Speak Up, Social Media!

Social networking in our schools. Words that strike fear into the hearts of many of our colleagues. However, I think it affords an intriguing possibility,  its potential in meeting kids where they are.

Today's student has been raised in an era of instant communication with information right at his/her fingertips.  I guarantee that most of my students spend a significantly larger percentage of their week on social media than they do on homework. Most would rather lose a finger than their phone. No, wait, not a finger, they need those for texting! Our students have obviously embraced a new form of communication filled with tweets, IMs, wikis and blogs. They are not even emailing anymore; email is so last week.  Why are we fighting this trend? What scares us about this new kind of communication?  I believe it is control. We are terrified that in allowing social media in our schools we are relinquishing control over how they spend their time at school and what goes into their brains while they are there. In outlawing social media at school we are forfeiting a key opportunity to engage students right where they are.  What have we to lose by boldly utilizing social networking to communicate with our students?

Now, what implications does social networking have for the media center? Well, in a recent study published in the School Library Journal it was found that media specialists are more likely to join social networking sites than teachers and principals, and they are more likely to adopt a variety of content-sharing tools for personal, professional, and classroom use. Obviously, media specialists are further down the road with adoption of social networking.  This should provide a leg up in making the media specialist and, by extension, the media center the coolest things at school.  Can you imagine a library full of QR codes providing library orientation, or students receiving tweets about new books based on the type of books they have previously checked out? How about students posting book reviews on a library blog? I can, and if you want your media center to be a  current, vital asset to your school, you should, too!

One complaint noted in the aforementioned study is that most media specialists are frustrated with their school districts blocking access to much of the social media they would like to utilize.  I know at my school, we are constantly running up against blocking of scads of worthwhile sites.  The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association, has prepared a useful resource to aid in educating the community and teens about responsible, safe use of social networking.  Check out their toolkit and start advocating for social networking in your school.


Here's  a website with an extensive list of social networking resources from Internet @ School.


 

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6705646.html

"Invasion of the Pod(cast) People"

I learned about podcasting the same way I learn of most technological innovations, from my child.  An inveterate NPR listener for as long as I can remember, he is presently attending college in the middle of nowhere public radio reaches.  He arrived home one break rambling excitedly about listening to loads of NPR program podcasts. As I am ever mindful of his sneaking suspicion that his mother is not nearly as hip as she says she is, I refrained from confirming said suspicion by asking "What's a podcast?" I find that a quick Google generally prevents many the faux pas when it comes to being current. A podcast, it seems, is the essence of simplicity, a modern twist on that old faithful radio program many earlier generations enjoyed.

Just what is a podcast?  Kristen Fontichiaro, in her article "Podcasting 101" in the School Library Journal, defines a podcast as "an audio file recorded on a computer and later shared with others." Sounds simple, right?  Well, it is. Thanks to the myriad types of recording equipment and programs out there, you can become an overnight podcast sensation.  Sites like Gabcast.com and Ourmedia.org will post your podcast for free.  Audacity is an amazing audio recording tool, and, it is free.  CreativeCommons.org provides music to be utilized without the usual hassle of purchasing through iTunes or worrying about the implications of pirating, and, once again, free.

But why education? And how might podcasting prove to be a useful and engaging educational tool? Well, here is an example from my personal experience.  When I taught second grade I spent a fortune on books with cassettes for my classroom library. I found that having audio to accompany the book introduced my students to reading with expression, increased good reader's fluency, and provided support for my struggling readers.  Fast forward fifteen or so years and consider the ease with which I could make that happen for every book.  And currently, my students struggle with Shakespeare. Who wouldn't if they had never heard it spoken? Podcasting provides the means for me to share Shakespeare with them.  But don't take my word for it. Listen to what I found during a brief survey of websites promoting podcasting as an educational tool.

Podcasting can:

• increase oral fluency 
• encourage students to write with a specific audience in mind
• help develop a writer's voice
• allow for distance learning
• facilitate self-paced learning
• provide a vehicle for re-mediation of slower learners
• allow faculty to offer advanced and or highly motivated learners extra content
• help students with reading and/or other disabilities
• promote multi-lingual education
• provide the ability for educators to feature guest speakers from remote locations
• allow guest speakers the ability to present once to many sections and classes
• allow educators to escape the tedium of lecturing
• offer a richer learning environment
• and, most importantly, increase confidence 

I teach English and drama in a ninth grade academy, and I can readily see my students becoming accomplished podcasters. Their technological skills far surpass my own.  Several times already this semester they have saved my bacon on assignments. I am imagining podcast interviews with Romeo and Juliet post mortem, drama students critiquing their own recordings for vocal qualities, and students preparing podcasts for classmates with the results of their research.

I informally interviewed my tech savvy, podcast-loving son the other night and he made a couple of good points concerning podcasts. First, the podcasts created for students need to be good quality and present material in an interesting fashion.  It is not enough to think that kids will buy into podcasts just because they represent a new technology. They might listen once on the basis of a podcasts novelty, but they will not come back if the podcasts are not good and interesting. Secondly, students who are creating podcasts for their peers need to be taught the value of source verification. One of the drawbacks of our ability to access information instantly is that not everything at the tip of our fingers is true or accurate. He sees enormous potential in student to student podcasting and quoted me that old adage about the best way to learn something is to teach it to others.

Being a novice myself, I am not going to attempt to teach you how to begin podcasting. However, in my research I located a couple really good sites with step by step instructions. Here they are:

http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/

http://classroomtech.pbworks.com/w/page/15984809/Podcasting

I hope you are as excited by the promise of podcasting as an educational tool as I am. Happy Podcasting!