So it stands to reason that in order to be viable, the media
center and the people who work there must maintain a presence, and allow,
encourage, and enable their clientele to utilize social networking tools. Even the AASL states that “technology and social skills are essential to the development of 21st
Century students in order for them to be viable members of the working community,”
with AASL President Sara Kelly Johns saying, "The data is a powerful indicator that social networking tools are
becoming more and more vital in a student's education." (http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2008/june2008/AASLsurvey.cfm)
Even so, social networks like
facebook and myspace are blocked on school grounds by some districts, even
though the districts use facebook pages, twitter accounts, etc., to disseminate
information and promote events. I guess
the thinking is that students and faculty don’t need to be frequenting their
own social networks during the day, but once off property, can visit and post
all they want. After hours and away from
campus, the district is no longer liable.
I’m sure that as for me, this forced
propulsion toward social communities sorely rankles the old guard. It’s not enough to have to maintain facility, inventory,
information, and people -- we are now expected to build and maintain castles in
the sky. All while keeping everyone ‘safe’. And truly, electronic safety issues can take
down a career faster than a flash fire. That’s
why I was happy to see that there are sites devoted to safe social networking. GetNetWise.org provides “brief, to the point”
information for guardians to tweak settings on their children’s social
networks, and other sites like nsteens.org and StaySafe.org, tutor children on
internet and social network safety (http://medt7477spr2015.weebly.com/secure-social-networking.html).
But I believe that media specialists should
not and cannot be expected to also take on the role of parent in the library.
That is why school district software and filters must be employed,
though they sometimes restrict the educational experience. Librarians are not supposed to restrict access
to materials, so why should online experiences be any different? Let the filters do it for you, and be glad
they’re there.
On the other hand, social
networking trends can not only be useful, but can also be crucial for the media
center. According to the scholastic.com article, Meet
Your New School Library Media Specialist, “a functioning
21st-century library is no longer a place dominated by bookshelves and magazine
racks”. It must “deliver interactive
media and instruction in the most effective way” (http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3748779),
and that way includes blogs, wikis, forums, chats, asymmetrical communication, and
traditional social networks like facebook. All of these examples can be used for
collaboration, curriculum delivery, enrichment, promotion, and support. Students (and faculty) seem to love
communicating online. I’ve found that if
I post assignments on my school web site and direct the students there, they
are much more likely to do the work than if they have to do it on paper and
pass it in. Somehow, the online experience grabs and compels them in a way that
books and paper do not. And if they have
to ‘post’ an assignment to get credit, all the better.
Likewise, it is my
observation that if you ask the staff to complete a survey online or send
paperwork electronically, they are more inclined to do it, and do it in a
timely manner. It’s cleaner, faster,
easier, and puts control into the hands of the doer. I myself much prefer to submit documents
electronically, so I wholeheartedly understand this preference. Another example is the way we’re doing this
course. Dr. Cooper created a social
network for the members of this class, and has us submitting ‘papers’ by
blogging. Somehow, the idea of
researching and responding by blog makes it easier. Less pressure than having to submit formatted
pages. And submitting to a forum where ideas are exchanged makes it more fun,
and satisfies one of our most basic needs: to belong to a tribe or group. This class is our social network for this
space and time, and MEDT 7477 is our tribe.
So I do understand the allure of the social network and online
community. And I guess I really don’t
hate it as much as I thought.
Join ‘em.
You bring up very valid points. I personally do not want to add policing social networks to my job but I understand the allure. I have fought spending a lot of time on Facebook and have posted almost nothing for so long for fear of who will get it and where will it go. I am finally loosening up a little. But we as LMS should be using social networking to keep up to date and keep students motivated. Our district does have these types of sites blocked as well but if we put them out there they can be accessed outside of school and maybe even get parents looking at them as well.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that most people would like to submit things online. Our school still has the teachers sign in on a paper list that gets put out in the late afternoon the day before, so no one signs in early, but it has been forgotten several times this year which causes so many problems for the clerks in the mornings. Because I am the most technological of the clerks, thanks to LMS school, I am working on a way to bring us to the 21st century but still make sure teachers are signing in while at school, not from their homes. When I finally get into a media center I will embrace the social networking and add them to our website. I can't wait.
I absolutely understand the feeling of being the computer policewoman. It's an exhausting and never ending task, as new social medias and websites are created everyday. I work for a very large district, so it's important that they have filters in place to prevent students from accessing inappropriate material. But those filters often block teachers from accessing information needed for teaching purposes as well. As a SLMS, our jobs are to ensure access to information for our students, but we have walk the legal lines set up by the nature of our jobs working with children. Social media can be used for good in our schools, promoting our media centers and the programs we offer. But we have to make sure that boundaries on proper usage is set as well.
