Journal #2 "Social Networking for the K-12 Set" by Jim Klein

In the article “Social Networking for the K-12 Set” by Jim Klein the author states that the leaders in technology in education are always trying to find new ways to incorporate technology in the classroom and eliminate the typical boundaries of classroom. The author believes that the traditional geographical and social boundaries prevent communication and do not promote collaboration among both educators and their students. Some of the issues with incorporating technology into the classroom are security, complexity and cost.  

The creation of the SUSD Teacher and Student Community sites or as the author called them, “learning landscapes” the resources and tools that students and educators would need would be available to them and the communication between the education community would improve and technology would bring value to the students, teachers ultimately increase collaboration. Some of the benefits of these sites are to provide the opportunities to discuss social, ethical and legal issues, create effective learning environments, provide approachable and easy to use environments where students and teachers can use technology to create and share ideas and information, and finally establish workgroups that would be driven based upon efficient communication.

Question #1 – How would I encourage my students to use this site to enhance their education?

I would utilize this site in my lesson plans by having the students create blogs where they can have an online journal and communicate with myself and their peers. This allows communication outside of the classroom. I would also have a class website where students can post their work. I think that when students have the opportunity to utilize technology and are given directions and instructions so they are comfortable using it and don’t get frustrated that it can be a great tool and benefit them later in life when they are in the work force or in a real world situation where technology is used often.

Question #2 – How would I use this site as a future educator?

I would use this site to communicate with both students and parents. Technology is a great way to communicate outside of the classroom. I can keep students informed and parents as well on the status of their work, what is happening in the classroom and what we are learning about weekly or monthly so that parents can support me by continuing to help students with their work at home. I would also utilize technology to collaborate with my peers. It would be great to share ideas and lesson plans with other teachers.