Does anyone else?

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Permalink Reply by Elise Mueller on August 22, 2007 at 10:47am

Hi Jim,
I have two students of my own, a 10th grade daughter and a son who is a sophomore in college. A small sample but I think they are fairly typical of kids who use social networking sites. My daughter prefers myspace as do her friends, she updates and communicates through her myspace page, and rarely checks her gmail or school email accounts. She has a facebook page too, but doesn't use it as much as her brother. He uses his facebook account to keep in touch with friends, using it in much the same way as my daughter does. Both check their sites everyday.

When I created myspace and facebook pages that would enable me to log on and keep in touch using the same tools as my children, they both recoiled. My daughter simply replied, "No. Awkward, Mom!" The generation gap was clearly exposed and they were not eager to have me cross into their digital world. Evidently parents and maybe teachers too, don't quite fit into the conversations.

Looking back (way back!) to when I was in high school my conversations were always via the phone. I have four sisters, and by the time we hit high school my parents added a second phone line to accommodate us. I remember writing many letters in college as my budget couldn't handle long distance calls. Perhaps when I asked to enter into my children's social networks it amounted to a request to join conversations they are having with peers, in essence it would have been as if my mother had asked to pick up the extension in the den every time I talked to a friend!

It may be that your students don't see the use of social networking sites as an unacceptable practice, they might just be a bit uncomfortable sharing with a teacher. What if you asked them to complete an anonymous survey via surveymonkey.com or something similar?

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Permalink Reply by James Folkestad on August 22, 2007 at 4:10pm

Yes, good idea. I survey may provide some cover.
Thanks for you ideas.

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Permalink Reply by janien on August 22, 2007 at 1:25pm

Perhaps, because they find this question about their social network memberships too intimate? I think, they're 'building' an identity by joining a lot of networks of their own choice and they don't want to reveal their self to everyone in the classroom: it's part of their privacy. Most of these teens and 'tweens are looking for an own territory, and they don't like 'intrusors' ... I'm not a psychologist and my English is school English, but I hope you understand in what direction I'm looking for an explanation.

On the site of an expert (one of my mentors) in technology enhanced learning, Wilfred Rubens, I found a link to a recent American report of the NSBA on networking and the new generation. Perhaps we can find the answer there? I hadn't time yet to read it ...

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Permalink Reply by James Folkestad on August 22, 2007 at 4:09pm

Yes, thank you I think you are on to something here. I is a very private thing and space for them. They may have an identify that they do not share with everyone or are not comfortable sharing that identity to the entire class.

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Permalink Reply by Peter Salas on September 10, 2007 at 4:35pm

I find this very interesting because many social networks are public information. One gripe I have about MySpace is that your content is free for everyone to view. Then of course there is the countless friend requests and a number of inappropriate content posted everywhere soliciting sex and whatnot. It's a hodge-podge of pop-media culture without a context or a purpose (except to advertise).

Generally, posting on MySpace means posting for the whole world to see (even using a google search). Facebook is better in that it requires all users to have an account to view information; then there is a second line of defense where you only can see information from people you have befriended on Facebook.

Coming back to the topic of this discussion, I can understand why kids would want to protect their privacy, and would opt out in using their accounts for educational purposes (which would expose their "secret" identity to authorities). This is the problem with the first generation social networks like MySpace and Facebook. They provide a general purpose social network that appeals to a specific crowd. However, with Ning, you are able to create a context specific network without intruding on a student's personal life, while at the same time educating them on Web2.0.

Context is the key word, and I think it's important to define what the word "Social Networks" mean. From that, it is important to explain that Facebook and MySpace are only one type of social network that appeals to a general audience. Here, we still have a social network which appeals to teachers!

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Permalink Reply by Ginger Lewman on September 15, 2007 at 11:34pm

Could it be that they didn't want to seem like a dork, since adults are always shouting that the (over)use of technology will make nerds, and social misfits of them all, shut into dark basements, only being able to speak to others through the filter of the internet?

Now, I understand that the reality is very different, but perhaps that negative image has become ingrained in these kids' heads and they were hesitant to say they stayed connected that much, worried of seeming 'too eager' for online contact?

Or maybe they were afraid that the prof was going to want access to their sites and they realized that what's posted my endanger their professional careers...

...just a wild thought that's different than the others posted...

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