Social networking has turned into the pulse of our society. From restaurant recommendations... to yoga classes...to relationship statuses, a large chunk of our population depends on these sites for news, social or "real"! If an educator is not interested in the social part for his or herself, then get into it for the students! It is crucial that we, as educators, know (almost) as much about these sites as the students. Not only are the students using this as their main vein for communication- it is a source for bullying. It is important that we understand and tame the beast before it goes too far. I currently do not have a twitter account, but I see know how people can really get into it. As far as likes and dislikes, I think personal privacy is an issue. Honestly, I have nothing to hide and I typically keep things out in the open anyway; but I do see how a private person can be skeptical. Twitter is a little too "status-y". I rarely update my Facebook status because I simply do not have the time, nor interesting life occurrence that must be shared. That is my issue with twitter...my life is not interesting enough for it! Haha. Facebook has the more interesting and useful features! The site has video chat, games, groups...ahh, the list goes on...and on...
Fun Fact: Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg originally went to Harvard to study Classics (Greek and Latin)! GO LATIN!
Classroom application can get tricky. My Latin 3/4 class has a Facebook classroom page. There is a feature where it you can "create a class". I will update them on assignments and they can converse about the assignment. It is great evidence for me to reflect on my classroom communication- I get to see first hand where I was not clear!
Can you see a classroom or school application for any of these sites?
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