Social Networking

I first began using social networks while I was in high school, connecting with friends and family on Facebook and MySpace. I continued to use Facebook throughout college as I met many new people; I have also added Blogs, Linkedin, Pinterest, Twitter, and Wikis to my social network over the past few years. When I first began using social networks my main intent was for personal use, as I used Facebook and MySpace to socialize with others. Over time I began using social networks for more than my personal use, as I have used Blogs and Wikis through my courses at MSU to learn new information, share ideas with my peers and professors and to carryout discussions on diverse topics. Most recently I have been using Pinterest to obtain and share great lesson plan ideas, teacher resources, and activities to use with my students. I obviously also use Pinterest for my personal use as I share fun things to do, craft ideas, and new foods and drinks with my friends and family.

I think that my peers utilize the same social networks as I do; most of my peers are probably more active than I with their participation on Facebook and Twitter. In contrast, I think that I probably utilize Wikis and Blogs more than my peers who are not involved in education.

My current students are kindergartners, therefore many of the social networks I use are not a part of their everyday life. Some of my students do use Skype to connect with friends and family who do not live locally. My mentor teacher and I plan to incorporate Skype into the classroom by connecting with a current student who will soon be moving out of state.