Thanks for the Add. Now Help Me with My Homework - News Features & Releases

08 Nov 09

Zoe Pipe

ore heavily used by college students, to network. And she even began to post some of her creative writing and would solicit ad
vice on homework essays from her circle of friends, asking them "How long did you take on your essay?" or "How'd you write it?
6 more annotations...
- " Often she'd post her homework online. "Everybody does it," she says.
- he kind of skills students are developing on social networking sites, says Greenhow, are the very same 21st century skills that educators have identified as important for the next generation of knowledge workers -- empathy, appreciation for diversity of viewpoints, and an ability to multitask and collaborate with peers on complex projects. In fact, despite cautionary tales of employers trolling social networking sites to find inappropriate Halloween p
- w few teachers were using the Internet at all -- and even fewer were aware of, much less using, social networking sites, despite their heavy usage by students. "It is the kids who are leading the way on this," she says. "They are forming networks with people they meet every day as well as people they have barely met. If we can't understand what kids are doing and integrate these tools into a classroom, what kind of message are we sending them? I think we'll see an even bigger disconnect than already exists."
- If that is going to be possible, however, first teachers must learn from the students' mindsets -- that is, rolling up their sleeves and creating Facebook profile themselves. "As teachers who may be digital immigrants, we need to go native," says Greenhow. "It doesn't cost anything, you don't have to download anything. We need to get on these sites and understand not only some of the harm, but also the potential." Demographics are working in teachers' favor, as the fastest-growing group of Facebook users, for example, is 25 and older. In between reconnecting with high school friends and uploading their own vacation photos, a teacher might begin to understand why students find these sites so attractive -- and perhaps come up organically with ideas for using them in class.
- LinkedIn,
- teachers are going to successfully build those connections, Greenhow suggests, they must take a page from social networking sites themselves and allow student to take an active part in the discussion. "The more we understand about what motivates and engages youth to use these technologies in their everyday lives," she says, "the more we will be able to build on what they are learning in school, so they are developing the 21st century competencies that we value, and colearning or coconstructing their own educational experience."

06 Oct 09

Jennifer Earl

the potential for social networking sites in education

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30 Sep 09

John Eldridge

"We read a lot in the media about how young people are using social networking
sites with harmful results," agrees Christine Greenhow, Ed.D.'06, a postdoctoral
associate at the University of Minnesota who has done a new study looking into
how students really use them. "The question is, can we harness this interest and
passion in their online lives for educational purposes?" In research stemming
from her doctoral thesis at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Greenhow
not only found an increasing awareness by Sommers and other students of the
potential of these sites to express their creativity and explore their
interests, but also the potential to complement lessons in more formal
educational settings -- if teachers can just figure out how to use them.

30 Jul 09

kreierson

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09 Jul 09

Tom Krieglstein

A new study by alum Christine Greenhow finds social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have more educational potential than you might think. What kids are doing online. Fact vs Fiction

