Week 6 Reading - The Social Web

While reading chapter 6 of Richardson Book (2010), I could not help but think of all the social media websites today. He mentions twitter as one way to communicate with others and to share ideas. A more recent social media website that comes to mind for me is Pinterest. I know I have enjoyed a few meals my wife retrieved from Pinterest in the last year. As far as incorporating social media into the classroom, I feel the author was spot on when he said, “the collaborative construction of knowledge by those willing to contribute is redefining the way we think about teaching and learning at every level” (2010). Richardson also goes into explaining social bookmarking and how those sites can help in the classroom environment.  Personally, in the past I would just add the pages I like to my Bookmarks on my browser, but after a while those bookmarks add up. The new way of bookmarking is using a social bookmarking site, such as Delicious. Using these sights allows users the chance to categorizing the websites in to different pages. Also the users can retrieve the bookmarks no matter where they are, with or without their personal computers.

Overall the classroom is a great place to implement this technology. From tweeting what the homework is for the night, sharing great ideas on Pinterest, or bookmarking useful pages. Educators and students can use social media, and with popularity growing, and the multitude of sites, it can do nothing but help the effectiveness of using technology in the classroom.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.