Examples+of+Social+Media+in+Classrooms

The group members (up to six of you) are listed below: Yunbo ZHANG Wendy Xu Candy Shen-Rickett Yu Wang (Stella Wang) Vanessa Dineen

EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA in CLASSROOMS

Subtitle 1: What are the most efficient and valuable MEDIA can we use in a daily based class? integrated forum, blog, comment, wiki, chat, social bookmarking, RSS, microblogging, widgets, and video commenting Twitter: Post notes, live blog a lecture, take attendance Facebook: Post homework/ assignments, add comments, share multimedia contest, share interesting websites Skype: Learn a foreign language from native speakers Quizlet: make flashcards, take quiz and play games Google doc: write story, edit essays

Subtitle 2:Use Skype in Foreign Language Classroom: As a foreign language teacher, I always keep on my eyes on better ways of accessing authentic materials and providing opportunities for students to practice by using target language. However, it's not easy for students to practice their target language with native speakers in a regular classroom or in day-to-day life. With the help of new technologies, such as Skype, now students can have real-time, authentic communication with speakers of target language in the classroom;students can also learn about foreign cultures from peers who live in them, bringing these cultures to life. By coordinating with a teacher in the target language, teachers can set up interactions between their students, allowing for an even more personal interaction with the culture and language of their choice. Here is an example of using Skype in the foreign language classroom:

http://www.digitalang.com/2009/05/skype-calls-for-e-twinning-in-l2/

Subtitle 3:Blog: Not Just for Personal Commentary Anymore

A blog is an effective online tool that students have utilized daily at Concordia International School Shanghai to access school information and for academic purposes. For academics, students have accessed blogs to find out when assignments are due, obtain additional resources catered to a topic or specific concept, and to reflect on school work to just name a few. Teachers request/assign students to create blogs that are purposeful. Several teachers have discovered that students who tend to be more timid vocally during class discussions, surprisingly were the ones who participated more in a blog forum.

Subtitle 4: MSN and facebook for learning Chinese as a foreign language Through 5 years of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in Shanghai China, I realize that to encourage students to use the language is always a challenge even the "foreign" students are living in China. Why? because they live in the "foreign" bubble which does not make big difference for their aboard life. But I also realize that if i can find a good way to draw students' attention or interest in using Chinese language, it would make a positive difference. Out of the methods I tried, some social medias stood out of my eyes and worked pretty well for my classes. Teenagers always like to communicate online with their friends and MSN and Facebook are very effecient and popular. I asked my students to create their own Chinese group in MSN and Facebook and share in Chinese language. The students can also make Chinese local friends online. Some social medias do provide a good opportunity for learning a foreign language.

Subsection 5: Are there Facebook-like applications that are primarily used for classroom use?

Edmodo is a private, Web 2.0 tool that is designed to use in the classroom. Jason Janczak, a teacher who currently uses Edmodo stated, "According to my students, Edmodo is a lot like Facebook for school (except it is unblocked!). According to me, Edmodo is awesome!" It is very similar to Facebook. Students and teachers are able to communicate in real-time, sharing ideas or assignments. Teachers are able to create groups and give assignments for each group. Teachers are then able to grade the assignments online. Students are able to communicate with the teacher and each other on the Wall, but only teachers and students can have private communication. The site also allows the teachers to post a calendar notifying students when assignments are due and also has a mobile version so teachers can check the site from anywhere. The site is more secure than Facebook in that it requires a group password to enter the site and teachers can also connect with other teachers around the world for more information and resources. Another blogger describes Edmodo as "micro-blogging for education and is, in my view, a much better alternative to Twitter for day-to-day managing of a class (or classes) as it is perfectly safe and private and, as well as communication, it provides extremely useful extra functionality to both teacher and student, such as the ability to embed multimedia, to send alerts to groups or individuals, to set, collect and grade assignments, to keep a calendar of event and assignments and to store files online (files can also be viewed online thanks to [|**Scribd**])."