Social-networking article (Facebook, MySpace, Xanga)
I teach undergrad students who are in training to be educators in K-12 schools. I keep an eye on several publications that are geared toward the interests of teacher practitioners. I came across an article "Social-Networking Web Sites Pose Growing Challenge for Educators" in the latest edition of Education Week. The article calls attention to the manner in which school districts are addressing legal concerns related to student usage of Facebook, and other Internet-based social-networking services such as MySpace and Xanga. It mentions issues related to regulating student on- and off-campus activities. Lots of attention is given to protecting student best interests. The article can be accessed online via the www.edweek.org web site. You will need a subscription to access the article. If you don't have one, you can register to get a free subscription which will give you access to the publication and limited access to complete copies of article. -- Gail Gail Taylor, M.Ed. Human Resource Education Ph.D. Student Educational Psychology Teaching Assistant Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Here's another article on teen social networking, this time in a British context...........Alex Kuskis Show and tell online Social networking sites have gone from being the next big thing to the thing itself. But, asks Sean Dodson, can they continue to hold the fickle attention of today's teens? Thursday March 2, 2006 The Guardian After decades of devotion, the British teenager is falling out of love with the television. For many, the old TV set is no longer the first thing they turn to after a day at school. Sadly for teachers, it's not always homework that kids are turning to as a substitute, but rather a group of fast-growing websites that let them watch - and communicate with - each other. In the past 12 months, "social networking" has gone from being the next big thing to the thing itself. Last month, MySpace, the site that famously propelled the Arctic Monkeys to pop stardom, overtook the BBC website in terms of visitor numbers. Along with competing sites Bebo and Facebook, MySpace has formed one of the fastest growing sectors on the internet. Latest data from the internet traffic monitor Hitwise reports that visits to MySpace, the market leader, have grown sixfold year on year, while those to rivals Spaces.MSN.com are up 11-fold and to Bebo.com an amazing 61 times more. To their users, social networking sites fill a number of functions: part diary, part shareable contacts book, part social club. For a generation of teenagers, they are increasingly becoming as important as ownership of a mobile phone. The fastest growing is Bebo.com, which, like its US counterpart Facebook.com, bases its membership around lists of schools and colleges, a kind of Friends Reunited for people who are still there. And teenagers are taking to Bebo quicker than they can pop a can of paprika-flavoured Pringles; there are 4 million in the UK alone. ......................................................[snip]................................................................. http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1720763,00.html
participants (2)
-
Alex Kuskis -
GTa3411203＠aol.com