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If we hear about them at all in the press, it's usually to illustrate their dangers, with stories of online sexual predators, cyber bullying, or a job application faux pas when a potential employer rescinds a job offer based on embarrassing online photos or comments.
Greenhow and her fellow researchers interviewed some 1,200 students in 13 high schools
23 more annotations...
- Even though students came from families with incomes at or below $25,000 a year, 94 percent of them used the Internet, with 82 percent logging on from home. Of these, 77 percent had profiles on social networking sites, with 65 percent on MySpace, a significant minority on Facebook
- Pew Internet & American Life Project, which found that 82 percent of teens with a family median income of $30,000 or less were online, and that among all teens, 58 percent had a profile on a SNS.
- half of them recognized they were getting some kind of education along with hanging with their friends. The highest percentage identified technical skills (65 percent), followed by creativity (61 percent), appreciation for diversity (46 percent), and communication skills (43 percent).
- When video games appeared, for example, everyone looked for benefits in hand-eye coordination, even though studies later showed those benefits to be modest.
- students butcher language in text messages and open books less and less outside the classroom, Greenhow has found a virtual creative writing boom among students spending long hours writing stories and poetry to paste on their blogs for feedback from friends, or creating videos on social issues to bring awareness to a cause.
- she found that most students use the medium to reach out to their peers for emotional support and as a way to develop self-esteem
- The kind of skills students are developing on social networking sites, says Greenhow, are the very same 21st century skills that educators have identified as important for the next generation of knowledge workers -- empathy, appreciation for diversity of viewpoints, and an ability to multitask and collaborate with peers on complex projects.
- despite cautionary tales of employers trolling social networking sites to find inappropriate Halloween pictures or drug slang laced in discussion forums, many employers are increasingly using these sites as a way to find talent.
- For her doctoral thesis, "From Blackboard to Browser," Greenhow looked at how teachers' expectations and assumptions about teaching affected the way they used (or didn't use) the Internet in the classroom.
- the theory that effective teaching allows students to construct new ideas from the expertise they already have.
- What was more surprising to her, however, is how few teachers were using the Internet at all -- and even fewer were aware of, much less using, social networking sites, despite their heavy usage by students.
- If we can't understand what kids are doing and integrate these tools into a classroom, what kind of message are we sending them? I think we'll see an even bigger disconnect than already exists."
- part of that dedication comes from the potential of social networking sites to increase opportunities to students who come from lower-income or immigrant backgrounds.
- "digital divide" that has separated higher and lower-income students, has narrowed, with nearly all students now able to access the Internet
- few students were actually using these sites for the purpose they were ostensibly created for -- namely, networking with strangers in their intended college or career field. "The networking aspects weren't even on their radars," says Greenhow, who argues for a role in educators and guidance counselors in nudging students to take advantage of these opportunities. "Kids are conceiving of reaching out to others outside of school, they are getting there. What teachers can bring from their mindset is the added value of networking."
- the fastest-growing group of Facebook users, for example, is 25 and older.
- In a recent survey of one of his graduate classes, Blatt found that 100 percent of these future educators were enrolled on Facebook -- and 30 percent of them even checked their profile more than once a day.
- Just becoming familiar with social networking sites, however, doesn't mean that teachers will be able to directly use them as a tool for formal class discussion or collaboration.
- A more likely use of SNSs within the educational context, however, is to use them as supplements to the formal in-class learning, building upon the spontaneous sharing that students are already doing.
- Greenhow says that these sites can be used for a whole school to help facilitate social interaction and create bonds among students.
- The State University of New York in Plattsville, for example, recently created a Facebook application that allows new and current students to interact through a trivia game about the school. Harvard just produced a Facebook application called H-Link that allows users to find students online who are taking the same courses, so they can network and form study groups.
- "If we want kids to be digital citizens, we must model that behavior for them," says Greenhow. As it stands now, however, most schools do the exact opposite, actively discouraging student use of social networking sites by blocking them on school computers -- sending the message that they are dangerous or inappropriate.
- Finally, an article about the potentially positive aspects of social networking sites for teens! I get so tired of adults assuming the worst about technology and teens. Every parent discussion on the topic attempts to scare us into believing that the postitive attributes of technology are few and far between.

03 Jul 09

stacy rubis

blanding Ed.

30 Jun 09

Lynne Schalman

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23 Jun 09

John Rison

Greenhow found that the teachers who were most effective in integrating the Internet into the classroom were those who subscribed to constructivism -- the theory that effective teaching allows students to construct new ideas from the expertise they already have.

18 Jun 09

Matt Montagne

A new study by alum Christine Greenhow finds social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have more educational potential than you might think.

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22 May 09

Michelle George

And along the way, she could compete with her friends (and enemies) for all to see who had the most friends or most-visited page.

greg shaubel

14 May 09

Julie Elliott

Social Networking - uses/abuses.

socialnetworking

What is more important to a high school student than being
popular
- Julie Elliott on 2009-05-14
  
  This is true. As a teacher, I notice this really fuels most student choices.
Every time a new device or apparatus comes out, the first thing people say is,
maybe there will be some kind of hands-on technical skills it will give young
users," he says. When video games appeared, for example, everyone looked for
benefits in hand-eye coordination, even though studies later showed those
benefits to be modest. On the other hand, there were motivational benefits that
educators found to be much more interesting and profound as they watched
students working as hard as they could to get to the next level.
1 more annotations...
- On the other hand, there are other social networking tools that may be more
  directly appropriate for use in class

