Social networking-already a part of our everyday lives

I came across an article that discussed the results of a study done by Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. The study found that people felt connected to more people socially and had improved social lives as a result of their blogging. The participants also said that they used their blogs as a way to express emotion and vent out their feelings. The article "Blogging can help improve your social life" can be found here. There are so many ways to connect with people through blogging. Social networking is becoming more and more common in everyone's lives. Almost any teenager has a myspace or facebook account that they check very regularly so students are already connecting with each other via the internet. Why not bring that knowledge and experience into the classroom? This is one thing that I feel very strongly about. Kids these days are immersed in technology in all aspects of their lives from cell phones, television and video games to computers and the internet so why ask them to throw that all away when they come into school? Teachers should take this knowledge and run with it.

One way to use this knowledge of social networking and collaboration in their education could be to set up a type of pen pal but with blogs. How cool would it be if students could communicate regularly with a student in a completely different country? I remember when I was in elementary school we had pen pals at another one of the elementary schools in town but I felt so great when I received another letter from my pal and heard that she was going through some of the same things that I was. Students could communicate through blogging with students in a country they were studying and hear the opinions and stories first hand from someone their own age.

Technology and it's possibilities will never cease to amaze me!