SOCIAL NETWORKING: Been there, done that…. from the '60 to the present, has it really changed?

When I was seventeen, I used to sit in the park on warm spring and summer days. My friends and I would talk about meaningless things, topics that I can not remember and likely had little significance. We were a mixed group of teens, guys and girls, various 'classes' of people, various incomes and various interests. This was a pleasant experience for all of us, never prearranged, not a date, just a change to shoot the breeze.

Unfortunately for me, my father's office overlooked that park, and he would storm down across the green and break our group apart. He was always worried about what was going on and who I was with and what influence that would have on me. Alternatively, I would chat on the phone for long periods of time with my friends, sharing ideas and taking about fashion or the next dance or the boy who sat behind me. My mom didn't much like any long times on the phone, either, worried about what was going on. Phone calls were limited to a few minutes.

This was social networking in another era. This was my chance to reach out for emotional support, to share trivial matters with peers, to make connections and learn how to interact with others. Parents and educators worried then about how we networked similarly to how parents and educators worry today.

Our world has changed, but not so much that we are different people. Adults are protective of their children, kids are involved in innumerable activities and seldom is there time or parental will to have kids 'hanging out' in a park. Nevertheless, children, and teens especially, still seek to make connections with peers. They need to socialize fairly freely, to learn interaction, to test their boundaries, to find emotional support and to make various connections. What has changed is the platform.

Reflections on the Process of Learning About Social Media Sites

My first social media site was, of course, the park. My more recent web based learning began with Facebook years ago. It was, at the start, slow and felt fairly useless, but as I built friends and tested out functionality, I have found that I utilize its functions fairly fully. Beyond Facebook, my Social Networking has been limited, so I looked forward to finding out more in this chapter of Web 2.0 course. I have always questioned, passively, the blocking of Facebook in my school but hadn't actually thought about MySpace or other sites. I had dealt with five students who had used Facebook to post teacher hate notes and student threats, and their subsequent suspensions. Instead of leading me to support the banning of Facebook, I wondered whether keeping it away from teacher's eyes just allowed for more and underground abuse. The trailfires once again proved invaluable to opening my eyes to broader issues and to understand more clearly the role of a social network.

Social Networks connect people who share common goals or interests. (NCTE Inbox, retrieved March 18, 2010) They are, or can be global. The media has reported more about the dangers of social networking than the positive results (Greenhow, 2006), which include creativity, technical skills, appreciaiton for diversity, and communication skills. I realize now that Second Life is a Social Networking tool, but like Joanne DeGroot states on her trailfire, 'most of us don't have time for our first lives!' How true. Besides, I don't need any other place I could spend real money for virtual assets. I am surprised that real colleges and universities have established a presence on Second Life and that there are distance courses available. Perhaps I will look this up when my first life courses are finished.

In the Wall Street Journal blog Gary Hamel (retrieved March 18, 2010) suggests that 'Generation F' (Facebook users) will expect a working world that simulates the Facebook world, where ideas are equal, contributions matter, hierarchies are natural, leaders serve, tasks are chosen, one shares, not hoards, groups are self defining, opinions compound and are peer reviewed, intrinsic rewards matter, and activists are heroes. This list of salient features of social media makes me consider seriously the very positive educational skills that social networking sites can provide. Are these not the basic skills we want to engender in our students?

There is no end to where the social networking will take us. According to Sam Edelstein on his blog, Suite101.com,(retrieved March 18, 2010) Facebook has recently added QR codes, a barcode that eventually could be used to identify people and products that will move you directly to their website or social networking site. We will be using tools like Facebook much more interactively in the future. In this profound TED.com Video, Pattie Maes shows how different technologies will be mashed together with Facebook to totally change the way we see the world.

Reflections on Social Networking in Terms of My Own Personal Learning

My learning curve with social media sites began about four years ago, joining Facebook. Like any other site, it started very small and I had limited friends, and so the tool was of limited use. I joined upon the invitation of one of my children and became her 'friend'. I still find this word strange and confusing. It seems to be a common term across all sites, but I would be more comfortable calling it 'Contact" or "Connection'

My use was limited to a few notes to my online kids who lived in opposite end of the country, and looking at a few pictures. I had a limited number of contacts as most adult friends (real ones) were not members. Email still worked better for communication with people for me, at least.

