TRY IT OUT: LESSON 19/ USING SOCIAL NETWORKS
The value of social networks within an academic environment cannot be underestimated. The Internet generation is engaged with technology.
In Chile, 96% of students reported using social networks but only 20% reported using them to talk about educational subjects. Therefore, 70% prohibited blogging, online discussion boards or any social networking sites at school. In most of them, for example, Facebook is blocked.
At the same time, only 15% of parents felt that social networks could conceivably improve their children’s reading and writing. most of them thought that, on the contrary, it affected both their writing and their social appropriacy greatly.
All this evidence of a disconnect among the participants in education (teachers, students and parents) presents a paradigm shift that needs to be clarified first. Placing it inside the college firewall would enhance its value dramatically while reducing concerns about the potential downside of these networks - cyber bullying, frivolous chat, use of explicit language, pictures or even inappropriate music. But still we have to see a lot of water flowing under the bridge.
As Chile is still in the threshhold of becoming a developed country, not everyone has access to a PC at home, a broadband connection and the computer literacy to engage in online activities.