Thing #18

Social networking sites serve as a modern communication service for the planet. The fact that someone can sign on for a free account, search for friends and colleagues, and subscribe to favorite groups and pages makes social networking services a premier method for people to share information. This information sharing is important for educators because social networking opens the lines of communication across classrooms in multiple areas of the world. Teachers can use these services to stay abreast of current real time issues with friends and group members without having to do much more than sign in on their account using the internet. In addition, educators can use these sights to seek answers to relevant questions via a query of their colleagues. Since I currently use Facebook, I am most comfortable with it and its features. Facebook enables me to reestablish friendships with many people that I haven’t seen in years. Without this tool, I may have never heard from any of them. Also, Facebook groups are a great way to be active in issues and participate in communities that may be important. I check my Facebook page daily, but seldom update my status or make comments to others as these kinds of activities are not what I enjoy. I mostly send messages, or wish happy birthday to my friends and leave it at that. One downside to social networking sites is the fact that the language of its rules can be lengthy to read and complex. So, you must be careful when signing up or you may find more information is open to the public than you thought. I also do not like the use of social networking for work or school. I find it offensive when my work attempts to pressure us to join their page. This is a big issue with me as privacy is a right of all individuals. As a teacher candidate, I am not a supporter of having students, or my colleagues searching for information about me via social networking. I do encourage the use of social network sites, but feel their use should be for the social aspect and not so much for information sharing and educating.