1. Should all teachers be encouraged to create online activities for students within traditional classrooms?
I don't think that teachers should be required to create online activities, I do think that teachers should be encouraged to create online activities. More importantly, in my opinion is that teachers be encouraged (perhaps even *required*?) to accept online work done by students. When students are given clear rubrics about the information required by a project, all teachers should accept the work in whatever format that the student chooses to complete it in -- whether that is a glog, a poster, a fictional facebook profile, a digital story, etc. As long as the criteria of the project and the standards are being met, students should be given a certain amount of freedom in presentation. Of course, this is more clearly directed to upper middle/high school students, since younger students are still learning how various media works.
2. At what grade level should educators begin teaching students how to use social networks?
This is a difficult situation, since most commercial social networking site (facebook, my space, etc) have a 13 year old requirement, there is a built in feature that true 'authentic' type of social networking could not start until later middle school/high school. BUT, there are some sites that allow children of all ages, with parent permission to use their social networking sites. Edmodo is one that allows teachers and students to communicate about assignments and schedules as well as allowing educators to connect with other educators in a social networking format.
3. How can teachers use social networking sites as teaching and learning tools?
Teachers can use social networking sites to connect with students who function in the 24/7 environment that allows them the flexibility to connect in ways that are natural to them. Using social media to communicate with students about feedback on classwork and homework, can be convenient. Teachers can also use social media bookmarking sites, such as del.ic.ious to collect websites to use with a particular unit of study, or examples of other works to support the classroom learning.
I agree with you, Barbara, when you said that teachers should accept online work. I know that many teachers are not comfortable using technology and therefore do not always use it in their classrooms. However, I think that with the amount of technology our students use, teachers might get a better product from students who have the choice to use internet tools!
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