Educational benefits of social networking sites uncovered

Don't know about Myspace, but I heard Facebook was pretty useful and real.

Perhaps not MySpace and Facebook, but things like Current and forum-based social networking sites, they have opened my mind, which is the purpose of education: to enrich your mind and broaden its horizons.

Websites, especially those like Current, who's purpose is to tell you about what's going on the world and the different view points in it, they are helping people learn and grow. MySpace and Facebook, they're pointless other than fattening our youth and helping them develop social skills - which they already have. Though, if they meet people across the world and actually DISCUSS with them, they can learn...

Now, forum based networking websites that actually allow people to talk to all these different opinions anonymously, they are also helping us learn. When you can share your opinions freely and openly, without being afraid of who you are, who you're talking to, they are also helping youths learn. When you share opinions and discuss them, then you are learning; not only social skills, but the ability to see the other side of the story, the point of view from the other side - these are both necessary to succeed into today's society. Not to mention the free and easy flow of information by the simple movement of a finger.

This is bullshit, I can't believe people at a University would be trying to glorify Myspace and other sites as a learning tool. Let's take another study of all the kids that want to hook up, get laid, make out, do drugs, bully kids etc etc. Let's do a study on all the kids that want you to hear their brand new emo band, or look at them and their friends video taping a "ghetto fight" at school. These social networking sites aren't for learning, it's for social networking, and most of it isn't a good thing.

It could be a cop out for educators to turn over education in social skills to these networks. Granted the social networks are making people more aware of what it takes to function in society. But so did the "reality" show Survivor. It has the same problem though, little or no parameters. In life, most interaction is governed by accepted standards of behavior.

This isn't about computer technology courses, or about search forums, or strictly informational sites. This is about social networking sites, and since you work in a school, I'm surprised you still haven't figured out the difference between the two.

I love how this study says they learned alot about different things, did they go into detail about those things. What if one of the things they said they learned about, let's say a different race, was delved into deeper to include details, and they said they learned that most african americans like rap music but some even like country. Or hispanic people can speak mostly english and alot of them weren't born in Mexico (obviously these are examples of contradictions to stereotypes held mostly by white people).

I mean it's a little vague to say they learned so much, but not go into detail about what they learned to see if it has any real educational substance or just some trivial pointless fact much better learned through face to face contact and interaction.

School isn't about learning how to maintain a long distance friendship with someone, or how to add a URL to a post about Britney Spears, etc, etc.

Dumbing schools down by trying to tout the benefits of social networking sites where pop fluff rules and there is only an occassional ounce of truth or educational matter in them, is more than a little naive.

They can learn all the things supposedly found on social networking sites, utilizing informational sites.

Yeah, like now I totally know that, this girl I used to have a crush on sent me a virtual tree.

I had a crush on her up until she sent me a virtual tree.

This is definitely not the first study of this kind. I took an entire class surrounding this issue, and there are indeed many benefits and social implications that arise from social networking sites. They promote socialization and intelligent design to the younger generation of users.

I am not all that surprised by the article, but I am sure many teachers and school administrators would be shocked!

Social networks make the internet more than just a researching tool or news resource for kids- it teaches them how to utilize the web in ways they are not being taught at school. If only educators could learn to incorporate it into their lesson plans! US schools lack technology and media classes both of which are absolutely necessary to succeed professionally.

Another great article regarding the use of social media by teens based on their socioeconomic standing is Never Ending Friending.

I don't care what anyone says, Facebook, as addictive as it can be, is the best thing to happen to me and my long distance friends.

I love using it and having it as my disposal to keep up with my friends.

Aha! Another way to justify the absurd amount of time I spend on facebook...

To clarify my position on social networking just a bit, while there is a little educational benefit in Facebook and MySpace, I am thinking more of blogs, wikis, photo and video sharing sites and other tools that allow users to share and create information.

I didn't write this piece or gather the data so I'm not sure why you would address this to me. I'm also curious as to why you're so certain ALL children use the Internet? That's a bit like thinking everyone reads books.

I don't have a problem with this statistic. "of those observed". Go to a rural or urban school district, there could be more who don't use. Not everyone has internet at home. Some have computers, but no internet. If they don't have Internet at home, don't know how to use basic programs, conduct a search or discern the results and they then go to school where they're expected to know how to use these things, but are not taught, then they will not use the Internet. If they have physical or visual disabilities, they might not use the Internet if they've not been instructed on using accessibility devices. If they cannot read, they will not use the Internet. You might check out literacy rates of students if you school district.

Hang on a second - "Of the students observed 96% of them used the internet"; ONLY 96% of them??? I can't believe that there are students in the US who don't use the internet.

i don't know how long this back and forth will continue, but i admire your passion! i hope you're putting it to good use and working for or with children.

i'm not sure if you've agreed that these sites do have any educational merit? you do seem to agree that teachers need more training. many of the things you've alluded to will exist in education both on and offline no matter how much is made available on the internet. filtering is not currently done by individuals, its done by software and there are many grants available to fund them. currently, schools have a huge pool of federal dollars available to them for computers, software, internet and the like IF they filter! I think that as we continue to implement technology into education we have to teach responsible and ethical use. we must teach how to work collaboratively with information and how to create new information products. we can continue as we are now with the use of filters and guarded sites, but even with these tools which are designed to protect children, abuses still occur. we cannot expect filters to do it all.
i'm not talking theoretical. i work in a school. i see what exists--the good and the bad and i realize how much more my students need.

Oh and the cost issues had nothing to do with the sites, I obviously know they are free. I was referring to the costs of setting up schools with the appropriate equipment, software, and technicians to deal with the tracking and regulation of the internet sites that are being used. And those are just some of the costs.

