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Social Networking Sites
In K-12 contexts, using social networking sites for educational purposes is not to simply let students use social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, but to create a special social environment and tailor it for particular learning objectives. This process includes defining educational outcomes, defining the themes and/or topcis of the sites, and using typical social networking sites' features to design and facilitate learning activities.
Links to Resources
Social Networking Sites for K-12 Students
Whyville is an educational tool which is designed for children to understand their real life. Students can learn about history, journalism, civics, economics, etc. http://www.whyville.net
Webkinz pets are lovable plush pets that each come with a unique Secret Code. With it, you enter Webkinz World where you care for your virtual pet, answer trivia, earn KinzCash, and play the best kids games on the net!http://www.webkinz.com
The Barbie Girls™ world is designed to be a safe, fun, and exciting place for girls to play online. Girls can join the virtual community, create an online character, design her own room, earn B Bucks™ (virtual"money"), play games, watch videos featuring her favorite Barbie™ movies, and chat with other girls in a controlled environment. She can also enjoy an enhanced Barbie Girls™ experience with a V.I.P. membership, which would grant her access to exclusive areas, allow her to adopt virtual pets, "spend" B Bucks™, and play a number of great members-only games.http://www.barbiegirls.com
Club Penguin is a snow-covered virtual island where kids can play games and interact in a fun-filled, online playground that's guided by an unwavering commitment to safety http://www.clubpenguin.com
Neopets provides children with exciting games, puzzles and activities where children can chat to each other. Neopets has been available in many languages since 2004 -- including Spanish, French, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German and Dutch. http://www.neopets.com
Stardoll is a virtual paperdoll community site for everyone who enjoys fashion, design and making friends. At Stardoll you can create your own MeDoll or choose from our ever growing collection of celebrity dolls and dress them up in our wide selection of fashions. Every celebrity doll has a wardrobe full of unique clothes and there are new dolls released every week. The membership is completely FREE and most of our members are girls between the ages of 7 and 17. Stardoll is one of few places on the Internet developed with an emphasis on girls' self-expression through fantasy and fashion play. Stardoll is a great place to spend time with friends and to meet other kids from all over the world. We are committed to Stardoll as an inspiring, safe and creative environment. http://www.stardoll.com
Disney's Toontown Online, the first massively multiplayer online game designed specifically for kids and families, is an award-winning, kid-safe, endlessly evolving, and immersive 3-D online world. In Toontown, players, as Toons, join forces to save the world from the invading robot Cogs - humorless business robots who are attempting to turn the colorful, happy world of Toontown into a corporate metropolis. Because Cogs can't take a joke, Toons use cartoon gags to crack them up! http://www.ToonTown.com
Examples of social networking sites used in education
Is it possible to create a completely sustainable planet?
Pageflakes and a wetpaint wiki have been used to allow students to communicate and collaborate to work towards creating ‘earth 2’ – a sustainable planet.
Julie Squires, Mark Phillips, Casey Grammar School
http://www.pageflakes.com/j.squires/
http://sustainearth2.wetpaint.com/
Flat classroom project
Four year nine and one year ten student from Hawkesdale P-12 worked collaboratively with students from USA, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Spain and Australia to develop a digital movie judged by global judges.
http://flatclassroomproject.ning.com
They then travelled with their teacher Anne Mirtschin to a conference in Qatar:
http://flatclassroomconference.wikispaces.com/
Schoolyard blitz
Students design an outdoor space for their school using google sketchup.
Jodie Tilley and Pennie White
http://schoolyardblitz.wikispaces.com/
Idears and Tips on Using Social Networking Sites for Educational Purposes
This article and video talk about creating a network with Ning, a social networking site. Ning offers advertisement-free networks that are for 7-12 classrooms. Ning does not authorize use of their service for students younger than 13. http://edutech.dpsnc.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=144&Itemid=58
Bonfield (2008) discusses seven opportunities social networking sites provide, such as promoting specific actions or petitions, integrating existing social networks related to your organisation and strengthen relationships between people: http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page7935.cfm
List and Brent’s case study examines the effectiveness of one high school applied academic technological tool—Moodle, and non-academic technological tools—Ning and Twitter in the classroom using academic and non-academic online programs. Overall, their research results demonstrate that when utilising Ning and Twitter, the students were stimulated more easily: http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/winter2009/List/index.htm
A case study focusing on integrating social networking technologies in formal education: http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1074&context=edupapers
Cooper-Taylor (2008) listed 50 tips for using Twitter for education: http://cooper-taylor.com/blog/2008/08/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-education
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