Social Networking

On the social networking website, Ning.com, I was able to locate a social network that has potential to be extremely useful in my classroom.

The "La Casa Rojas-Podcast" social network is a website with uploaded podcasts by native speakers of the Spanish language.

The podcasts could be screened, and then played for the students in my classroom. I could have the students respond to the podcasts, write essays, respond orally, or answer questions about the podcast they heard as a method of assessing listening comprehension.

This also allows the students to hear native speakers, and develop their listening comprehension skills. Since I'm not a native speaker of Spanish, it's essential to create opportunities for the students to be exposed to native use of the language.

A learner is like an ingredient...

A learner is like an ingredient to a recipe. Without all of the "ingredients", meaning input from colleagues and other learners, the final product just will not be quite right.

Learners are social and learn from others. As George Siemens states in his article, Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, "Within social networks, hubs are well-connected people who are able to foster and maintain knowledge flow. Their interdependence results in effective knowledge flow, enabling the personal understanding of the state of activities organizationally." In his video The Impact of Social Software on Learning, he also states that "Our learning today is one of forming networks with each other...Most of us enjoy conversation, we're social beings...When we have that dialogue, we ourselves grow in our knowledge and in our own understanding of our own ideas...".

I compared the learner to a the ingredient of a recipe, because one person does not know everything that there is to know about a specific topic. Individuals need to discuss and combine their knowledge, to deepen their understanding, clarify misunderstandings, and grow in their own learning. In my opinion, all "ingredients" need to be combined to create the perfect final product.

In a recipe, you can always experiment with various ingredients. The inputs of various individuals can change the outcome, for better or for worse. It is important to experiment, and consult various individuals on specific topics, to find the best outcome and the most relevant information possible.

Social network software such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. all make it easier for people to communicate, to share information, to collaborate, and develop a collective understanding of knowledge.