Resource Log #12 (Sources #67-72)

#67 “At Social Networking Sites, Talk Includes School” – This article offers some very interesting statistics regarding students and social networking sites. It reports that approximately 96% of students age 9-17 have reported using some type of social networking site on a regular basis and that 50% of those students reported using the sites to talk about school related issues, such as school project collaboration.

At social network sites, talk includes school. (2007, August 24). Electronic Education Report, Retrieved April 7, 2009, from Business Source Premier database.

#68 “Making Connections: Social Networking in the Elementary Classroom” – This blog posting discusses several ways teachers have used Ning to create social networking sites specifically for their classes. For example, in the primary grade age bracket, a second grade social studies class is using a Ning-created social networking site called “World Village” to learn about different cultures by connecting with age appropriate peers from countries all over the world. The class also uses the social network to collaborate with classrooms around the world on social studies projects. Similarly, a fifth grade English class is using another Ning-created social networking site called “Xtreme Learning” to connect with several other U.S. and international fifth grade classes to discuss reading and literature.

Confino, K. (2007, December 22). Making connections: Social networking in the elementary classroom. Message posted to http://mscofino.edublogs.org/2007/12/22/making-connections-social-networking-in-the-elementary-classroom/

#69 “Big Dog Science” – This site is a Ning-created social networking site that was created by an eighth grade science teacher. According to the teacher who created this site, the class uses this site to “share class notes, project ideas, absentee work, quiz and test study material, peer tutoring and general classroom information” (Cooper, n.d., no page numbers).

Cooper. (n.d.). Big dog science. Message posted to http://htmsscience.ning.com/

#70 “Adapting Social Networking TO” – This is an article by Tom DiScipio, and he insists that social networking sites complement constructivism because they provide students with a tangible venue to connect, communicate, and collaborate about their learning. He also believes that social networking sites are relevant to constructivism because while using these sites, “students can collaborate using tools such as email, blogs, and wikis to create, invent, and showcase their work in a way that unlocks intrinsic motivation and advances learning outcomes” (2008,no page numbers).

DiScipio, T. (2008, September). Adapting social networking TO. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools, 15(5), 10-11. Retrieved April 7, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

#71 “Social Networking in My Classroom” – This is a Google video. In this video Chris Sloan discusses social networking sites and how he uses them in his classroom. This video provides a good explanation of social networking sites, their purpose, and the history behind them.

Sloan, C. (Producer). (2007, July 3). Social networking in my classroom. Eduspaces: e-Learning 2.0. Podcast retrieved from http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5911907492375806153

#72 “Twitter for Academia” – This is a very interesting blog posting that I discovered during my resource search. It is a blog that is authored by a college media professor and he discusses how he uses Twitter, a public social networking site, in his classes with his students. A lot of the other resources I discovered talked about using specially created social networking sites in education, so I thought it was interesting to see a public social networking site being used.

Perry, D. (2009). Twitter for Academia. Message posted to http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/