08.08.07
The Internet is Safe!
Yes, you read that correctly... the internet is safe. So safe that almost no one is actually taken advantage of, and only 0.08% of kids are meeting people off the internet without their parents approval. At least that's what a National School Boards Association report says. I would say that kids are smart enough not to mention that they are doing it... it's similar to surveys that ask teens if they drink, use drugs, or are abstinent. They give the "right" answer, not the real answer. The report goes so far as to suggest that perhaps social networking sites should be introduced to classrooms, after all businesses and higher education are using social networking sites...
That in itself leads to some interesting questions. Do these businesses know that their employees are using social networking sites for collaboration? Are these institutions of higher education using external sites or internal sites?
Do businesses know that their employees are using social networking sites for collaboration?
This is an interesting question for a couple of reasons. Primarily because social networking is anything but secure. If you are collaborating via public social networking sites you're risking disclosure of private and confidential information. The second issue is ownership. Many Web 2.0 collaboration sites "mention" in their EULA / Terms of Use that they own any work completed on their sites. There are exclusions to this (Google Apps for Business, at least I hope it has that exclusion) but there are others that do include it.
Do post-secondary institutions use internal or external social networks?
When I was in college I could get my grades, my tax paperwork (T2202A) and other confidential items from our internal social network. I don't think that I'd have been very impressed if this information was being passed to me via Facebook or MySpace.
These are questions that the report fails to answer. There are many others as well. They also call youth who excel on the internet non-conformists... essentially insulting the "geeks" and "nerds" and internet-literate people that enjoy the internet and prefer it.
I suggest everyone read the report, it's a sham that was co-funded by Microsoft, News Corp. and Verizon and I can't believe the drivel that was spouted in it. Social networking is the last thing that needs to be introduced to the classroom and I hope the dedicated teachers out there will see this. It will distract from class work, interfere with studies and be an all around hindrance to education. Sure students will know "how to use" social networks, but they are learning that on their own.. in their free time. Why not just provide students with Blackberries and allow their use during class time. That seems to be as intelligent of a choice as allowing them access to social networks.
If you really want to enable students to perform at a higher level in a technology dependent world, introduce them to a wider range of Microsoft products in the classroom. Access, Project, Visio... software that's used in all sorts of business that is never taught, unless you have a specific college class on subject. Schools should have Project and Sharepoint servers... this would benefit students... learning proper document check-in and check-out and "true" collaboration skills... Not throwing them on a social network because only 0.08% of students were honest about their actions regarding meeting strangers and how they spend their time.
