Friesen, N. (2010). Education and the Social Web: Connective Learning and the Commercial Imperative. First Monday: Peer Re viewed Journal on the Internet, 15(12). Retrieved October 14, 2014, from http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3149/2718
This article explores the commercial facet of social networking, pointing out that services such as Facebook and Twittering are fundamentally friends of advertisers. As such, we are their “product”, being sold to the advertiser at every click of the mouse. This is made possible by our willing, voluntary provision of oodles of personal information upon creating our accounts for such social media. Our age, family status, preferences, interests are mindlessly shared upon the request of the social media, so that this info can then become part of a complex algorithm that tells advertisers whether and with what products I should we targeted.
Q: How does this apply to social media for educational purposes?
Social media could be used to connect students in much the same way we are using it for this class. Students could research a particular topic and share postings online, creating dialog and exposing each other to alternate thoughts not yet explored.
AND, they could expose each other to alternate thoughts not yet explored- which is a common parental fear as their child embarks on an internet adventure.
This article reminds me of Channel 1 way back in the ‘90s. Channel 1 was an educational television feed, perhaps best described as a public television station that was all news (international/ local) relevant to high school kids. And so were the ads that were attached. Here’s the deal: Channel 1 paid for the installation of the TVs/ cables, and the school had to agree to show so many hours of the feed, including the ads woven into programming- no turning the TV off during the ads. Pasadena Unified declined the proposal on the principal that it was inappropriate to create a commercial environment in the public school system.
Q: Should we negate the value of social media for education?
While I very much agree with the author’s point (which seems to lean toward a disapproval of the use social media for educational purposes), we must be careful
not to throw the baby out with the bathwater
to stay current with technology and the practices of students.
I've never heard of Channel One but it sounds like it probably could have had some good content. I would also probably reject having kids sit through commercials at school though. It's just not a structure that people are going to accept. However, if it was commercial-free and subscription based it might cost the school some money but be easier for educators to stomach.
ReplyDeleteWhat ever it takes to get our kids to do well... I say we do that. Yes I agree we should not fear commercial influence as our students will face that for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Monica. Interesting point about Channel 1. It is similar to what Youtube does in a sense. You are allowed to skip so many ads when watching videos, but at some point you have to sit through a whole 30 second ad. I wonder if teachers who currently use Youtube as a resource are aware of the parallels.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad how we have to share so much personal information and then be "targeted" for ads based on our information and web history. But the pros of using the internet in the classroom outweigh the cons. Social media sites connect and engage students within their own classes and even with other students across the world.
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