19 Apr 09

Martina Henke

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17 Apr 09

Sharon Elin

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David Colon

New_Media

05 Apr 09

Blair Adams

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03 Apr 09

Jason Kern

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28 Mar 09

Anand Thakker

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21 Mar 09

Ryan Peterson

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13 Mar 09

papi2jesus martinez

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10 Mar 09

maureencasey

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scott klepesch

education social_networking

Greenhow and her fellow researchers interviewed some 1,200 students in 13 high schools in Minneapolis/St. Paul, connecting with them through a Twin Cities social-service organization called Admission Possible that Greenhow and her husband cofounded seven years ago to prepare low-income students for college. Their first finding was just how popular these sites are among teens. Even though students came from families with incomes at or below $25,000 a year, 94 percent of them used the Internet, with 82 percent logging on from home. Of these, 77 percent had profiles on social networking sites, with 65 percent on MySpace, a significant minority on Facebook, and a smattering of others on sites such as Xanga and Gaiaonline. While Greenhow cautions that the study wasn't intended to be nationally representative, it is only slightly higher than national studies by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which found that 82 percent of teens with a family median income of $30,000 or less were online, and that among all teens, 58 percent had a profile on a SNS.

09 Mar 09

Kim Cofino

socialnetworking article research education technology 21stcentury facebook Harvard

08 Mar 09

Joe Wood

Greenhow and her fellow researchers interviewed some 1,200 students in 13 high schools in Minneapolis/St. Paul, connecting with them through a Twin Cities social-service organization called Admission Possible that Greenhow and her husband cofounded seven

socialnetworking ITMCNING

Bonnie Raub

That's news to most teachers and parents who have never used social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook -- and even to some of us who have. If we hear about them at all in the press, it's usually to illustrate their dangers, with stories of online sexual predators, cyber bullying, or a job application faux pas when a potential employer rescinds a job offer based on embarrassing online photos or comments. At best, these sites seem like a frivolous distraction -- the telephone on steroids -- tolerated along with text messaging and Wii as the latest technologies to help kids procrastinate from their schoolwork.
Blatt warns about getting too caught up in the technical benefits of SNSs, even as he applauds Greenhow for focusing on other elements, such as creativity and digital citizenship that might ultimately be more profound lessons to draw from the medium.
4 more annotations...
- Despite the potential of social networking sites in developing marketable skills, however, Greenhow has been frustrated by the lack of attention paid to them -- or to the Internet in general -- in the classroom.
- Greenhow found that the teachers who were most effective in integrating the Internet into the classroom were those who subscribed to constructivism -- the theory that effective teaching allows students to construct new ideas from the expertise they already have.
- If that is going to be possible, however, first teachers must learn from the students' mindsets -- that is, rolling up their sleeves and creating Facebook profile themselves. "As teachers who may be digital immigrants, we need to go native," says Greenhow. "It doesn't cost anything, you don't have to download anything. We need to get on these sites and understand not only some of the harm, but also the potential." Demographics are working in teachers' favor, as the fastest-growing group of Facebook users, for example, is 25 and older. In between reconnecting with high school friends and uploading their own vacation photos, a teacher might begin to understand why students find these sites so attractive -- and perhaps come up organically with ideas for using them in class.
- Another new social networking site called Ning.com allows organizations to create their own closed networking sites that can be adapted for a school or even a course.

felisa isakson

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Liz Davis

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07 Mar 09

A.T. Garcia

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"The question is, can we harness this interest and passion in their online lives for educational purposes?"
The anecdotal findings mirrored the more quantitative data with actual examples.
6 more annotations...
- The student who throws her hands up at math, for example, might go home and spend hours searching for computer code to embed into her MySpace page to create a new background.
- Greenhow has found a virtual creative writing boom among students spending long hours writing stories and poetry to paste on their blogs for feedback from friends, or creating videos on social issues to bring awareness to a cause.
- "If I am stuck on a project, I might send a chat message to a friend, and he might provide an answer or say, 'Take a deep breath; you can do this,'" says Greenhow, summing up what students often say. "Students are always diving in and out of these social networks."
- 21st century skills that educators have identified as important for the next generation of knowledge workers -- empathy, appreciation for diversity of viewpoints, and an ability to multitask and collaborate with peers on complex projects.
- For her doctoral thesis, "From Blackboard to Browser," Greenhow looked at how teachers' expectations and assumptions about teaching affected the way they used (or didn't use) the Internet in the classroom.
- Greenhow found that the teachers who were most effective in integrating the Internet into the classroom were those who subscribed to constructivism -- the theory that effective teaching allows students to construct new ideas from the expertise they already have.

