Adolescents and Web 2.0 interactions- Journal article by Debbie.

In the article ‘Youth and their virtual networked words: Research findings and implications for school libraries’, Dr Ross Todd posits that the differences between adults and adolescents internet use is not as different as previously thought and that the gap between the Google Generation and older users is closing.  One of the differences that still remains is the engagement and participation in social networking sites.

This blog entry will specifically focus on adolescent participation in social networking sites (SNS) and other Web 2.0 technologies and the challenges and opportunities these provide for teacher librarians.

Firstly, it is important to define Web 2.0. It is the second generation of web-based environments which seek to facilitate communication, community, collaboration and creativity between users (Todd, p24). Other words that can be used to describe it include: ‘participatory’, ‘interactive’ and ‘read and write’. In other words, Web 2.0 allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in a virtual community (Wikipedia, nd.). (I have used Wikipedia intentionally to garner this definition as it is the most basic use of a Web 2.0 tool.)

Understanding young people’s participation in Web 2.0 and social networking includes analysing the relationships they build, their interactions and exchanges and the dominant trends in the use of these networks. There is also much to be learnt from analysing the group dynamics of these adolescents (Todd, p26). These social networking sites are so much more than how we see Facebook on the surface: as a way of connecting with old friends, and staying in touch with our friends we don’t see enough of!

Teenagers use the internet as a nucleus for social interaction, a place where they can interact with others, and as a place to create and share original works. Todd reports that teenagers visit social networking sites frequently, not just daily, but several times daily. Their engagement is not passive rather it is ‘participatory’ (2008, p 27). Increasingly, they are blogging, creating, remixing, collaborating, and uploading photos, videos, and other content. The key for educators is to engage in these practices to ensure their students are doing this ethically and with meaning: but more on this later.

Behaviours of Teens in SNS

Todd identifies two significant groups that use social networking sites.  Firstly, super communicators who are primarily older girls who use them for maintaining social contact, managing friendships, and making plans with friends. The other group are non-conformists. These are the adventurous pacesetters that are on the cutting edge of social networking and are the most frequent users of social network sites. They are also taking the lead in creating, producing and manipulating online content (Todd, p28). These are the students that educators, including librarians, have the most to learn from as they challenge us to be more creative in our use of technology, push the creative boundaries and think outside the box.

Students participate in Web 2.0 they are forming their identities. Students have the opportunity to represent themselves and identify with their peers. They are able to use social networking to work out their personal beliefs, challenge cultural assumptions and navigate complex relationships (Todd, 2008).  Livingstone and Brake agree when they suggest that what ‘drives online communication, is young people’s strong desire to connect with peers anywhere, anytime — to stay in touch, express themselves and share experiences.’ Basically, adolescents are constructing a representation of themselves for their peers to see.

Even adults may have difficulties in managing their online identity so it is little wonder that adolescents sometimes find themselves in trouble in social networking situations. Todd explains that school leaders and parents have strong expectations about the positive roles that social networking could play in students’ lives. Whilst some educators lag in their delivery of education about Web 2.0 behaviour students themselves are setting the norms for how to share information (Levinson, p41). There are ample programs available for schools to engage with in digital citizenship education. Schools and in particular librarians need to be aware of educational opportunities in teaching ethical and appropriate behaviours online (Weaver, 2010).

Challenges for educators and Teacher Librarians

Although adolescents want to experience varied technologies in their education, schools still use traditional methods of delivery, rather than venturing into new media literacies. This could be due to lack of instructor knowledge, combined with a lack of research based best practices (Greenhow, Robelia and Hughes, 2009). This lack of knowledge prevents educators taking the plunge and experimenting within their classes. As well, school officials are not yet convinced of their value as a useful educational tool or communications tool, and more so than parents, remain highly sceptical at this point (Todd, p29).

Interestingly, Greenhow, et al report that 60% of students surveyed reported that they use social network sites to talk about their education topics. As a teacher, I have observed students discussing the information they had found out on Facebook and Skype about due dates and other details of assignments. Seemingly, adolescents do use these technologies to contribute to their academic outcomes.

Opportunities for Teacher Librarians

Teacher Librarians have a golden opportunity to lead the way in Web 2.0 (Todd, p31). We can set up wikis, blogs and chat rooms for collaborative learning. We can engage the non-conformists who have skills in this media and at the same time help them improve their academic results. At the same time we can learn from them. It can be a win-win situation. We must learn how to accommodate these adolescents in their learning, rather than resist the force that is Web 2.0.

