Social Networking
I am a digital native and a digital immigrant. I have not known technology my whole life, but I was introduced to it at the very early age of eight, so I fall in that awkward gap of knowing more than my older colleagues and just a tad bit less than some of my most internet savvy students. Recently I was asked to look at my social networking habits, and in dissecting them I realize just how little I really use social networking. For the most part, I have tried my hardest to remain as anonymous as possible on the internet in an effort to keep my professional and personal lives separate, but I do enjoy engaging in some of these practices personally and professionally.
In my personal life, I use Facebook. Facebook is more or less a way for me to stay connected with all of my friends and family all over the country. I was born and raised in PA, but have lived the last 8 years in CO, so it has been incredibly useful in allowing me to stay in touch with those that I am closest to. I also use it to stay updated on different news channels that I follow, I chat through the instant messenger feature, and I post an occasion status or picture album to keep my friends and family in the know about my life. My coworkers and I also use it to send educational articles and hilarious school memes once in a while.
Beyond these things, social networking with Facebook, Twitter, and related programs hasn't been a very big part of my life. I have used Reddit extensively in my professional career to access teacher resources and talk with educators from around the world. Whenever I have an idea for something new to try in my classroom, besides asking my coworkers, Reddit is my usual go-to place to ask other educators their opinions.
In terms of what I could do to extend the usefulness of social networking, I think I could use it more to communicate my own experiences to others in order to help those who've been in similar positions. In terms of using social media for teaching purposes, I find it almost impossible due to the limitations and bans my district IT personnel place on websites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Besides networking for my own professional use, I am unable to engage my students with this aspect of the interwebs, but I am still curious to know how others use them to supplement and enhance their instruction.