technologies, so prevalent in their lives outside of school, are unwelcome in their classrooms. Many teachers can tell stories about the disruptive influence of video games and "social networks" in their classrooms and schools. Educators, researchers, and designers are just beginning to explore the educational benefits of social networking technologies. By connecting students and teachers, they can create strong communities of practice, essential aids to good teaching and learning. Social networking technologies help teachers and students extend their learning into an additional space, as Grott mentions.
Some teachers look at social networking as a negative thing, that only disrupts class time and takes away from studying. The don't see the positive of being able to connect classroom time home time and it's more of a way for teachers to stay connected with their class. There are many networks that can open eyes to the students about what more is going on in the world around them. For instance, having a twitter account keeps you informed, from celebrities mainly, about events and fundraisers going on. It's making simpler ways for the younger generations to stay informed about news events.
This article reminds me of the class we are in right now. Having so many accounts to different things online is crazy but also very effective because of the communication that is growing. As teachers I think its important to view networking as a great tool. Even collaboration can benefit from this idea (:
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