Any mention of Web 2.0 and educators usually think Facebook, yet there are many other tools that are useful in education.  In fact, there are many more technologies that can be incorporated into teaching and learning.  Teacher and librarians can actively contribute to the content explosion on the web. Todd suggests that one such way of participating in Web 2.0  is through the use of social bookmarking technology. One example is Delicious.com. This can be an easy, non-invasive method of interacting with students in a Web 2.0 environment that supports learning.  The concept of social bookmarking involves building a list of bookmarked resources that could be shared with students. Sharing of online sources can build a community with students who are looking for interaction and participation. It can also facilitate authentic and collaborative learning through a networked world.  Delicious.com begins to build an online identity for the users that can be broadened as educators feel more competent with Web 2.0 technologies.  I have used this technology with senior students and it has proven a great success in document sharing in class, as well as teaching study practices for students preparing for tertiary study.

A YouTube tutorial about how Delicious.com works

There are countless other opportunities for Web 2.0 participation. These will be further explored in my blog entry about innovative pedagogies.

Prensky, the well-known educator acknowledged for his analogy about digital natives and digital immigrants, claims that the education students get after hours is what is preparing our kids for the their 21^st century lives. We owe it to these adolescents to participate in the Web 2.0 world to educate them in school hours so to guide them in being successful in the 21^st century.  Likewise, Greenhow et al. believe that taking these opportunities might promote richer opportunities to make learning more personally meaningful, collaborative and socially relevant (2009, p249).

                                                         

So whilst Web 2.0 technologies present both opportunities and challenges they are a part of life and they are here to stay. As educators we need to stay relevant to the 21^st century by keeping up with the rapid changes in technology and new media. We can either put their heads in the sand when it comes to Web 2.0, or we can teach our students to see.

References:

Greenhow, C., Robelia, B., & Hughes, J. E. (2009). Learning, Teaching and Scholarship in a Digital Age. Educational Researcher, 38, 246. Retrieved from http://edr.sagepub.com/content/38/4/246

Levinson, M. (2010).  From Fear to Facebook: One School’s Journey. International Society for Technology in Education: USA

Livingstone, S. and Brake, D. R. (2010), On the Rapid Rise of Social Networking Sites: New Findings and Policy Implications. Children & Society, 24: 75–83. doi: 10.1111/j.1099-0860.2009.00243.x Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/doi/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2009.00243.x/pdf

Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the Lights. Educational Leadership 65(6). March , 40-45. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar08/vol65/num06/Turning-On-the-Lights.aspx

Todd, R. J. (2008). Youth and their virtual networked words: Research findings and implications for school libraries. School Libraries Worldwide, 14(2), 19-19-34. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/217760974?accountid=13380

Weaver, Anne. Facebook and Other Pandora's Boxes [online]. Access, Vol. 24, No. 4, Dec 2010: 24-32. Retrieved from: http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=519544119206411;res=IELHSS


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Mashable, 2.0 CoolToolsforSchools and Facebook For Educators - Online resources by Debbie

There are so many online resources available for use by educators to participate in Web 2.0 technology that is was difficult to select one so I have decided to review three as I couldn't decide which one was more interesting and useful as I immerse myself in the changing world of Web 2.0.

The first resource I have found is a blog entry on Mashable Social Media. It is titled 'For Students, What is the 'Facebook Effect' on Grades?'

According to their website, Mashable is a blog that specialises in social media news but also covers other 21^st century new media issues. According to their website, Mashable is the largest independent online news site dedicated to covering digital culture, social media and technology.It is one of the most visited online news communities. I believe this makes them a reliable and credible source on information about Web 2.0 technologies.

Mashable’s blog entry explains the pros and cons of Facebook use and other social media sites.  It provides positive and negatives about students’ interactions in social media and provides some interesting facts in graphical form.

The graphic could be used as a teaching resource, as well as a staff resource in professional development. I see its benefit as a springboard for further discussion with teachers who have a ‘block’ about using Facebook in education. In a classroom setting it would be a valuable tool to explain to students that there is more to Facebook than ‘liking’ their friends comments and tagging each other in photos.

In summary, the blog says that the effects of Facebook and SNS are inconclusive in being disruptive to students and their education. My belief is that if students are taught ‘time and place’ they will know how to use SNS appropriately and as a reward for study, or as a way of relaxing, rather than as the obsession that some adolescents seem to have with posting their every move.

Via: OnlineEducation.net

The second resource that is useful for educators is the Wikispace titled: Web2.0CoolToolsforSchools. This is a collection of Web 2.0 tools that teachers and students can access easily, all in one place. There is a wide range of categories to choose from and these are logically set out and easy to access. Within each category there are many programs and websites to choose from. For example, under the Audio Tools tab there are over 30 options. Each of these tools has a short introduction and a hyperlink to their website or program.

According to their news ribbon, CoolToolsForSchools has won the MEROLT award for Exemplary Online Learning Award in 2011 and was nominated for 2010 Edublogs Award for Best Educational Wiki so it a reliable source of information.