James Coleman

Using Facebook and Myspace

Social Networking

Their first finding was just how popular these sites are among teens. Even
though students came from families with incomes at or below $25,000 a year, 94
percent of them used the Internet, with 82 percent logging on from home. Of
these, 77 percent had profiles on social networking sites
Greenhow and her colleagues started asking targeted questions about what
students themselves thought they actually learned from these sites, finding that
more than half of them recognized they were getting some kind of education along
with hanging with their friends. The highest percentage identified technical
skills (65 percent), followed by creativity (61 percent), appreciation for
diversity (46 percent), and communication skills (43 percent).
7 more annotations...
- As national magazines and newspapers debate what it means to be literate in a
  computer age in which students butcher language in text messages and open books
  less and less outside the classroom, Greenhow has found a virtual creative
  writing boom among students spending long hours writing stories and poetry to
  paste on their blogs for feedback from friends
- Far from media stories about cyber bullying, meanwhile, she found that most
  students use the medium to reach out to their peers for emotional support and as
  a way to develop self-esteem
- Outside interests aren't the only topics that found their way to student
  homepages and Sommers wasn't the only student to regularly compare notes on
  school assignments. "If I am stuck on a project, I might send a chat message to
  a friend, and he might provide an answer or say, 'Take a deep breath; you can do
  this,'" says Greenhow
- It is the kids who are leading the way on this," she says. "They are forming
  networks with people they meet every day as well as people they have barely met.
  If we can't understand what kids are doing and integrate these tools into a
  classroom, what kind of message are we sending them? I think we'll see an even
  bigger disconnect than already exists."
- "If you come from a family of college-educated parents, you have a lot of people
  you can turn to help you make decisions. If you don't have that, if you just
  came to this country and are bright and hardworking, this can level the playing
  field." As her study has shown, the so-called "digital divide" that has
  separated higher and lower-income students, has narrowed, with nearly all
  students now able to access the Internet (even though they may not all be able
  to access the Internet for the same amount of time).
- On the other hand, there are other social networking tools that may be more
  directly appropriate for use in class. Some teachers are already using wikis,
  technology that allows students to take turns editing group projects to
  facilitate the often-difficult task of working together as a group, as well as
  to provide a trail of who does what on a project. Another new social networking
  site called Ning.com allows organizations to create their own closed
  networking sites that can be adapted for a school or even a course.
- If teachers are going to successfully build those connections, Greenhow
  suggests, they must take a page from social networking sites themselves and
  allow student to take an active part in the discussion. "The more we understand
  about what motivates and engages youth to use these technologies in their
  everyday lives," she says, "the more we will be able to build on what they are
  learning in school, so they are developing the 21st century competencies that we
  value, and colearning or coconstructing their own educational experience."

06 Mar 09

Mike McIlveen

Social networking leads to professional network - article.

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Lennie Symes

few students were actually using these sites for the purpose they were ostensibly created for -- namely, networking with strangers in their intended college or career field. "The networking aspects weren't even on their radars," says Greenhow, who argues

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Alan Levine

A new study by Harvard alum Christine Greenhow finds social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have more educational potential than you might think.

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05 Mar 09

Randy Ziegenfuss

A new study by alum Christine Greenhow finds social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have more educational potential than you might think.

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A new study by alum Christine Greenhow finds social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have more educational potential than you might think.

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Interesting article on some research concerning low-income students and their use of social networks like MySpace and Facebook. Talks about how these networks could be used constructively in the classroom.

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Jenni MathTeacher

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Jeff Utecht

A new study by alum Christine Greenhow finds social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have more educational potential than you might think.

