Social Networking in the Elementary Classroom

Social media in the classroom can be a taboo subject at any level.  At the elementary level, this is especially true because of the age and ability levels of the students.  While it is absolutely possible for a variety of social networking tools to be utilized in elementary classrooms, I found it somewhat difficult to find examples of their integration with this age-group.

I have become an advocate of the use of social media in elementary classrooms as a result of my experiences with social networking in EDTECH 543 this semester.  As I researched integration examples and social networking criteria, I came across an Edutopia article by Beth Holland (2013) in which communication through social media is compared to the thank-you notes and friendly letters of previous generations.  Putting social media into this perspective gives it even more relevance and importance at the elementary level.  Students cannot be expected to just participate and know how to interact with others and with content on networking sites.  They must be taught at a young age so that responsible practices become second nature.

In looking for examples of social media integration, the social network that appeared most often through my search was Twitter.  Twitter is utilized in many elementary classrooms as a method for students to reach out to the world as a class to share, communicate, and collaborate with parents, other classes, authors, and other experts in content material. 

I was able to find a couple of examples of Facebook used in elementary classrooms, but not as many as with Twitter.  The focus of Facebook's use in the elementary classroom seems to be for parental communication and updates.  There was some interaction with others beyond home and school mentioned in the examples, but it was not the primary focus of its integration.

While searching examples, I was able to learn about a new social media platform that I had never heard of, called ELGG.  What made this example and platform stand out to me was its approach to social networking from a walled garden perspective.  Because protection of student privacy is of utmost concern when social media is considered,  this may be a good compromise for schools not yet ready to introduce students to other social media platforms.  The classes set up in ELGG are given the ability to blog, comment, and interact with other students, but only within their class.  They are still able to practice digital citizenship and 21st century skills, just on a smaller scale.

The most common theme I noticed throughout all of the examples is the emphasis on keeping students safe.  Student permissions varied from allowing the use of first names and posting of student photos, to examples in which both of these things were withheld and all information was presented from a class moniker.    No matter where along the spectrum the examples fell, they all do everything necessary to ensure students are protected from inappropriate content at all times.  I believe this to be an important first step in teaching students to use social media in a safe and beneficial manner.

Here is the link to my curated content on social networking in the elementary classroom.


References:

Holland, B. (2013). Introducing social media to elementary students. Edutopia. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/introducing-social-media-lower-elementary-beth-holland