-facebook.html?_r=2&ex=1350964800&en=4e87732cefe4fef4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Wikipedia. (2007, November 6). Retrieved on November 6, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MySpace
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