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This blog is intended for use in the ITEC 814 class only. The original blog postings were part of the class activities. The series of questions posted as of December 2009 are opportunities for me to post my current thoughts on areas of concern and hopefully to get some kind of dialogue for reflection with colleagues.
I will begin my reflection on this question by confessing that I have always had personal reservations about using any of the now so prevalent social networking public sites, such as Google, Facebook, etc. My concerns are not about comfort with the technology. I do consider myself a technology geek and I seek every opportunity I can find to incorporate cutting edge technology in my daily routines. However, the premise of social networking sites and what makes them so useful as communication tools seems to me to directly in conflict with basic privacy and freedom rights. The potential for abuse is more than just scary to me. It seems down-right irresponsible to me for anyone to begin to use these tools without first reflecting critically and weighing the benefits with the costs.
ReplyDeleteOne significant mode of abuse that has become prevalent recently is online bullying. Youngsters and adults alike are using the publicity that these tools provide to literally torture others. In a classroom environment it seems to me a big concern to insure that bullying does not derail any progress you make to promote the growth of students at risk and often marginalized students. To complicate things, 24/7 access to the web an these online tools means that as a teacher you may find yourself policing posts at all hours of the day. Of course, cyber bullying will happen outside of class related environments and you will not have control over any of that. This is just another concern to be prepared to deal with as a classroom teacher using social networking for instruction.
I will come back to this matter after I reflect more on it. In the meantime, I know that I will begin to find ways to use these tools for myself and for my classroom in one way or another.