Nadine Norris's Blog (6)

There was a really rich forum discussion thread about teachers and

social networking on this ning site. This blog post is kind of a repeat

of my post to this forum discussion, but I feel pretty strongly about

the issue:

http://classroom20.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=649749%3ATopic%3A7964



Here's the thing that Will doesn't really bring into the discussion.

Look at the psychology of a young person. It's all about the

"friends".....the more "friends" the… Continue

A very interesting comparison of MySpace and Facebook in an essay from this blog, http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2007/06/24/viewing_america.html

From the writer:

"Hegemonic American teens (i.e. middle/upper class, college bound teens from upwards mobile or well off families) are all on or switching

to Facebook. Marginalized teens, teens from poorer or less educated

backgrounds, subculturally-identified teens, and other non-hegemonic

teens continue to be drawn… Continue

I spoke to a nice young lady this week who seemed like she would be qualified to replace me at my old job. She'd been a teacher for a few years and she had previous experience in the tech field. My former principal thought it would be more effective if I would show this candidate around and explain what it's like to be a tech coordinator. She seemed excited and by the end of our conversation we were speaking to each other as if she already had the position. I was very relieved. We've got a… Continue

I've been to SL a few times this week. Meg influenced me, I must admit. I met her there and she gave some "landmarks", which if you don't kow SL, (which I really don't), landmarks are like places to visit. After my visit with Meg and a couple of other teachers, one of which oddly enough is one I know really well, I went back to SL a couple of times. I went to the place that was set up by ISTE for virtual NECC. I never really met anyone though. The NECC conference center and other places that… Continue

Since yesterday was Father's Day, it seems appropriate that I reflect on my own father and his influence on who I am. I first heard the term "lifelong learner" several years ago as I became involved with educational technology. I think the term fits me perfectly. I am constantly acquiring new knowledge, working on new skills, and looking for ways to apply my new knowledge and skills to enhance my life and the lives of others. The tenements of being a lifelong learner require one to ask a lot of… Continue

I am completely convinced, that just like anything else in our lives, used properly, social networking can be the absolute best thing for our students. Let me illustrate:



A wonderful honor student I know...okay, my daughter is going to college next year. Throughout high school, she has been going on the internet to visit her friends websites. Early in high school it was Xanga sites. Later, they used myspace, and most recently facebook has taken over. My daughter dutifully visited her… Continue