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04 Mar 09

Steve Shann

Harvard ning socialnetworking education homework

"The question is, can we harness this interest and passion in their online lives for educational purposes?" In research stemming from her doctoral thesis at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Greenhow not only found an increasing awareness by Sommers and other students of the potential of these sites to express their creativity and explore their interests, but also the potential to complement lessons in more formal educational settings -- if teachers can just figure out how to use them.
Greenhow and her colleagues started asking targeted questions about what students themselves thought they actually learned from these sites, finding that more than half of them recognized they were getting some kind of education along with hanging with their friends. The highest percentage identified technical skills (65 percent), followed by creativity (61 percent), appreciation for diversity (46 percent), and communication skills (43 percent). Not ready to take their word for it, the researchers then did a more detailed content analysis of the home pages of several dozen students, followed by a rigorous "talkabout" with 11 students, in which researchers watched as students logged on and navigated their sites. The anecdotal findings mirrored the more quantitative data with actual examples.
3 more annotations...
- Far from media stories about cyber bullying, meanwhile, she found that most students use the medium to reach out to their peers for emotional support and as a way to develop self-esteem. One student created a video of his intramural soccer team to entice his friends to come to his games. Another created an online radio show to express his opinions, then used Facebook to promote a URL where friends could stream it live, and then used one of Facebook's add-in applications to create a fan site for the show.
- If that is going to be possible, however, first teachers must learn from the students' mindsets -- that is, rolling up their sleeves and creating Facebook profile themselves. "As teachers who may be digital immigrants, we need to go native," says Greenhow. "It doesn't cost anything, you don't have to download anything. We need to get on these sites and understand not only some of the harm, but also the potential." Demographics are working in teachers' favor, as the fastest-growing group of Facebook users, for example, is 25 and older.
- If teachers are going to successfully build those connections, Greenhow suggests, they must take a page from social networking sites themselves and allow student to take an active part in the discussion. "The more we understand about what motivates and engages youth to use these technologies in their everyday lives," she says, "the more we will be able to build on what they are learning in school, so they are developing the 21st century competencies that we value, and colearning or coconstructing their own educational experience."

Mathieu Plourde

The question is, can we harness this interest and passion in their online lives for educational purposes?

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Patrick Althof

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Steve Ransom

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Greenhow and her colleagues started asking targeted questions about what
students themselves thought they actually learned from these sites, finding that
more than half of them recognized they were getting some kind of education along
with hanging with their friends. The highest percentage identified technical
skills (65 percent), followed by creativity (61 percent), appreciation for
diversity (46 percent), and communication skills (43 percent). Not ready to take
their word for it, the researchers then did a more detailed content analysis of
the home pages of several dozen students, followed by a rigorous "talkabout"
with 11 students, in which researchers watched as students logged on and
navigated their sites. The anecdotal findings mirrored the more quantitative
data with actual examples.

Dale Thompson

Facebook is good for your career?

Facebook SNS homework

Liz Becker

Social networking in the Classroom

lindsey Barlow

plnart

Jody Bowie

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Will Richardson

"We read a lot in the media about how young people are using social networking sites with harmful results," agrees Christine Greenhow, Ed.D.'06, a postdoctoral associate at the University of Minnesota who has done a new study looking into how students really use them. "The question is, can we harness this interest and passion in their online lives for educational purposes?" In research stemming from her doctoral thesis at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Greenhow not only found an increasing awareness by Sommers and other students of the potential of these sites to express their creativity and explore their interests, but also the potential to complement lessons in more formal educational settings -- if teachers can just figure out how to use them.

