21st Century Educators Don’t Say, “Hand It In.” They say, “Publish It!

Social networking could be (as you all may already know) used as a power tool for multiple purposes. However since we are currently being part of the learning process through the use of one blog, I wanted to know a little bit more of the trends for Social Networking in education… or how it is called in the article “Network education”
It seems that is getting more and more common to use the social networks to get to the people. Teachers looking for new ways to reach for their students are increasily using these methods, good news for those interested in learning, but bad news for those who frequently use the “call in sick” excuse to stay at home. Sorry guys… it seems that there’s no excuse to run away for technology.
The principal article in which this entry is based, was written by Lisa Nielsen, a current teacher and Manager for the “New York education center”, and is one of the continuous bloggers for this type of experimentation, here’s the 6 ways in that she sais the education is moving towards this trend.

WRITING
Hand it in teaching:
Write a report about [place boring topic or classic book title here] and hand it in to the teacher. If you’re lucky, we’ll place one copy of your final work on the bulletin board or in the class library.
Publish it teaching:
Publish your own book or work in a group to publish a real book for a real audience, that can be purchased by anyone in the world who is interested in your topic. After you write your book I will help you promote it in appropriate places. In addition to well-known authors, student written books will also be offered for purchase in book fairs and during fund raising efforts.
Technology used:
Lulu or Blurb

READING
Hand it in teaching:
Read the book I tell you and write a book report which I will read and hand back to you with some comments. Some papers will end up in the trash and some our bulletin board.
Publish it teaching:
Join our class online learning network where you will join a group based on the book you are reading. You will select a character from the book whose profile you will take on in the learning network. In the network you will create your profile page, engage in discussions and contribute blog posts as if you were the assigned character.
Technology used:
Ning

MATH
Hand it in teaching:
Read the chapter and answer the questions at the end. Or, complete this worksheet.
Publish it teaching:
Students demonstrate their knowledge of mathematical concepts by creating screencast tutorials that other students can view, rate, and comment on and discuss.
Technology used:
Either Jing, Screentoaster, or Screenjelly

ELL/TESOL (teachers of English so speakers of other languages)
Hand it in teaching:
Translate this passage in your workbook.
Publish it teaching:
Have students create a Voki or use Google voice to share an oral presentation that shares something about themselves that they want other people to know in the language being studied. Set up a place where the Vokis or recordings can be published and where students can comment upon one another’s work. This enables to listen to and respond to each other’s work and even respond with another Voki recording.
Technology Used:
Voki or Google Voice

COOKING Hand it in teaching:
Students learn to cook something. Write down the recipe and cook the meal. At the end of the class they have a cook book of meals with their notes. The teacher grades this and gives it back to the student with comments.
Publish it teaching:
Students learn to cook something. They post on a blog the recipe, how to make it, nutritional facts, and for what a teenager might want to make this meal. They embed a cooking show like video of a different “Kid in the Kitchen” with each post as well as a photo of the finished product. Class members comment on the blog entry and rate and comment on the video. The blog is shared with other cooks and students around the world for feedback, rating and comments.
Technology used:
blog, video, photos

HISTORY / SOCIAL STUDIES
Hand it in teaching:
Read the chapter or read the website and complete this worksheet or complete the questions at the end of the chapter.
Publish it teaching:
How often do we tell our students, “The Entire Span of Human History Is In Your Hands!” How exciting is that for students to know? For those wondering why I’m considering this “Publish it teaching” it is because this is a real-time online game. Students are playing just with a computer game. The other game characters are other people…perhaps classmates, perhaps not. The students literally becoming a part of an immersive historical environment where in real time they are a part of history…interacting, chatting, strategizing. They must know the historical ages, conduct research, and be familiar with society at the time period they are in to succeed. And…this is available in multiple languages allowing students with a variety of different languages to interact together.

This article exposes new great methods to reach the students; it appears to have everything accounted, since it covers some of the toughest topics that you can run into in the High school years. Taking advantage of new exiting-technologies, that, in young minds could really create a question and invite them to look for something more, is a good idea in order to look for knowledge. The relation between the words Communication/Information is the key to create strong links in education, having the information is a great source of power, but sharing it, gives the power of reference and that is the main idea for education through social networks. However the article does not take in consideration that more than 70% of the world population does not have access to a computer and it would take them years (if so) to get to use one.

In conclusion, the article presents these Social networks as a source of knowledge through information sharing, which is indeed new and exciting, but for only a small part of the population, the rest of the planet will still have to stick to the “old ways” to transfer information and knowledge creation because of a lack of resources that doesn’t seem to have a quick solution.

Sources:
http://sharetheaddiction.edublogs.org/2009/08/17/20-social-networking-sites-for-teachers/
http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2009/11/21st-century-educators-dont-say-hand-it.html

David Giraldo Ferrer