ReplyDeleteMy admins feel very strongly about social media. They feel so strongly that they have suggested we not have personal accounts. I am so discourage by their lack of "can't beat them join them" mentality. I have actually used that term with them myself. Do you have any suggestions on how I can present this in a more successful way?
ReplyDeleteCatherine,
ReplyDeleteYou brought up some points that I hadn't really thought about. Students are much more inclined to respond to a blog than to write an essay! I hadn't even realized that what we are doing is essentially researching, but with the blog it adds the collaborative piece where we can respond and have conversations with one another! As a high school teacher, my concern is that I do have immature students who are often inappropriate behind the computer screen. Even in the classroom, I have to play "technology police" often. However, when used appropriately it is certainly beneficial. I use a class website, and I think most of our school has moved towards using a website in class. My students generally enjoy working on the computers, but I can't go without mentioning the negative side--keeping kids on task and appropriate can be difficult! However, used appropriately, technology and social media can really be beneficial!
I like how you described the fact that having social networking just adds to the many hats that media specialist have to wear. The point of being expected to build and maintain castles in the sky while keeping people safe is a huge because everything now is up in a digital world that we do not have a grasp on physicaly. I would have to agree that students like to experience things that they can do hands on and be able to turn in online like we do for our classes. I can see where people are more likely to respond to surveys or get paperwork for something when it is sent through social networking. Sometimes that can be a bad thing when you have teachers and staff who do not know how to use these tools and don’t respond to you in a timely manner. I’ve join’em on Twitter and Instagram (thanks to the teens I work with at church).
ReplyDeleteCatherine,
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is somewhat of a slippery slope. One thing that causes this to be even more confusing is the BYOT in many schools. While their wifi may be filtered, their private data very well may not be. I would indeed love to see a study done on the amount of abuse of BYOT in education. I do, however, see that social networking is something that cannot be ignored. It should be dealt with and considered. The fact that they can be used to share information easily is a definite plus. Late busses, school illnesses, and emergency information can be shared in seconds. I do not think that is something to be pushed aside. If you have a great resource, then use it.
"Perhaps the biggest issue BYOT districts and schools are still sorting out, Mitchell says, is how to address students who access inappropriate content from school but via nonschool Internet networks. In particular, students may have smartphones or tablets equipped with data plans that allow them to connect to 3G or 4G Internet networks that don’t run through a school filter." (Quillen, 2011)
I think only time will tell how this will play out and the responsibilities of the school districts. There is certainly a place for social media within education.
Meghen
Reference
Quillen, I. (2011, October 17). Districts Tackle Questions Surrounding BYOT Policy. Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2011/10/19/01byot.h05.html
I completely agree with your views on social networking. It is nearly impossible to stay connected with the world without using social media. I believe it is imperative that school library media specialists encourage, promote and allow the use of social networking in schools since it has become an everyday use for many people. The school where I used to work had a Facebook page that promoted upcoming school and community events as well as recognized students for academic and behavior accomplishments however, access to Facebook was prohibited on school computers. I worked with students at the elementary level and found that many of them were not everyday users of social media, however i can see how middle and high school students could benefit greatly from having access to social networking sights at school as long as they are monitored. Facebook allows for groups to be created and these groups can be public or private. If a teacher wanted to create a group for students to complete an assignment or project, Facebook would be a great place to do this as it would encourage collaboration, communication, support and allow for delivery of the curriculum. I am all for social networking access in schools and hope that districts will jump on the social networking bandwagon sooner than later because I believe they will find them to be more beneficial than detrimental.
ReplyDeleteSocial networking sites always bring out definite opinions about their use in the school setting. Many think that they have no place, while others realize that this is how today's students communicate. I know that if we don't embrace their positive uses, we will be left behind. I think the key is to model appropriate usage and monitor students. As you said, many students will respond more willingly to a blog post as opposed to a research assignment. They don't realize that they are essentially doing the same work. It's just in a different format that fosters communication as opposed to the student writing it and only the teacher reading the submission. This way the entire class can participate and read each other's work/ideas. I think it would be a great idea to start using some of these sites earlier in education rather than later. With the new testing platforms, students will be required to respond by typing into text boxes to explain their answers on the tests. Starting them off early will make this style of response a natural habit rather than a chore when the test comes around.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important to reach out to parents and students through social networking these days. Our district also has filters set in place to prevent students from accessing sites that are inappropriate including Facebook. This is very helpful. Teachers at our school do have the ability to override some sites if they use their sign in and password. I am lucky enough to handle our schools social media on Facebook. Parents love it and I get a lot of positive feedback. It is a great way to help them feel in touch with what is going on every day. The only issue we have had are the students who bring their technology from home that have a data plan. We have to ensure that they only use our school wifi; otherwise, they can have access to everything.
ReplyDelete