Thing #18

Social Networking

One cannot listen to or watch anything without hearing about Twitter and Facebook.  Companies and programs are always asking people to check out their page and to 'follow' them.  This is the world we live in today, and this is the world in which students are growing up.  Therefore, as an aspiring educator, I must be well acquainted with these social networking sites in order to have a better understanding of the world students spend so much time within.  I already have a Facebook account, and although I practically lived on that thing six years ago, it has become only an easy way to keep track of friends, and the time I spend on it has dwindled down to a simple check maybe once a day.  Twitter I have tried to avoid since it began, so I decided to create an account and give it a look-see for the sake of this Thing.

Twitter - ebourke14

This social networking site has a lot going for it.  Twitter is simple.  You search for people or organizations you would like to follow, and with a simple click, the process is done.  Typing messages is easy, and that is the extent of what Twitter is about.  The simplicity is very attractive.  Nothing stands out as being problematic besides the limitations for the website, which I find to be a plus personally.  I may use Twitter as a means of keeping track of certain celebrities and sports, but I do not think that I will be sharing what I had for lunch with the world.  As far as using this for school, I cannot say there is a lot going for it.  I am uncertain as to the restrictions of high school teachers following their students and vice versa, but if it is not a problem, simple reminders may be useful for students to see before their next class.  But the last thing we need in schools is to encourage students to use Twitter during class time.

Facebook

Facebook is the opposite of Twitter when it comes to simplicity.  Although Facebook is not difficult to use, the amount of content available on it exceeds Twitter in leaps and bounds.  The fact that so much is present makes Facebook a tool that could never be used in schools.  Same with what I said in Twitter, I am unsure of the policy for friending students, and depending on that determines whether or not sending out mass messages to students with reminders and other content is appropriate.  Using Facebook as a type of email system is the best feature the social networking site has to offer since students are often visiting their Facebook pages outside of school.  However, considering the amount of distractions that come along with the website, its use in schools is deeply ill-advised.