Social Networking

Social Networking Classroom Activities/Resources

Definition of Social Networking: A group or community where information is gathered and shared with others through online websites.

Elementary Classroom (K-5)

1. www.poptropic.com This website is through Fun Brain and allows students to play fun educational games with their peers. 2. www.gaggle.com Gaggle is a safe collaborative tool that teachers can easily monitor students as they interact online and can also store files for easy access.

Middle School Classroom (6-8)

1. www.blogger.com 2. www.wikipedia.com 3. www.twitter.com 4. www.collaborizeclassroom.com Student can use blog and wiki websites to create original individual posts, share ideas on projects, share written reflections, and respond to others’ comments. These sites can be managed by the teacher and allow students to socially connect in and outside of the classroom.

High School Classroom (9-12)

1. www.epals.com This websites allow students to begin socially connecting outside of their class or school and begin global networking. They can communicate with students in other countries and explore social issues on a larger scale. 2. RSS feeds RSS feeds also help students to stay connected with news around the world, social media websites, and other interesting websites they want to follow. Websites like Google allow students to gather all of the websites they want to follow and organize them all on one page to review at once. RSS feeds aid students in building their own Personal Learning Networks (PLN) to connect with the world. 3. www.podcasts.com Creating audio and video presentations through Audacity or Windows Moviemaker can be shared as Podcasts through iTunes and can be linked or embedded to websites for others to view. 4. www.google.com/+ Using a Gmail account, students can upgrade to Google+ and create their own social networking groups via email. This allows them to share photos, music, and other information with their different “circles” or groups they create.

General (All Grades)

The following resources can be used at any grade level. 1. www.blogger.com 2. www.wikipedia.com 3. www.collaborizeclassroom.com 4. www.epals.com 5. www.gaggle.com 6. www.elgg.org