So I was more excited about this week's reading because I actually use these tools. The first thing that comes to mind, however, is the stark prohibition of tools like Facebook in the classroom in the district where I teach. Recently, the board policy regarding this has undergone review but in the past it has been strictly forbidden to have a student as a friend on Facebook, use Facebook in the classroom and the website has been blocked. At one time, even the site Edmodo, an educational site that looks similar to Facebook, has been nixed. Though some authority figures say they want students to enjoy the learning experience, it seems that this contradicts what they actually allow. As educators, it is imperative that we meet students where they are and use the tools they already use on a daily basis to engage them in academic conversation, analytic thought and more. Edmodo is a great tool that is less criticized but doesn't do everything that can be done on Facebook. While we have discussion forums on Edmodo, I have often wished that students could mention each other in a comment, as is possible on Facebook. In that way, Sally could comment directly back to Joe and they would know this by checking their notifications.
Another tool of topic this week was Tumblr. My prior knowledge of this site was just what I heard from students. Apparently, Tumblr is the site that students choose to use with hopes of not being monitored by their parents. In other words, it isn't the "old people's site". One of this week's readings, about these tools, Doug Ward and Carol Holstead's account of "Using Facebook and Tumblr to engage students", describes how teachers can use both of these tools in the classroom. It suggests using Tumblr to find resources for the classroom, to organize sources, and to follow blogs that for example, might offer helpful hints for vocabulary strategies. Facebook is already a common tool that I use so I am planning on further utilizing this tool in my class. Even though my district hasn't officially opened its mind or doors to doing so, I feel confident that I can prove my utilization to be beneficial and appropriate. Some ways I intend to do this include: Facebook Discussion groups for class topics to discuss, source sharing group pages, and the use of the image macro for distributive summation in the classroom.
I also already love Pinterest. Though I use it to look for creative crafts and homemade solutions as the parent of a toddler girl, I know that this tool is also helpful if I find myself lost for creative outlines in the class or how to use and create citations and more. In fact, Pinterest led me to a great tool for teaching citations, one of the most boring and laborious parts of teaching writing. I cannot wait to try this out. My students could use some additional visual help with the importance of citations as we speak!
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