Module 9- Social Networking

Unfortunately I didn't have my login details and didn't have the chance to access it through my elearning coordinator. I attempted to get into Scootle via our school intranet page however still required login details. I haven't used it before but clicked on a couple of things to try to get a sense of the layout and what it offered. It looks very comprehensive. To try to get more of an idea of what it was about I googled Scootle to get some information. I asked a few people on staff whether they used it and they seemed to indicate the 'mini programs' in Scootle have been superseded by a process of accessing and embedding resources in their programs from other useful sites. On hearing this feedback I think Scootle would be very useful in combination with other sites. My next step is to get my login details so I can have a more in depth look at what it has to offer. I have 2 Twitter accounts, one personal and one professional. I never seem to have the time or inclination to 'invest' in my personal one but certainly give credit to 'Twitter' as a great social networking tool for schools. A great example of this is when we were on camp earlier this year. Parents appreciated the connection that 'Twitter' created for them when their child was away from the 'nest',many of them for the first time. I am happy to tweet special events that are happening but have found that most of the time I take photos at the time and send tweets at a later time as my priority is supervision when I am teaching not being focussed on a smartphone screen. To this end my 'Tweeting' is not instant updating and sometimes I can't see the point. To me Facebook is a personal networking tool and have never thought of it as a professional forum and in fact my preference is to keep the two very separate. Having your own Facebook account is a way of seeing how 'Facebook' ticks and why it and other social networking sites are so popular and so engaging for people to use. My Linked In account lays dormant however I have a friend who has had quite a lot of success with her account being 'head hunted' for roles based on her profile information. Whoa!!!!! The Second life physical images of women and men and the activities they were engaged in were very inappropriate and unrealistic. I can see the importance of trying to tap into the 'gaming' generation however my initial impressions are that the creators of Second Life have created violent,unsuitable, sexist and unrealistic images and content, particularly for Primary School students. It could be a platform for discussion with students however so they can learn to critically analyse content on the internet and become a little discerning about what they choose to engage in. The short video I have included summarises the pros and cons of social networking and I feel the priority for us as educators is to remain current with the different social networking options that our students are accessing so that we can support and skill them in safe and healthy social networking.