I absolutely LOVED this article. It’s engaging and proactive not only for me,but for its target community (students). I completely agree with Winn’s integration approach and only wish I’d have thought of seeking this out first!
Using a controlled space on the internet to promote appropriate digital citizenship is a wonderful method by which we,as an educational community,can adequately prepare our students to use social media fittingly while embracing its potential to revolutionize learning instead of banning its overall use anywhere near public school campuses.
The fact that the social network created and maintained by Matt Winn has no privacy is a great way of enforcing the students (and staff) to act as if someone is always looking over their shoulder, so-to-speak. Everyone has access to everything! People typically do not care about what one another is doing or saying unless it concerns them or someone/something important to them. Through this completely transparent forum, students and staff are able to regulate and own up to their own behaviors in the digital community.
This is an arena for well-needed practice and a learning space not only for children to understand how to conduct themselves for a successful digital persona, but also to integrate technology in a shared space where the whole school community has an opportunity to learn and grow from one another’s ideas. This is the place to make drastic mistakes and learn about how to correct them before they are made in the truly public arena, a.k.a. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.
I see no setbacks, and that’s a rarity! Kudos, Matthew Winn!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share your thoughts!