The only social network I belonged to before entering CEP 810 was facebook. I joined the site in 2005, when it was first becoming big and you had to have a college or university e-mail address in order to join. It has only served as a personal network for me, linking up with old friends from high school, new friends from various places, and now even my mom has an account. I use it mainly as a source to manage my digital pictures, keep up on what my friends are doing (also known as “facebook stalking”), and sometimes update my status. I have noticed over the past year or so that many businesses, musicians, celebrities, organizations, etc. have facebook pages. So, the website is no longer just for stalking your friends, it is a useful networking tool where people can learn of upcoming events, share ideas, form or join groups, and communicate easily with others.
After learning about the positive attributes of social networking for professional reasons, I want to be able to expand mine to include sites other than facebook. I joined the professional networks LinkedIn and Classroom 2.0, in hopes that I connect with other teachers, both new and experienced, to learn how they use technology in their classrooms. I hope to somehow integrate a social network, along with many of the other productivity tools I have recently learned of, in my classroom.
The professional networks like LinkedIn come in handy for keeping up with various trends. I like that people pose interesting questions about learning and students and everyone remains on topic. Other networks often have comments that start off 'reasonable' but divert into personal agendas. I seldom follow conversations on Facebook, for example.
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