In my introduction post, I mentioned some social networking issues I'm having as an education professor and was intrigued and excited by the responses. It was suggested by Anne, that I create a New Discussion about the topic, so here goes...
I'm a college professor that teaches future teachers how to integrate technology. For a couple years, I've been teaching my students the awesome world of Blogs, Wikis, and other 2.0-related technologies, not just how to use them, but how to integrate them effectively as a teacher. However, even though they are digital natives of social networking, my students don't seem to recognize the educational implications. They don't see it, and the effective integration typically has never been modeled for them, (and I'm pretty sure I'm not helping very much). In addition, trying to take "I'm a student" thinking individuals and convert them into "I'm a teacher" thinking individuals in regards to social networking in education has been a battle that I seem to lose more often than I win.
Having said that, I'm looking for ways, places, sites, etc., that can lead me to better, more effective methods of teaching future teachers how to integrate social networking. I'm looking for ways to, at the very least, model the effective uses. This site, along with Ning in Education and others, may just be the place, the way, the site, for which I've been searching.
What do you think about pre-service teachers' skills and knowledge regarding social networking, as well as pre-service education on the same topic? I would love to read your comments, suggestions, and experiences.
Thanks,
~ John