Why Hasn't Social Networking Taken Off in K-12 Education?

There has been much discussion of late about the potential of social networking in the K-12 environment. These tools, which include blogging, podcasting, file sharing, and RSS, as well as the "social" structure of friendships, communities, and peers, have been said to have the potential to transform both teaching and learning, and rightly so. They enable creativity through easy to use tools, and encourage collaboration and sharing.

Our district has realized some amazing, quantifiable benefits, from improved science scores as a direct result of teacher review podcasts and group science projects to improvements in reading, writing, and language fluency, not to mention increased confidence and student engagement. We have communities of teachers developing and testing content, sharing ideas, discussing technologies, and communicating with their respective communities. We have students doing research outside of the base curriculum, both in groups and individually, to develop informational podcasts. Second graders are collaborating on creative writing and podcasting projects, while fourth graders post class reviews. In short, the concept of community is alive and well at Saugus.

So what's the problem, then? Why aren't more schools getting involved with social networking for teachers and in the classroom? I believe the problem is a matter of approach. Everyone is searching for that "Myspace for education" out there on the internet. And there are plenty of people trying to build one - from Ning to Eduspaces to Imbee there are quite a few to look at, yet none are really seeing much more than casual interest. A few bold teachers have engaged them, but most have simply ignored.

Why? The answer is quite simple: these external sites don't feel safe and comfortable. Teachers want to know that they can control who has access to their content, and they want to have complete control and oversight over their students' posts, including comments. They want to be sure that theirs and their students' content:

• Won't end up on a site where just anybody can post
• Won't get lost in a huge space full of unrelated and/or irrelevant content
• Won't be in a place where something objectionable might be posted and consequently be associated with it
• Is easy to find
• Is generally associated with their school or district

In addition, they want a space that:

• Includes people they know or feel a semi-direct association with
• Is customizable, providing tools and templates that allow them to "take ownership" of their space
• Provides sophisticated access controls that allow them to keep items private, share them with individuals or groups, or with their school or district, as well as with the public at large
  

In short, they want a low risk, highly relevant environment to collaborate in.

While many of the solutions on the web provide some of this capability, they all suffer from an inability to meet at several of the above listed needs. I have yet to see a good one that offers strong access controls and student oversight as an online service.

The reality is that the only way to meet all these needs is to host the social networking space locally. General purpose public spaces will always have shortcomings that scare teachers away, if for no other reason than that they are designed to be public. Creating a space at your school or district affords the ability to meet all the above needs and comfort levels.

Of course, there will be those that jump at the opportunity to be public, to be associated with the "global community" and so on. My experience (which is easily verified by simply perusing the various sites) has been that these are few and far between. We can talk about how great this site or that site is until we're blue in the face, but the reality is we'll likely never see any large scale adoption without meeting our teachers and students' needs.