Social Networks & Student Learning

"Learning is social and we learn from the company we keep." With the popularity of the Internet among the 'net generation and all the social network sites popping up on the Web 2.0, it's apparent that social learning has moved online.

Students are social and they keep connected to others through new social networks, such as MySpace, Second Life, FaceBook, FriendWise, There, and Friendster, the one that seemed to kick off online social networks a few years ago.

“More than half (55%) of all online American youths ages 12-17 use online social networking sites, according to a new national survey of teenagers conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.”

Wikipedia has an extensive 'list of social networking websites'- check them out.

Find ways to use Social Networks to benefit your learning environment whether your class delivery is online or face-to-face. Create a site in Second Life (SL) for your students to drop in to chat with and learn from their peers or you arrange for 'experts’ to meet them online. Many colleges and universities are already doing just that.

“Ohio University is one of just a few universities in the United States, including Harvard and Princeton, who have launched functioning campuses in Second Life. Ohio University’s Virtual Campus educators are holding classes in the virtual world.”

Ohio University has even developed a SL Virtual World for Middle School Science available to middle schoolers to engage them in both synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences.

Co-create with Wikipedia. If your school or organization has entered the SL world add your site to “Second Life and Private Islands”

Think of possibilities in SL to extend student learning and expand their learning community by using these social sites for collaboration, conducting class meetings, learning circles, opening the discussion floor, or bring experts to your new virtual world to help students begin to think like experts think. 'Thinking as experts do' is a critical skill we need to develop in our students today.

Using virtual worlds breaks down the classroom walls allowing anyone from anywhere - anytime to learn and share, appeals to the ‘net generation and fits in with their learning style, and most importantly virtual worlds get students involved, actively participating and experiencing learning.