Social Networking Reflection

Lots of educators are using social networking sites in the classroom.  It is an awesome way to share information and communicate with other teachers and students.  Below, I have named some of the sites that I have started using recently.    

• Facebook-  I have had an account for about a year.  I've been on it as part of the general population, but didn't realize what I could do with it until recently.  I have liked several educational pages and receive posts from them.  I enjoy reading questions and responses from all over the United States.   Right now, I mainly use it for socialization purposes.  If I were to involve my students and parents, I would create a separate account for that.  With a professional account, a teacher could post assignments, dates, and questions.  50 Reasons to Invite Facebook Into Your Classroom   and 99Ways You Should Be Using Facebook in Your Classroom are two links that provide some great ideas on how to use Facebook in your classroom.  

• Google+-   I was introduced to Google+ at the beginning of this course.  What I like so far about Google+ is the circles.  I can categorize my personal friends and the classmates that I am taking courses with.  Facebook lumps everyone together, but Google+ allows one to separate others into groups. With the circles, I can separate my social from my personal life.  Our instructor for this course has plans to introduce us to Google+ Hangouts. The Hangouts sound a lot  like Skype, but can involve more people at a time during the audio or video conversation.  I am excited to try this out.  How to use Google+ Hangouts for Teaching is a wiki that gives step by step instructions on how to use Google+ Hangouts in the classroom.  

• Twitter-  This is another account that I've just created since starting this course.  Twitter is a great place to ask questions and gain valuable resources to use in the classroom.  It is instant and to the point.  The links that I have seen so far, have given me many valuable resources.  Using the TweetDeck app on my desktop has been very useful.  TweetDeck is a great, self-updating way to keep everything organized, especially the hashtags.  For the classroom, Twitter is an awesome way to send reminders and announcements.  Teachers can create a list that is specific to a class for students to follow.  This makes it easier to find other students.  

• Twiducate- Since I teach 2nd Grade, I have not allowed my students to use Twitter in the classroom yet.  However; Twiducate has allowed me to kind of gradually build up to Twitter later on. It is our own private classroom social network.  Twiducate offers privacy and peer-to-peer connections. Teachers can post assignments, send messages, and write reflections with just the students in their own classroom.  You can even add other teachers and their students as you feel more comfortable in doing so.  If you aren't ready for Twitter in the classroom yet, check out Twiducate.  

• Pinterest- As with Facebook, I have had a Pinterest account for about a year now.  When I feel I can no longer be creative in a certain area of the classroom, I turn to Pinterest.  With Pinterest, I gain great ideas.  I like that you are able to display student work.  37 Ways Teachers Can Use Pinterest in the Classroom gives suggestions for using Pinterest in the classroom.  This Pinterest link provides several suggestions for working with diverse students.  Take a look.  You just might want to pin a few of them.  

Social networking sites are very valuable to teachers.  We must take advantage of the students' social media savvy and work it into the classroom curriculum.  What social networking sites have you started using recently?