Pam Callahan’s EDUC628 Blog
Online Education Course
SNS update
Well, my two accounts (Facebook and MySpace) have grown to about eighty members, a mixture of students, former students, and classmates. I don’t use the blog feature very much, but I do use the comments and messaging quite a bit. I also go out and view pictures and comment on those.
The teacher group that I joined has been very nice for discussing classroom issues. It has a sizeable membership, and there are a lot of people posting on the site. I have only joined this one group, and reading the entries on it keep me very busy.
I have decided to keep my accounts after this class. I enjoy coming home and catching up on the days events. I have students who don’t talk much in class who communicate with me via these accounts. One student was nervous about prom and wanted some encouraging words. Another had a death in the family. And another lost a family pet. Kids say things here that they don’t say at school. SNS keep some kids from feeling like they are alone in this world. I think it is a nice evolution of technology that has occurred.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:31 am
I am so excited that your accounts have afforded a new way to talk with your students. My question is are you concerned that there is any risk to it?
May 1st, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I have thought about the risks that could be involved with having access to students. I decided that I have nothing on my site that an administrator or parent would find objectionable, all my comments are positive, and private messages sent via the messaging system to me are kept private and I respond with a private message. Comments are public, so I make sure those are positive as well. I have established my reputation at my school as someone who has the kids’ best interest at heart. All the stories I have heard about teachers getting in “trouble” has been because of objectionable materials, like lewd pictures and comments.