ETP Manhattan

By Christine Sobek | Waubonsee Community College President

Published: 6/1/2008 12:08 AM

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, about 70 percent of all Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 have posted profiles on one of the online social networks. These online communities, including MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and others, are changing the way students communicate, and the impact of this Web 2.0 movement has filtered into the classroom on college campuses nationwide.

MySpace has a particular emphasis on high school and junior high students; Facebook focuses more on college students. Both online communities connect people with classmates, friends and those with similar interests. And they started out with a younger focus but now have members from all age groups.

LinkedIn has always aimed to reach an older, more professional target. It is a networking tool for colleagues to stay in touch, provide recommendations and make connections for job opportunities. The online video content resource YouTube, recently purchased by Google, is fast-becoming the place where many people find their entertainment. They don't watch television anymore -- they watch YouTube.

These Web sites all relate to one another through the broad "Web 2.0" designation, which refers to the fact the content is predominately user-generated, rather than the early Web pages that relied on paid or sponsored content. This has spawned a new way of teaching and learning, broadly defined as "Classroom 2.0."

Classmates can connect via Facebook and MySpace. Instructors from a wide variety of disciplines can show appropriate content from YouTube in class. Thus everyone can interact virtually on everything from homework to class projects using the power of these social networking sites.

In the classroom, however, some of these technologies may not always be the instructor's best friend. More and more faculty report technology-based distractions are growing, including the instructor's new pet peeve of students who covertly text message in class. Also, the resources on which today's students rely are often less authoritative and may include the Web 2.0 information site Wikipedia. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that anyone can update and therefore experts do not often verify the information. Many professors now ban Wikipedia from student research papers.

While these social networks can have a tremendous positive upside, parents and students alike should be aware dangers exist.

New awareness is being raised about the tangible harm caused by "cyberbullying." One less frequently mentioned negative for the Facebook generation is the Internet never forgets. The less-than-professional videos on YouTube or photos on Facebook have a tendency to resurface during a student's job search or even when applying to college. These images can literally follow a student for a lifetime.

While every new technology has its benefits, users have to be aware of its drawbacks and realize a learning curve is required to maximize the positives.
Educators continue to find new ways to utilize these social networks to enhance student learning. Students continue to push the envelope themselves and connect with their peers in new ways to increase their overall knowledge and skills. With technology changing at lightning speed, we all have to be ready for the "next-new-thing" and how it will inevitably affect our professional, personal and educational lives.