2/2/11 Social Networking & Social Bookmarking

Social Networking & Social Bookmarking

Greenhow, C. (2009).  Social scholarship: Applying social networking technologies to research practices. Knowledge Quest, 37(4) 2009, 42-47.

            I found this article to particularly useful for student collaboration on social networking sites as well as professional development tools. The article states many advantages to social bookmarking, such as, “A community of learners can examine, share, and observe tag patterns across bookmarked material” (Greenhow 2009, p.42) This would be particularly useful when doing group work, where all members can gather and share information at times most convenient for them during the day. 

            As a graduate student, I was not aware of what social bookmarking consisted of, until I was asked to do a project on the contributions it can have on literacy education. After reading Greenhow’s article, I learned that such websites can be used as a portfolio for information you researched in a given time period.   “Social bibliography sites also called "social bookmarking" sites - such as CiteULike and Diigo not only allow students to better document their trajectory on the Web, but also to archive and comment on resources they collect along the way” (Greenhow 2009, p.43).  Therefore, I find social bookmarking sites not only beneficial to students in elementary and secondary education but college students as well, and as a means of gathering information for professional development. 

Diigo.com

 Alvermann, D. (2008). Why bother theorizing adolescents' online literacies for classroom practice and research?. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(1), 8-19.

            

            Students communicate to their peers outside of school through social networking sites.  Could social networking sites be used as a means for improving literacy skills in the classroom?   Alvermann’s article creates a good argument for using such sites by stating, “When school work is deemed relevant and worthwhile, when opportunities exist for students to reinvent themselves as competent learners (even when they reinvent their social identities), then literacy instruction is both possible and welcomed”(Alvermann 2008, p. 18).  It is important to recognize students’ literacy abilities outside of school as tool to motivate and encourage critical readers and writers, however it should be used as an addition to the regular curriculum and not a substitution for what is being taught.  

   Facebook in Plain English                                                          

Facebook:
       This week we were asked to follow the social network, Facebook.  I am an active user of Facebook, which allows me to stay in touch with many of my friends and family who live out of town.  This week I used Facebook to “chat,” or instant message, my cousin who is volunteering in Africa for the year.  She was able to tell me about her arrival there as well as upload pictures to share with her family and friends.  I also used Facebook this week to “private message” members in my technology class, where we collaborated on our upcoming project on “social networking and bookmarking.”  I am very interested in seeing the movie, The Social Network, because it shows the effects of Facebook across all types of people, as well as how it changed there day-to-day lives.
Click here to read a brief synopsis of The Social Network 

Richardson’s chapters 6 and 9:

            Twitter is an excellent Web 2.0 tool that allows for educators and students to ask questions, through “tweets” and get answers.  It is in “real time,” meaning communication is as quick as someone can tweet or read tweets from people they are following. Chapter 6, like Greenhow’s article, also mentions how social bookmarking sites are beneficial when organizing articles and information, which allows you to annotate and highlight each piece of work.  Chapter 9 discusses social networks, such as Facebook and Ning.  Before reading, I was not familiar with what Ning was and how one could use it in the classroom.  One of the most appealing aspects to Ning, from an educators standpoint, it is self-contained, where classroom work is private and class portfolios can be created.