In 2007, I ramped up my Facebook usage for political reasons. I created groups and used Facebook as an event creator / notifier. I began to post on topics of interest in various groups and built very quickly a network of like-minded people who also used Facebook. It proved to be an effective way to share information and to connect with many people, but it was quite limited in the demographics of who I could communicate with, limited mainly to younger people and to some other politicos who wanted to try to be cutting edge. The linkages to groups was valuable, keeping me informed on different topics. As groups are updated or new groups are formed, I am invited to join. The Facebook connection allowed a new way of sharing information and local news in a timely way. I have kept a totally open Facebook page with limited privacy settings given that the nature of the profile has been far more political than personal. I learned quickly not to share anything I would be embarrassed or ashamed of or was too personal.

I continue to use the event component of Facebook to share public events. Private (personal) events can be created as well, but I have not used Facebook in that way as I would just as soon use a more personal method of contact. Very public events have tended to create uncommitted attendees; I have observed frequently that large rallies or meetings have 'friends' RSVP that do not show. Perhaps the anonymity of the type of event or the large size of the event means people don't feel that same commitment to attend. Smaller events tend to get more honest responses. A recent event I hosted had 14 confirmed guests through Facebook; only one was not in attendance. I must note, that Facebook is not broad enough to use a sole method of communication; the event had 75 attendees, more than 60 of which did not get contacted through Facebook. Each week I receive at least a half a dozen invitations to attend events, or news updates about issues that are informative and that I would not otherwise know about. Facebook has value for me, even if I am not actively posting personal information.

Personally, I don't chatter on Facebook. Many do, particularly young people who use Status Updates as a way of reaching out to create connections, just like I did in the park or on the phone. Teenagers now do not commonly contact each other on telephones. Text messaging, IM'ing (on Messenger or Facebook) and status updates are the norm. Often so busy with activities and increasingly rigorous education expectations, reaching out and connecting in these manners reaches more friends at points of time, when it is timely for them, unlike the instantaneous demand of the telephone. Lots of the messages are inane, meaningless, unnecessary in first look, but are a new way for students to remain connected in an increasingly hectic life. Social networking sites have replaced what were the traditional networking sites of my past, many steps improved upon. Connections build from one's friends to one's friends' friends. When a status update is created, far more people see and hear it, and hence are more likely to communicate with youprovide you with a connection in the world and often emotional and personal support. The question becomes if this is meaningful communication, or whether it has to be meaningful in traditional ways.

There are many Social Networking spaces, all with a slightly different emphasis. I joined LinkedIn, which has a stronger connection to providing a business link, and is less useful for my needs. MySpace started out being big, particularly in the United States, but has fallen behind Facebook in popularity. It remains a strong space for music connections and for younger teens and can be gussied up (individualized) more than Facebook. Moodle is a social networking space particularly designed for use by educators. There is penguin and webkinz and shelfari. There is Neopets and Friendster. Facebook recently topped Google in number of hits… social networking is not going to go away. Although Facebook began as a college / university platform, it has rapidly expanded to world wide popularity.

Lee LeFever's Social Networking in Plain English provides its typically clear, concise explanation of social networking. He does not mention Nings, which appear to be capable of a more customized social network where you can decide who to invite, what they see, what they can do and allows a variety of tools including podcasting and video. The administrator can control access in all ways, so it can be moderated, remain private and safe. A Ning can be used to connect students, build discussion forums, use for literature circles and bookclubs, create podcasts, post information to students and parents, and create groups. It can be used for a class or an entire school and remain safe and secure. I am a member of the TeacherLibrarian Ning and through that, many sub groups. I am a member of the Classroom2.0 Ning and receive continual information that builds my personal learning including live broadcasts and discussions. I am part of a book club with teachers all over the world. The Ning offers a wealth of opportunities and tools and from my perusal, a more professional forum than the social / political forum of Facebook.

Part of my personal learning curve has been to deal with inappropriate content. Despite protections, people can set up accounts and then delete them. One such account was created that sent a message to me and a daughter, including extremely inapporprate malicious content. (The account, subsequently closed after messaging). If written on paper, this would have been considered serious, but because it was on Facebook, the police figured that the best thing to do was to quit using Facebook. They would never have suggested to quit using the mail if it had been received by mail. The fault seemed to hint at my having Facebook, not to the sender for creating the message. It seems that there is an expectation of inapporpriate usage that one should be expected to accept from social networking sites.

Any content should be monitored; if one doesn't want the world to see it, (including future employers, past teachers, family and friends, now and in the future), it should not be posted. This however, has to be taught!

Reflections on Social Networking for Teaching and Learning

Everyone needs to build and maintain relationships. Social networking is a basic human need. Our tools have changed for many of us as our world has changed. Like my parents, we are often cautious that the methods students use to network might have adverse effects. We don't accept change easily, and so many of these sites are blocked in schools due to a fear of inapporpriate usage and content. Yet new ways of communicating will have impact on overall communication skills, and I suggest in a positive way.