CoolToolsForSchool does not require a sign in to access these tools and it is free to use. There is also a Teachers Resource section that provides various other resources. The creators have obviously spent a lot of time sourcing and indexing these tools for collaboration with other educators.

Teachers and educators that are unsure of how to participate in the world of Web 2.0 but know that they need to to gain an understanding of the new media literacies available would find this a valuable tool to get begin with. I can see a lot of value in accessing this Wikispace to utilise Web 2.0 in the classroom. It seems a whole lot easier than trying to find tools that are suitable when you may not even know what you are looking for to start with.

Finally, the third online resource that is worth investigating is Facebook For Educuator's Guide. This resource is different to the CoolToolsForSchools and Mashable in that it is a one stop website that to educators the benefits of using Facebook in education. It is authored by 3 experts in the field of social networking.

This website has factual and professional information that could be used by educators as a resource to guide them about Facebook and social networking policies in their schools. It also provides some definitions of the language used by Facebook to assist in educating non-users. In addition, there are tips on how educators can incorporate Facebook into their lessons.

 

Education is about preparing our students for the real world. Social networking sites such as Facebook are here to stay and one of the major players in Web 2.0 technology (at this point in time, anyway) so it is up to us as educators to understand the implications and the intricacies of it. Facebook has  currently over 500 million users - teachers and educators need to be up to speed with this popular new digital media.

Innovative pedagogies - Tricia

I came across this delightfully simple yet effective site through one of the networking groups that I subscribe to. I think this is a grass roots example of a web2.0 collaboration tool that is not only simple to employ but
useful for classroom use as well. "Corkboard Me" allows students to collaborate on any number of activities such as responding to a video or book, brainstorming for a group project, listing job allocations for group work or any number of other simple tasks. The beauty of this particular tool is that it is  free (although you can subscribe, pay and then customise your corkboard) and it  requires no log in -you can be using it in literally 1 click! Many web tools, while useful and attractive, can take time to learn how to use  effectively. Often  you must subscribe and pay a fee to be able to utilise the tool.  I will continue to look for more ways to utilise Corkboard Me in the future.

Facebook - Is there anyone that likes it? News article by Debbie

Time Magazine has reported in their article ‘What Facebook Users Share: Lower Grades’ that University students who use social media sites generally have lower grades. They have come to this conclusion through a study undertaken by doctoral candidate Aryn Karpinski at Ohio Dominican University. Whilst the study only involved just over 200 students, a very small snapshot of users, it found that Facebook has negative a negative effect on students’ outcomes.

Karpinski suggests that Facebook isn’t directly linked to lower grades rather there are relationships between social networking sites (SNS) use and lower GPAs. This, Karpinski says, is assigned to the distraction factor. The article goes on to discuss other studies that found that SNS shorten students’ attention span and decrease young peoples ability to understand emotional signals and read facial expressions due to the amount of time they spend wasting time in front of a computer.

Whilst Facebook did not comment specifically about the report they did respond by stating what I firmly believe: that there are other distractions that could adversely affect grades and SNS are not the sole reason for this. Facebook did comment that it is up to parents to decide how much time is spent using this technology.  This sounds like a sensible stance to take. It is undeniable that students spend more time than ever before using social networking sites, but the panic over the effects of SNS could to be premature.  After all, these SNS have not been around for a great length of time and students have always found ways to waste time.

Supporting the views in the Time Magazine article,  the Mashable Social Media blog entry titled ‘For students, what is the Facebook effect on grades?’ discusses the negative effect on student users of SNS. Mashable say that students are prone to lower grades if they use Facebook and other SNS due their addictive characteristics.

Likewise, just this week in the media Edward de Bono, lateral thinking expert and creator of the Six Thinking Hats strategy has  been quoted in an article titled ‘Social Media Makes us Lazy and Stupid’ as saying that there is a danger in social media. He believes that with the information overload due to social media we don’t have to think for ourselves. He believes that we should ‘go offline and get stay in school’.  I wonder why we can’t do both?

It is clear from these three articles that a common theme of Facebook being the ‘bad guy’ is building and this seems to get considerable negative press. As educators we need to encourage discussion about HOW students are using social networking sites. Teacher librarians need to support teachers in how to educate students to be media literate. We also need student education about limiting time spent online. It is only then that we may turn this attitude around and then begin to use these SNS for positive outcomes for our students.

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Welcome!

Hello and welcome to our blog for CLN647 - The Voices!

We will be investigating how the internet can give a voice to adolescents and how educators can facilitate this in the classroom. Due to the ever-increasing presence of digital media in young people's lives, the importance of this cannot be underestimated.

Stay tuned for updates - coming soon!

Regards

The Group N team - Deb, Tricia and Jimmy