Social Media in the Classroom

There are so many different pros and cons when it comes to social media in the classroom. Today’s generation is definitely a tech-savvy one. All students from the 1^st grade to college level students are familiar with technology and the Internet. Students from 13 years old to all college students have experienced with social networks one way or another. Social media is a great way to increase student engagement and build better communication skills. One good pro is that social networks such as Facebook or Twitter can improve communication among students and teachers. Teachers can answer students’ questions, post homework assignments and lesson plans, send messages and updates, schedule or announce upcoming events, and much more over these social networks. Students can use Twitter and Facebook to get help from instructors or even other students. A great way for teachers, who use these social networks in their classrooms, to give participation points is by having students tweet about something that was discussed in class. Social medias can be a great way for students to express themselves, especially those students who are shy in the classroom. Using YouTube to record and broadcast a lecture would be a great strategy for any teacher to do. By doing this and having students comment on the video or even write a paper on the video gives students a chance to watch the lecture as many times as they want and really take their time to reflect on the topic at hand. A con is that social medias can be very distracting in the classroom. Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube can ultimately be disruptive to the learning process. Most students conduct most of their lives over social networks. I know that I personally get very distracted when I have a homework assignment to attend to. I can spend most my time on Facebook when I should be studying. Because of Education 407, I have been introduced to Google +. I love this social network, especially as a student. The hangout part of this network has to be my favorite. Using this tool to teach a lesson is a great way to integrate social media into the classroom. Its especially great to have when you have a small class, because their can be some difficulties with a large group. 

Cell Phones & Group Collaboration

I absolutely loved using my cell phone for this assignment. This is probably one of the best ways to integrate technology into the classroom. I use my cell phone for EVERYTHING! I spent $300 on my camera and I have not used it in 2 years. All my photos are taken on my cell phone and uploaded to social networks from my cell phone. Today at work my boss asked my to call 411 to get the number to the gas company, I literally looked at him like he was crazy. I completely forgot what 411 was because I use the internet on my cell phone to get the phone numbers I need. I make restaurant reservations, check movie times and trailers, book hotels, check and send emails, and so much more on my IPhone. I've become so attached to my cell phone that I wonder if I'd be able to live a day without it! 

This homework assignment was a lot of fun. I loved seeing the picture ideas my group-mates came up with. My group worked really well together. We all had our own ideas and they came together so well. Our group consists of 4 girls and our name is 'The Golden Girls.' We chose the Cinderella story to tell. My job was to take pictures of the evil step mother, mice, prince charming, and a party invitation. I went to PetCo to take the picture of mice and I went to Hallmark to take the picture of the invitation. When I saw that my group mate took a picture of her daughter as Cinderella I immediately thought that our prince charming should be my little cousin Alex. He's about her age and he's just as adorable as she is. When I was thinking about what to do for the evil step mother I thought of my aunts Halloween costume. The picture I got could not be more perfect for the evil step mother. I really enjoyed this assignment and I may find a way to incorporate this into my classroom, for my students, one day. I especially loved working with the google docs presentations. It is so cool to me that all of us can work on and edit the same powerpoint presentation at the same time. It was extremely convenient for all of us. We were all able to put our pictures directly on the presentation instead of emailing each other back and forth. Google docs is something that I will use all the time! I found this snow globe at Hallmark when I went to take a picture of an invitation. I thought it would make a great picture for our cover on the presentation.  

Shift Happens!

What a cool video!!! It was very insightful. I sort of wish I lived in Great Britain in 1900. It is so bazar to me how many people perform Google searches, 2.7 billion, in one month!!! And that's in 2006, I cant even imagine how high that number is now! "Google-ing" has become a way of life. I probably say "Google it" like 10 times a day! I thought California was over populated, boy was I wrong! India has taken the trophy for a place I would not want to live. The amount of people who graduate college speaking English in India mind-boggles me. It makes me wonder how many college graduates in the U.S graduate college speaking a foreign language. It's crazy how times are constantly changing. I can't imagine what the future is going to be like. When I was 15 years old, I got my first cell phone. My 4 year old cousins have an Ipad each! To themselves!! I am 24 years old and I don't even have an Ipad! I guess that all I can say is .... SHIFT HAPPENS! :)