Social Networking in the Classroom

I love Facebook. I will admit it...I log on several times a day to check up on old friends, classmates, and colleagues. Without Facebook, I would not have kept in touch with many of the people I grew up with, and I would not be able to share my life with so many people.

But...does Facebook have a place in the classroom? Personally, I believe that Facebook has too many distractions (pictures, games, applications, etc.) to be useful in a structured classroom environment. However, I do believe that social networking can be a wonderful addition to classrooms using technology. My view of social networking is any website or application that allows for communication and collaboration.

Edmodo seems to mirrored after Facebook in look and design. I have used it with two different classes this year, 5th & 9th grade. I upload assignments, files, events, links, and even reminder notes. Students can download files that I have posted and then when they are finished with their assignment they 'turn-in' or upload their finished work. I like this much better than getting assignments e-mailed. They are more organized and are ready to be graded right on one page. Students like this website because they are able to post their picture and communicate with their friends (all publicly on the home wall). My 9th graders were great at sharing helpful website links and resources with their class.


Additional social networking website that I think could be useful in the classroom would include: Ning, Zonkk, Moodle, & Twitter. I also believe that Google Apps could be used resourcefully in a classroom.