parent_book facebook classroom learning

As national magazines and newspapers debate what it means to be literate in a computer age in which students butcher language in text messages and open books less and less outside the classroom, Greenhow has found a virtual creative writing boom among students spending long hours writing stories and poetry to paste on their blogs for feedback from friends, or creating videos on social issues to bring awareness to a cause. Far from media stories about cyber bullying, meanwhile, she found that most students use the medium to reach out to their peers for emotional support and as a way to develop self-esteem. One student created a video of his intramural soccer team to entice his friends to come to his games. Another created an online radio show to express his opinions, then used Facebook to promote a URL where friends could stream it live, and then used one of Facebook's add-in applications to create a fan site for the show.
The kind of skills students are developing on social networking sites, says Greenhow, are the very same 21st century skills that educators have identified as important for the next generation of knowledge workers -- empathy, appreciation for diversity of viewpoints, and an ability to multitask and collaborate with peers on complex projects. In fact, despite cautionary tales of employers trolling social networking sites to find inappropriate Halloween pictures or drug slang laced in discussion forums, many employers are increasingly using these sites as a way to find talent. A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers cited this spring in The New York Times found that more than half of employers now use SNSs to network with job candidates. The website CareerBuilder.com even added an application to allow employers to search Facebook for candidates. "Savvy users say the sites can be effective tools for promoting one's job skills and all-around business networking," says the Times.
9 more annotations...
- Greenhow found that the teachers who were most effective in integrating the Internet into the classroom were those who subscribed to constructivism -- the theory that effective teaching allows students to construct new ideas from the expertise they already have.
  What was more surprising to her, however, is how few teachers were using the Internet at all -- and even fewer were aware of, much less using, social networking sites, despite their heavy usage by students. "It is the kids who are leading the way on this," she says. "They are forming networks with people they meet every day as well as people they have barely met. If we can't understand what kids are doing and integrate these tools into a classroom, what kind of message are we sending them? I think we'll see an even bigger disconnect than already exists."
- For Greenhow, part of that dedication comes from the potential of social networking sites to increase opportunities to students who come from lower-income or immigrant backgrounds. "If you come from a family of college-educated parents, you have a lot of people you can turn to help you make decisions. If you don't have that, if you just came to this country and are bright and hardworking, this can level the playing field." As her study has shown, the so-called "digital divide" that has separated higher and lower-income students, has narrowed, with nearly all students now able to access the Internet (even though they may not all be able to access the Internet for the same amount of time).
- Even so, with the exceptions like Theresa Sommers, few students were actually using these sites for the purpose they were ostensibly created for -- namely, networking with strangers in their intended college or career field. "The networking aspects weren't even on their radars," says Greenhow, who argues for a role in educators and guidance counselors in nudging students to take advantage of these opportunities. "Kids are conceiving of reaching out to others outside of school, they are getting there. What teachers can bring from their mindset is the added value of networking."
- If that is going to be possible, however, first teachers must learn from the students' mindsets -- that is, rolling up their sleeves and creating Facebook profile themselves.
- Already, there is some indication this is happening with the next generation of teachers. In a recent survey of one of his graduate classes, Blatt found that 100 percent of these future educators were enrolled on Facebook -- and 30 percent of them even checked their profile more than once a day.
- A more likely use of SNSs within the educational context, however, is to use them as supplements to the formal in-class learning, building upon the spontaneous sharing that students are already doing. "I can imagine teachers saying, 'I know a lot of you are on Facebook; I'd love to encourage you to share your draft work with friends, do whatever revisions are warranted, and then post your first draft on the class website,'" says Wiske. "That would be a design that took advantage of some affordances and patterns of behavior Christine is noticing without trying to commandeer these social networks as a location for structured class work."
- Harvard just produced a Facebook application called H-Link that allows users to find students online who are taking the same courses, so they can network and form study groups.
- Perhaps even more important than the impact of social networking on the classroom, however is the impact that the classroom can have on social networking, by teaching students how to be responsible "digital citizens" online. At their most basic level, these sites can be launching points to discussions on Internet ethics. "If we want kids to be digital citizens, we must model that behavior for them," says Greenhow. As it stands now, however, most schools do the exact opposite, actively discouraging student use of social networking sites by blocking them on school computers -- sending the message that they are dangerous or inappropriate. As Wiske says, "A lot of people can do a lot of damage driving cars, but we shouldn't tell kids not to drive cars."
- If teachers are going to successfully build those connections, Greenhow suggests, they must take a page from social networking sites themselves and allow student to take an active part in the discussion. "The more we understand about what motivates and engages youth to use these technologies in their everyday lives," she says, "the more we will be able to build on what they are learning in school, so they are developing the 21st century competencies that we value, and colearning or coconstructing their own educational experience."