That was by using conference equipment, we weren't on social networking sites. It is a very different animal (social networking sites). I wish everyone would consider all aspects, not just the one benefit of giving them (students) a chance to use social networking for the sake of sticking it to the education system for regulating school curriculum sometimes a little too strictly.

I agree it could have it's benefits, but we also have to realize there are more than just a couple of possible repercussions. We are living in times where parents threaten to sue schools all the time for exposing their children to things they themselves can't control. We (the Current.com community) were just discussing how parents were outraged their children were learning about homosexuals in class on a different thread.

What do you think would happen if a student ends up using a social network their parents usually regulate at home at school to meet up with individuals they otherwise would have no access to? What would happen if a teacher ended up using the social networking site to fraternize with a student during school hours?

There are many aspects to consider, especially since everyone in our society has been taught to sue for any little thing to get some money. I agree our school system is lacking and could use more advanced tools to teach and also a more comprehensive curriculum, but that can be done in many ways, not just by opening up social networking sites such as Myspace, Friendster, or Facebook to students during school hours.

Sure maybe Current.com, but then you have to take into consideration that if they (schools) only allow one social networking site on school grounds then the other social networking sites could sue based on discrimination or bias. It sounds ridiculous but in this country it is not only possible, it happens all the time.

I'm not dogging social networking sites, I just think it's a little presumptuous to assume that students would simply use these sites for what they are intended to be used for in school. It opens up a lot of legal and ethical questions that could end up costing schools more than they would help.

We have to be able to responsibly allow students access to these sites at the same time promising to safeguard them against anything bad they may run into on those sites (easier said than done). Most teachers barely keep track of students when they are right in front of their face, much less with a screen blocking their view or their backs turned to the teacher.

Let's say we could manage to have a setup in which teachers can observe their students' every move online, will we be able to offer those tools to all students & school districts? Will that in turn mean we should give those teachers a raise for having to now deal with another issue in their classrooms (their students' attention and safety)? And will we be able to pay those higher wages. I would love to imagine the answers are simple and effective, but they aren't. Much less with the government we currently have in place, they make more cuts to education and school districts every year, moreso now than ever.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, I just believe we should be more responsible when proposing something that isn't as cut and dried as people on here are making it seem.

how well do you think your teachers instructed you about using the internet? would you have been as engaged in classes that never used computer technology? yes, teachers need better training on using computers and teaching with them, but to say "NO" and void them completely is not being responsible. students have to learn information literacy skills and using the 'net to exchange information is an important part of this picture. no, it will not create perfect little students! kids are going to be kids! we've got to be better about challenging and educating them! btw, social networking sites are usually free.

I don't know about that... there are enough distractions in schools as it is, now you want to add social networking sites to that list. Kids pass notes in school and you think that all students will be responsible and use it strictly for educational purposes while in school?

Gimme a break... I can see your argument if there was a way to block what gets shown on a computer screen so efficiently they would be able to enable social networking sites and not have to worry about them being used for anything other than educational purposes, but even the most advanced filters use pretty broad terms and phrases to ban content. Schools can barely afford to pay the educators that should be teaching in the first place. I think before we consider allowing social networking sites in school, we should throw money at improving curriculum and paying educators what they should be paid in the first place and giving them the tools they (the educators) need before we argue that kids will benefit from having social networking sites enabled at their schools.

P.S.
When I was in high school we had the internet in all my classes (I was in advanced and correspondance courses, so it was necessary). However, within a month so many of the students had downloaded viruses, porn, unauthorized sites, music, chat sites, game sites, etc, that most of the time the entire system was down and technicians had to be called in to fix the problems. After that year, they installed a pretty strict filtering program to control use. Most times when you give kids these options they abuse it and don't use it what it's meant for. Let's improve the actual learning, then we can implement tools that can be a distraction, once the students have an appreciation for the material they are learning so they'll use them (the social networks) for educational purposes.

share this with your school administrators and "tech experts" and legislators who continually block all social networking sites so that they can continue to receive fed dollars!
if we teach with this stuff, students will learn responsible use. if we ignore it, who knows what they will learn!

That's great news. Let's hope Big Brother doesn't get total control.

Yeah, I'm not sure it would be wise to say that these sites should be thought of as educational tools... I would think we'd want students to know about the issues and information on a first hand basis, rather than simply going online and reading something.

It's the same as saying looking up Wikipedia makes you smarter, it doesn't. It may put information at your fingertips, but the information you look up or the views you adopt depend on the knowledge you have beforehand. Hence, you have some pretty stupid things said on threads from people who claim to know what they are talking about, when they don't apply it (the information) to real life situations to gain a better understanding of the issue, instead they simply copy and past links for things that sound like something they might agree with. Forget about whether that's something they should believe for the greater good or not.

I agree that in many ways social networking has a way of dumbing down our society...but Facebook has become a necessary evil in my life to keep up with acquaintances it would otherwise be too awkward to contact. I'm still a proponent of face-to-face communication for everyone's benefit. Nothing makes communication clearer than body language.

I still maintain that Myspace has as large a hand in making today's generation stupid as text messaging.

Tell any school administrator to include "Myspace" or any social network website into teaching and you all know the answer, a big NO. I don't know a school where websites like this aren't being blocked.

current viewers knew this was a good thing! teachers see the positive ways the web has helped them and the students want to learn even more about different topics as a preschool teachers assistant who has used the web as a tool for my students, ive changed the way i teach and yes my kids are reaching their goals ahead of time,most of my students are from low-income families and 80% have access to the web at home. YEAH!!!!!!