Social Sites

So in looking at this class (and other social media outlefts) available, some of them I think would be hard to use in the classroom.

I think Twitter could be a fun, useful site, at the same time hard to control. Even for this class, I personally found it hard to use Twitter as something other than a social escape. In talking with Paco, we decided it was possible, for example, the way Drew uses Twitter- for talking with people about educational things. But since I started using Twitter as a social thing, it's hard for me to use it as an educational tool. It's not impossible, but when it's used for a good majority of the time by people as a non-educational thing, it's hard for me to switch.

I think it would be easy to use Twitter for the class, something most students could participate with outside of class, but it would be hard to control.

It's like using Facebook- I find it hard to see someone use Facebook as an educational tool. I tried once. I created a "Frau Wiechert" page. I posted the homework every night and I actually had students send me messages, asking questions. But I also had access to my students' profiles. Not that they posted bad things, but the sleepover pictures and conversations about random things were not something I wanted to see, have access to, nor could I control them.

I like using these social tools, but I really struggle finding a way to use them responsibly in my classroom.