The Realities of Social Networking

There seem to be a few main motivators for people to use social networking...

1. Its a way to stay connected to one's world.
2. It allows individuals to collaborate through sharing ideas and knowledge without being together in person. 
3. Its a form of self promotion through personal and/or professional networks.  

Most social media interactions fall into one of these categories and although there are many instances where it has been used for bullying or given a negative connotation, social networking isn't a bad thing.  It is a way for individuals to communicate and collaborate with others around the world in ways that weren't conceivable two decades ago.  Social networks have revolutionized the way business is conducted and how individuals learn.

In the classroom, social media can be a powerful tool that enhances the learning experience and allows students to interact with other students (locally or globally) who are learning the same material.  It gives students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and learn 24/7, not just when they are in the classroom.  Students also benefit when their teacher uses social networking to collect and share ideas with other educators to develop interactive lessons that engage students and lead to student achievement.   In just one week of using twitter to follow tweets (not quite ready to send my own tweets yet) I have accessed numerous articles on current education initiatives and found tons of online resources that help integrate technology into the classroom.  It is a much more efficient way to research teaching techniques then just doing a google search....magically my twitter "inbox" is filled with new ideas, articles, and website links  each time I log on and check the feed.