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Running head: Social Networking

The Need for Social Networking for the Classroom

Barbara Roesler

Fall 2009

Bemidji State University FasTrack

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The Need for Social Networking in the Classroom

Students in America have never before had so much technology at their fingertips.

Social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook have skyrocketed to pop culture

importance, not only excelling in popularity, but also in the frivolity of their contents. One

might wonder if social networking might actually work as a learning tool for secondary students.

Taking into consideration the benefits of computer proficiency, student familiarity with the

platform, opportunity for teachable situations it provides, and the wide range of communication

types it encompasses, social networking could be useful and effective.

Social networking in education can be good for the future of our society and for our

students. Using computers and the Internet has been shown to correlate strongly with quality of

life (US Department of Education, 2006). People who engage this type of technology experience

have been shown to achieve higher education and greater workforce potential (US Department of

Education, 2006). Also, students who use computers gain technology skills, which employers

today find appealing in potential employees (US Department of Education, 2006). Computer

and Internet use, such as what could be achieved through a social networking site may help

prepare students to become productive adults in our society.

But how realistic is it to require all students in your classroom to often use a computer

with internet access? Science Daily reported that according to a University of Minnesota(2008)

study of urban, Midwestern students ages 16 to 18, “94 percent (of students) used the Internet, 82

percent go online at home and 77 percent had a profile on a social networking site.”(p.1). Those

strong numbers suggest that many students are using computers in their homes and schools

already. Students are in the habit of using computers to play games, to do school assignments,
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and to be online (US Department of Education, 2008). The fact is that students enjoy using

computers and are accustomed to it.

Educators are always on the looking for new ways to stimulate students to perform better.

Social networking may be what they are seeking. A recent Organisation for Economic Co-

operation and Development (2006) report suggests that pupils who are technology literate as a

result of frequent computer use have higher assessments in some content areas. Not only will

students be learning more, but they’ll be more interested too. The US Department of Education

(2006) reported that students who use often use computers find the experience sparks interest and

desire to learn the intended content. Teachers could be harnessing this enthusiasm for education.

A social networking website offers many options to the user including blogs, forums,

chat, an event calendar, and the ability to link out to the internet. In general, this platform allows

the user to be steered in a direction (i.e. Review this article on clear cutting the rain forest…),

then allows the user the ability to react through discussion (i.e...then write a reflection in the

forum on the implications this will have for our air quality). Many possibilities exist for how a

social network can be used in a biology class, for example. Students can: help collaborate on

homework, post lab reports and review another student’s work, use practice quizzes to study,

react to a webpage or graphic posted on the social network.

Today’s technology-bombarded student is a different animal than the student of the past.

Using a social networking website to supplement the classroom may help to adapt teaching to the

learning of today’s student, and may help better prepare them for the future.
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References

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2006). Regular computer users

perform better in key school subjects, OECD study shows. Retrieved September 19,

2009, from

http://www.oecd.org/documentprint/0,3455,en_2649_201185_35992849_1_1_1_1,00.ht

ml

University of Minnesota (2008, June 21). Educational Benefits Of Social Networking Sites

Uncovered. Science Daily. Retrieved September 19, 2009, from

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080620133907.htm

US Department of Education (2006). Computer and Internet Use by Students in 2003.

Retrieved September 19, 2009, from http://nces.ed.gov/PUBSEARCH/pubsinfo.asp?

pubid=2006065