Barring access to Facebook and other social networking sites is reactionary. We do not ban books because it might have a detrimental affect; we closely access if there is a real issue. Social networking sites can be strong educational tools. Photos and stories can be shared. Groups can be used to share ideas; one comment on a Blue Skunk Blog by Linda Fox suggested:

"a group of students each one creates a Facebook page for one of these folks: Abe Lincoln, Salmon Chase, Edward Bates, William Seward etc. Then they go in and create a Facebook Group. - explaining how these folks worked together. What were the controversies, decisions etc? Great way of demonstrating that they not only understand the history here but also the concept of leading and making decisions by listening to all sides and points of view...Projects like this require lots of research, knowledge and understanding. Facebook is a great way to demonstrate learning in the area of biography, history etc."

There is, of course, likelihood that students will misuse this tool. It is also true that students misuse and are inappropriate when passing notes… but we do not ban paper. The digital world is not going to go away and students must be taught the skills necessary to be appropriate and safe online. There is a tendency for youth to 'befriend' anyone who asks on Facebook. Teaching them the proper skills before they have built networks on their own that are difficult to detach from is an important responsibility. Teaching students about the permanence of their profile needs to happen before it is too late. I liken this abdication of educators to do this teaching to the sex education of my childhood. We were taught nothing until long after we had mislearned the facts, often too late and ultimately embarrassing. Students need to learn social networking skills young. Just our school system and parents kept human biology facts out of reach for many of us, (and we still found out in our own ways) we must teach appropriate usage to students as they are using the tools whether we want them to or not. We shouldn't kid ourselves that even if parental controls are on at home, even if it is banned at school, students ARE on these sites and then are secretive about it. They log on on the local WiFi, at their friends' house, ro access the neighbours unsecured wireless connection. It is better to teach proper usage than to bury our heads in the sand about the possible repercussions that will happen anyway.

My school district blocks Facebook from students. Students are texting and connecting in any case the same messages and we are not able to stop that. With the increasing number of smart phones, access to web sites will not be controlled by board bans. According to Nilay Patel, in engadget.com, (retreived March 18, 2010) Apple just placed a patent for iGroups, a social networking site for the iPhone. Social networks will grow, not disappear. Often, people of all ages are more likely to want to do something that is banned to see what the fuss is about. As Facebook is basically used for social and recreational uses, and messages can be forwarded to one's email account, or cell phone anyway, this will not be the hill I die on. However, I agree that being friends with students is unwise and that policy, as directed by the ATA, is wise, particularly as students hit teen years and misperceptions could lead to job risk. As Blue Skunk Blog states, (retrieved March 18, 2010) 'it is recreational in nature and likely a nuisance to keep kids off of it (Facebook)". Nings, on the other hand, are a more professional forum. Some school districts have banned Nings because they can carry YouTube videos (that could only be viewed outside of the school blocks). It seems that educational institutions are often being reactionary and not visionary.

Having looked at Wikis and blogs, I can see that a Ning would be an ideal place to house the collaborative work that can be done on complex projects. It appears to provide a wider platform for tools (the difficulty of hosting podcasts on some websites such as Weebly and Blogger) and the ability to have an infinite number of groups, pages and cohorts make it ideal for multifunctional tasks. Social Networking has created a boom among students in writing to share poetry and stories on social sites. Building a Ning to share these in a safe closed environment would foster a desire to write for publication. It will allow us to be constructivist. We need to model and teach with appropriate tools, and we need to be 'digital immigrants'. The largest growing group of Facebook users is over 25. Teachers need to find a way to bring these tools into our classrooms. It will develop bonds that will tie to outcomes we desire, and it will build social interaction in apporpriate ways if we choose to teach it.

The persistence of social networking makes it clear that it is here to stay. (Brook-Young, 2010). Ipsos Reid has just announced that online use in both below 35 years of age and over 35 years of age has become greater than television viewing, which has not declined in weekly time. We are an online socially connected world, and it is our job to teach and model this.

Unlinked Resources Used:

Black, Elizabeth. Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 : What Librarians need to Know. Courtney, Nancy (ed), (2007) Library 2.0 and Beyond. Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited.

Brooks-Young, Susan. (2010). Teaching With the Tools Kids Really Use. Thousand Oaks, CA : Corwin Press.

Davies, J. & Merchant, G. (2009). Web 2.0 for schools: Learning and social participation. New York, NY: Peter Lang.

DeGroot, Joanne. Podcasting Trailfires.

November, Alan. (2010) Empowering Students with Technology. Thousand Oaks, CA : Corwin.

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.