Journal 10 - NETS I & IV

"MySpace Can Be a Learning Tool" -Liz Kolb

Kolb, Liz (December/January 2008-2009). MySpace Can Be a Learning Tool. Learning and Leading with Technology, 36, Retrieved April 6, 2009, from www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume3620082009/DecemberJanuaryNo4/L_L_December_January.htm

This article is about how educators can use social networks like MySpace in the classroom. MySpace can be a great learning tool to motivate students to learn. Educators can now utilize a tool that a majority of students are familiar with and use on a daily basis as a tool for their creativity. There were several pitfalls of using MySpace in the classroom that were discussed that educators can easily overcome. One of the them was advertising. Educators can turn this negative into a positive by using it to teach older students about advertising. There are websites (Disney, Imbee, or Club Penguins) that educators can use for preteen students that do not display advertising. A topic that most educators and parents are apprehensive about when speaking about using MySpace is the issue of predators. Research has shown that a very small percentage of users, less than 10%, have encountered predators while online. The issue of predators can be avoided by teaching students how to create a safe profile, like not providing information about where you live, and having parents more involved in their children's MySpace pages. Most educators can be apprehensive about using MySpace in the classroom because of their worry that the parents might not approve. If parents are worried that their students are being exposed to social networking too early, educators can create a class page in which the students can participate in and the teacher can supervise all activities on the page. Educators can also lessen parent's apprehension by hosting a parent education night where students can teach their parents how to navigate through the MySpace page or even create one themselves.

There are many ways to incorporate MySpace into the classroom which will be beneficial to both the students and the teachers. One way to incorporate MySpace into the classroom would be to have students create a page around a historical figure or a favorite character in a book that the class is reading. Everything on the page would be fictional but relevant to the historical figure or the novel's character. This assignment would allow for students to express their creativity in a different medium. They can post blogs as if they were the historical figure or the character in the novel. Another assignment that students can do on MySpace would be to create a fictional literature piece and create their page around that literature. Students can invite friends and families to view and comment on their work. MySpace is a popular site for well-known authors of teen literature. Students can communicate with their favorite author and ask for feed back as well through MySpace. MySpace is not only a great tool for socializing but it is also great for educational purposes. There are tutorials and help pages for students who are having problems, either academic or personal, there are resources through MySpace that can assist the students in solving their problems. I think that MySpace is a great tool to use in the classroom and can definitely make learning a little more relevant to students.

Question 1: How can educators make parents feel more at ease about their children using MySpace in the classroom?

Educators can make parents feel more comfortable with the idea by hosting a parent's night where the teacher and students inform the parents about the different resources that MySpace offers. Students can show their parents pages that have been created by similar students. Parents will feel more at ease when they are better informed about how MySpace is being used in the classroom, especially if it motivates their children to learn.

Question 2: What is one way that MySpace can be incorporated into the classroom?

MySpace has a ton of resources that both educators and students can use. There are an unlimited number of curriculum ideas for teachers and resources for students. Students can use MySpace to create a page around a historical figure or a character from a novel. Everything on the page, from the profile to the blogs, is created from the historical figure or the character's perspective. Basically, the students have to pretend that they are the character. This is a really cool assignment and it also gives students room to be creative.