The Socially Networked Classroom
Teaching in the New Media Age
- William Kist - Kent State University, USA
Foreword by Kylene Beers
"Kist writes as a learner should, sharing what he discovers along the way. I like even more that he asks important questions while capturing how he and several other master teachers have attempted to ask and answer them with their own students. You will, too."
—Bud Hunt, Blogger at Bud the Teacher
Instructional Technologist, St. Vrain Valley School District, Longmont, CO
"The innovative classroom activities in this engaging book will inspire teachers to help students acquire digital-media literacies for collaborating on and sharing their work—literacies essential for participation in a networked world."
—Richard Beach, Professor of English Education
University of Minnesota
"A veritable smorgasbord of ideas and suggestions. This text grabbed me right away, and I started flagging all sorts of ideas even in the earliest chapters. It is as if Bill Kist met me in the hallway, took me by the hand, and simply said, 'Come here, I want to show you something.'"
—Sheila M. Gragg, Technology Integration Coach
Ashbury College, Canada
Incorporate social networking into instruction, no matter your level of technological expertise or Internet access!
Web sites like Facebook and Twitter have transformed the way young people interact and communicate. With appropriate guidelines, students' social networking skills can be harnessed to develop new literacies and deepen teaching and learning in the 21st century.
The Socially Networked Classroom demonstrates how pioneering teachers have successfully integrated screen-based literacies into their instruction. This book includes:
- Real-world activities and lesson examples with assignment sheets, assessments, and rubrics
- Ideas on fostering collaborative learning using blogs, wikis, nings, and other interactive media.
- Tips on Internet safety, blogging etiquette, protected blogging sites, and more
- Blog entries from classroom teachers
With this accessible guide for Grades 5–12, teachers of all levels of technological expertise can help students develop the new literacies necessary to succeed in a digital world.
"Kist chronicles his journey in both the classroom and online, as well as that of many other teachers navigating these new spaces with their students. He writes as a learner should, sharing what he discovers along the way. I appreciate the notes from the road, and I suspect educators will find much to take back to their classrooms. I like even more that he asks important questions while capturing how he and several other master teachers have attempted to ask and answer them with their own students. You will, too."
"The innovative classroom activities in this engaging book will inspire teachers to help students acquire digital-media literacies for collaborating on and sharing their work—literacies essential for participation in a networked world."
"A veritable smorgasbord of ideas and suggestions. This text grabbed me right away, and I started flagging all sorts of ideas even in the earliest chapters. It is as if Bill Kist met me in the hallway, took me by the hand, and simply said, 'Come here, I want to show you something.'"
"This book marks our place in the whirlwind transformation of Internet technology that launched users in a surprisingly sudden (and often unnoticed) leap from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. Kist shows educators both a mirror and a map, explaining where we are and where we might go in this vastly rich frontier of knowledge and learning. The paths he shows us spill into layered networks of inter-crossing connections and intersections—a true 'web' of knowledge—replacing old, tired, and narrow paths."
"I loved this book. I learned a great deal about 'texts' and about how to teach 'texts' to students in the digital age. But what was so compelling about this book was the genuineness of the author; he cares passionately about his students and passionately about the subject matter. As Dewey points out, effective education must have an emotional component; indeed, the book’s credibility and authority derives from its core emotional energy."
"This book is totally compelling and geared to a slice of the teaching profession that is in desperate need of the kind of guidance and insight that Kist offers. By sharing his creative teaching methods, he points out the openings in teachers’ practice where shift can happen."
"This book is the push that many educators need to seriously think about why and how they 'do' technology in schools and implement the changes necessary to ensure our students are networked and connected 21st-century learners. It should be in the hands of all teachers and teacher-librarians."
This is a bit American biased but is a good way for all types of teachers to investigate the way social networks work and methods to use them effectively.
