EduNetworks Breakdown Isolation and Build Community
EduNetworks
Education has been an isolating profession for individual practitioners. Social networks have the potential to change that by building virtual communities of practice around a school, a district, a network, or a curriculum. Popularized by college kids earlier this decade, social networks have exploded in popularity in the last three years. And it’s not just the kids using them—we’re finally seeing practical application in education. In 2008, more than a dozen new organizations emerged carving out education niches with a variety of entry points. Some focus on individual benefits for educators, others derive stickiness from a community. Here’s a list of entry points and entrants:
Individual benefit
· Teacher as curriculum architect
o http://socialmediaclassroom.com
· Teacher as classroom manager
o there a lots of websites like www.MyGradeBook.com and www.HomeworkSpot.com that are taking on social network characteristics
· Teacher as learning salesman
· Teacher as collaborator
o www.ePals.com, www.Edmodo.com, classroom connections
o and lots of www.Ning.com sites like http://education.ning.com
Community benefit
· Teacher community of practice around content/assessments
o http://ibconnected.ning.com/, a small IB site on Ning.com
o http://teachap.ning.com/, a small AP English site
· Grade level groups
o http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Third-Grade-Teachers/
· Student community around content/assessments
o www.Grockit.com, a GMAT quiz bowl
o http://www.iknow.co.jp/, a place to learn Japanese
o www.Brightstorm.com, video of energetic teachers
· School district as community of practice
o Wireless Generation’s ARIS project in NYC, a mash up of performance/knowledge management and social networking
· Network as community of practice
o Teach for America and KIPP both have proprietary networks
· Mentor team for student success
It’s exciting to see so many communities developing online and breaking down the traditional barriers that isolated educators. Like our kids, we’re all learning how to cope with the shift from info-scarcity to info-abundance.
Contact us if you’d like help developing your EduNetwork!
Posted: February 16th, 2009 | Author: Tom Vander Ark | Filed under: Ed Reform, Innovation | No Comments »
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