I personally think that both Web 2.0 and Social Media have the potential to be helpful resources within a classroom, but I am struggling more with seeing potential uses for Social Media. I believe that the majority of my hesitations stem from two different thoughts, the first being that as an elementary educator many of my students may not be permitted by parents to use standard Social Media, and the second being that Social Media can lend itself towards putting students in vulnerable situations where cyber bullying may occur. In order for me as an educator to use Social Media in my future classes I would first need to be convinced that the benefits of it's use outweigh these inherent risks.
I remember when I was in 7th grade AOL Instant Messenger was extremely popular, and I would often use it as a classroom aid to discuss projects with peers, work collaboratively, or to simply ask questions about homework assignments. One day however one of my peers made a new screen name (an anonymous handle) to message me repeatedly with inappropriate messages. I took screen shots of the harassment, brought them to the principal, and told her who I thought it might be, but because the internet allowed for anonymity the student was never caught. My experience was minor compared to some of the stories I have heard from family and friends about their experiences with cyber bullying, but the results are almost always the same. Cyber bullying leaves it's victims feeling helpless and alone, and often there is very little that can be done because the bullies often go unidentified.
Despite my experience with cyber bullying I have developed a love for technology in the classrooms and am especially devoted to FIRST Robotics and FIRST Lego League (FLL). I love finding ways to integrate technology into my lessons and to find ways to prepare my students for an ever-changing technologically savvy world. I understand that the trend in technology is only leading to more and more innovative ways to stay in contact, create, and share information and I feel it would be doing my students a disservice to not acknowledge this fact in my classroom setting. But because the internet is so vast it is difficult to fully protect our children from the inappropriate material that is so readily available. Of course we can set up blocks on computers and monitor internet access, but the connectivity that Web 2.0 and Social Media provide cannot be avoided because they are inherent features of the media. These features allow students to connect with others and share ideas and materials, but it also allows others to do the same with them, and unfortunately we can't always be there to ensure that the material is educational, safe, or respectful. Because of this I am left with a question: how can we as educators safely and effectively integrate technologies such as computers with internet access and social media into our classrooms while at the same time creating a safe learning environment for our students?