English teachers

Perhaps this has already been addressed by others here, but I'm curious: Do you as a teacher feel that using MySpace and Facebook in the classroom is defensible by noting that both are "real world" technology and communication? Do you feel that because kids relate to it, it is more capable of producing engaged learners? Is any writing practice (including blogging and IMing) good practice? My feelings on this one are still up in the air a bit, as I am a big proponent of technology use in the classroom, but given the content of both sites, I see how they could be considered too controversial for classroom use. My current school feels that both are acceptable for the classroom, as long as the teacher is being judicious about what he or she is showing the children, and as long as the teacher is using common sense regarding curriculum. Your thoughts, please...

At my college, Facebook and MySpace are blocked on all college computers.  I personally don't find MySpace or Facebook to be useful at all in my classroom.  I know there'll be a few people who will disagree with me, but that's JMHO.

I also am a big proponent of technology in the classroom, but I have yet to figure out a way that sites like Facebook and MySpace could be useful for my particular learning environment.  Perhaps some teachers could post how the sites could be used in the current classroom as a learning tool?

One thought that had occurred to me was just this: If a teacher uses a Facebook group (short story lovers, ReadWide Media, etc.) for classroom examples or information, that could be practical. The teacher in question would have to be the one who used it from an LCD projector or something similar to prevent abuse, however. It's waaayy too easy for kids to navigate web pages in social networking sites and end up doing all kinds of wrong things.

My district's firewall blocks myspace, facebook, and youtube. I don't support using them in the classroom. There are better ways to use technology. Why not create a blog? Why not set up a discussion group on eNotes? Why not have discussion groups on your school's web page?

YouTube -- now there's one that deserves some discussion. After all, there are plenty of educator-produced videos that could positively contribute to various classes, including language arts. Admittedly, kids are more receptive to the familiar, and if it's one thing they know, it's YouTube.

I probably wouldn't be opposed to using its better resources in class, as long as I had control over it and kids weren't watching something offensive.

I do not use MySpace and Facebook in the classroom, but I do have my students blog their writing assignment.  I have control over what is published, and students can read each other's poetry etc. and make comments.  It is also an electronic portfolio that students can view 24/7.  My students really enjoyed blogging this year and I intend to always use blogging as a writing portfolio.  You can check out my blog at http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger%20id=101635

In reply to #7: Thanks for posting the address of your blog. Yes, they are very convenient for classroom use and technology integration. Another site that allows educators to initialize free classroom blogs (check with your administrator) is www.epals.com.

They have several backgrounds and layouts to choose from, and much like lewismct described, you as the teacher maintain complete control over its content. Students are provided with i.d.'s and passwords, and from that point, the teacher is in charge.

We are thinking of enabling blogs for all on eNotes, hoping that our safer, moderated environment would be more appropriate for classroom use as opposed to something that has so many other uses, like Facebook and MySpace. Is that something that you think teachers would appreciate?

Our position, as (mostly) non-educators is that technology definitely belongs in the classroom but only when it's used the right way. Blogging and online discussion groups are a great way to get students to think critically about how to communicate with fellow students in productive ways that can enhance learning, and it's one of our main goals at eNotes. While I think that Facebook in particular has some good technology that would enable that type of thing, the fact that it's so easy to do so many other, non-productive things while on the site might make it a poor choice for an in-classroom exercise.

In reply to #9: Enotes would probably be an ideal site to establish classroom blogs, because students would then be able to hop over to reference materials that they can use in class. Other classroom blog sites are fairly limited to only blogging functions, and don't really have resources for classroom use (unless you personally link to them from your blog).

Students would be able to utilize a site such as this one much more productively than, say, a social network. Classroom blogs through enotes would definitely be an advantage, increasing both efficiency and engagement.