Technology Tools and Strategies

One of the most prominent forms of internet use in the 21st century is the use of social networking sites. Teenagers have used and grown up with social networking sites, with it becoming essential to their daily lives. Many adults and educators frown upon how much teenagers are using social networking sites such as twitter and facebook. Other educators have seen this 'addiction' as an opportunity. teachers have begun to use social-media sites as ways to get students to become more engaged in the material. Educators have begun to set up their own classroom twitter pages to 'live tweet' information. For example, lets say we are in an election year and there is a live television debate going on between the republican and democratic candidates. The teacher could facilitate a live twitter feed using a hashtag as a way for the class to present their thoughts in almost a blogging form about the current debate. This will make the students engaged in the debate going on because they have a platform that they are familiar with to share their appropriate thoughts. The teacher will act as the facilitator, providing the information and encouraging students to expand on it. While twitter has now become a popular site for teachers to use in the classroom. Other forms of an online classroom that mirror sites like facebook have now become mainstream. Edmodo and Blackboard have almost become classroom facebooks for teachers and students. They can post articles on these sites, share comments or videos, and make classroom announcements. I think if teachers facilitate and implement properly, social networking sites can have a positive impact on classroom instruction.