Social Networking and Digital Safety

When it comes to social networking, I love it! It is such an easy way to keep in contact with people, swap photos, organise get-togethers and parties but when it comes to using social networking in a classroom setting I get nervous.

Social networking sites have moved users from being more passive to more interactive. I know that I use to be a passive user of the internet until I got Facebook then I started to upload photos and comment and interact with my friends over the internet. It changed my whole perspective on how the internet can be used. But should we allow students to use these social networking sites in a classroom setting? I think it is important for students to be aware of these sites and the benefits of them but do teachers need to teach students this or as digital natives will they just get it?

I personally think there are s a lot better technologies that students can use in a classroom setting such as wikis and walled gardens these have functions that allow students to chat to each other and upload different things. Students will become accustom to using social networking sites outside the classroom. As a teacher you may want to talk about the benefits and dangers of using SNS but would not need to undertake explicit lessons.

A huge problem with these social networking sites is cyberbullying and cyberpredators. “Although technology provides numerous benefits to young people, it also has a ‘dark side’, as it can be used for harm, not only by some adults but also by the young people themselves. E-mail, texting, chat rooms, mobile phones, mobile phone cameras and web sites can and are being used by young people to bully peers”. http://www.atypon-link.com/AAP/doi/abs/10.1375/ajgc.15.1.68 This is known as cyberbullying and is a huge problem in today’s digital age. In a study performed by Q. Li in the article “New bottle but old wine: A research of cyberbullying in schools” over a quarter of year 7 students had been cyberbullied”. As a teacher you have to set clear policies on this issue. There are a number of activities you could use to combat cyberbullying. For example, explicit lessons on cyberbullying and the effects could be given, have a clear whole school policy on this issue, supervise the children using the internet and encourage students to speak up if they are experiencing cyberbullying.
Cyberpredation is a serious issue however the actual reported incidents are extremely low. The majority of cyberpredators are from people the children already know offline. It is important to educate students on this issue and warn students of the dangers. In class if students are using social networking sites allow them to only talk to each other. As a teacher I am wary of using social networking in classrooms because of this issue.