Tyler Kendall
Reporter
We are living in an era witnessing the emergence of the most innovative and efficient technology the world market has ever seen. Facebook had 845 million monthly users at the end of December 2011, according to the company’s website. As our society becomes increasingly more advanced in the field of social media, this shift appears to have larger implications than just being able to stay connected with friends and family.
“I hear educators say all the time, ‘I don’t want Facebook in my schools, it’s going to be a distraction.’ I don’t think that’s true. It’s not a distraction, it’s a productivity tool,” Library Department Chair Michelle Luhtala said. “We can’t demonstrate, show, or reveal that to students unless we give them the access to use it, though.”
Students must recognize and understand the responsibility that comes with social media and the benefits the sites can offer. “We want kids to become really excellent citizens whether it be virtually or face to face, and the only way we can actual teach, model and enforce that, is if we are there with them in their social media life,” she said.
Tweeting in class
English teacher Hannah Magnan decided to try out a different teaching method last quarter while her sophomore section was reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth. “Something the kids were having trouble with was the main idea from the reading, so I decided to use Twitter to help them gain an understanding of what was going on,” she said. “I assigned each pair a section from the reading, and as we went over it in class, I would let the assigned group tweet the main point in language that made sense to them. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from it.”
Sophomore Ali Reilly found Twitter to be an effective learning tool. “Writing the tweets was helpful because it made us be concise about our ideas,” she said.
“It was fun, everyone got to use slang words and hash-tags, plus the students could keep their electronics out during class,” Ms. Magnan said. “The one really tough thing though, that you get with any type of technology, was that some times it was very slow. The devices would also have technical glitches occasionally, which became time consuming.”
Sophomore Ryan Becker found using Twitter in class to be a hassle for reasons more than just technical difficulties. “I didn’t find it effective, it made the whole project harder actually. It would’ve been easier if we just shared our views on something more organized like a google doc,” he said. “I found twitter really unorganized.”
Schoology: the middle ground?
Some teachers use the Internet to organize classwork for their students. “I don’t think that 48 minutes [of class time]is enough for students or teachers. Schoology is good because it offers another method for student’s to demonstrate their learning,” said history teacher Stephanie Macomber.
Schoology, a relatively new, classroom friendly site, appears to be the perfect balance between too much and too little social media involved within the curriculum. Ms. Macomber utilizes Schoology for it’s accessibility and communication features. “I think Schoology is a valuable tool because it allows me to upload and post homework assignments, files, and be available for students to ask questions,” she said. “It’s great for communication, there’s something called a, ‘discussion board,’ and it’s a lot like posting on ‘walls’ when using Facebook; so it’s easy for the student’s to use.”
However, freshman Blake* feels Schoology is too much of a hassle. “It’s another account I have to worry about, and I always get the notifications from it forwarded to my e-mail, which can get annoying,” he said. “The attachments glitch sometimes, too.”
Sophomore Azadeh Amir-Aslani thinks differently though. “I really like Schoology because it’s a more efficient way to get assignments and homework. I like how it’s similar to my Facebook,” she said. “It’s pretty straightforward.”
A lot of social media sites, which have gained more notoriety and popularity than Schoology, offer the same communication access. So why do some teachers prefer Schoology?
“For me, I like this site because only school related stuff goes up on Schoology,” Ms. Macomber said. “I think it’s that perfect mix of academic and personal accessibility while still being non- invasive.”
Social Media and the Internet’s role in research
Sometimes the average database is not the best place to begin research on a topic. Some matters need to be explored by looking at other sources found on the Internet. “We are different than most high schools and we do get a lot of attention because we are so open. We do this by keeping local control of our filter,” Ms. Luhtala, said. “If kids come up with something they really think is relevant in their class then on a case by case, all they have to do is ask for the filter to be lifted on that site and it will be lifted.”
Social Media is another tool that can be utilized for research. “We currently have our sophomores doing a project on Imperialism. One of the best and most efficient ways to start their research, is to actually just search in Twitter for #your country so like, #Egypt, #Libya, and you’re literally getting a feed of what’s happening in your country now,” Ms. Luhtala said.
Student made; student run social media groups
Senior Katherine Moncure’s planner looks like every other student’s at NCHS: packed. With smudge marks every where, each line is filled with assignment after assignment, important details squeezed within the margins. “Class groups on Facebook can help you stay organized,” she said.
Sophomore Zeph West agreed. “When student’s make their own Facebook groups for certain classes it’s helpful because it allows all of us to collaborate on things like study guides or if one of us has a question,” he said. “It’s a great resource to get information and input from classmates.”
Facebook can also be useful for students trying to complete a project. “Group chat is also good for answering unanswered questions from class and to vent a little before we go in the next day,” Katherine added.
#newest trend?
Social media is incorporated into student’s social lives, thus many find the transition of integrating it into their school lives effortless. However, some prefer to keep the two completely separate, whether it’s by making a “school only account” or just refusing to have class rants in their tweets; school and social life for some just don’t mix.
“I think that the worse thing a school could do is just be like, ‘okay, we are all going to start using
right now!’ because you’ll have a lot of people who aren’t ready to make that leap and it will go badly,” Ms. Luhtala said. “If you don’t have people that fully understand the medium, then they are not likely to use them properly. They should use resources they feel comfortable with.”*name has been changed
