Anneke Emerson

Literature Review on Social Networks in Schools

SED 600: Teaching and Learning
3-2-2008
Prof. Foley
The web has always been a social networking tool. From digital bulletin boards to
email listservs to online chat rooms, the internet has transformed the way we
communicate with one another. Social networking in the school setting has the potential
to motivate student participation and deepen cultural understanding. Social networks
emphasize collaboration and interaction within a learning community. There is
tremendous potential for this software to support the human interaction between teachers
and students. Face-to-face and online activities can be blended, creating multi-layered
communities, which may add new resources and stimula to the in-classroom community.
Controlled, private networks can connect students within a school, connect students
within school districts, or connect students across the world. And these safe networks are
the perfect “sandbox” to educate students to make informed choices in their “online”
lives. This simple, but often overlooked, life skill may be as essential as any other subject
taught in 21st century schools today.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Social networks, as a form of social constructivism, have the potential to foster
the interaction through which knowledge and meaning is constructed. Jean Piaget, the
Gestalt philosopher and pioneer in the theory of constructivism, saw our brains as active
processors. Piaget (1955) posits that children’s understanding of reality develops as the
child accumulates errors in his or her understanding. This accumulation eventually causes

such a degree of confusion (cognitive disequilibrium) that the brain must restructure its

thought structures to create harmony. In other words, children construct knowledge

(learn) as their misconceptions are addressed and their thoughts are “restructured.”
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development has informed educational theory for decades.

Classroom interaction, according to Piaget, is one of the most important classroom tools

by which children learn. Social networks are a virtual extension of that essential

classroom interaction. Additionally, Berger and Luckman (1966) argue in their well-

known work The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of

Knowledge that all knowledge, including the most basic, taken-for-granted common

sense knowledge of everyday reality, is derived from and maintained by social

interactions. In other words, it is impossible to learn in isolation; collaboration fosters the

construction of meaning. And the collaborative power of social networks cannot be

denied.

The idea of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) arose in the

1990s, in reaction to outdated software that isolated individual learners (Stahl,

Koschmann & Suthers, 2006). Rather than using technology to construct meaning, early

computer-supported education programs only allowed students access to static, posted

materials or methodically drilled students through computer-tutoring software. The

pioneers of CSCL sought to create software that would foster learning through

collaboration with other students, rather than directly from a teacher. Through shared

knowledge, discussion and debate, community becomes the agent of learning. The goal of

CSCL software design is to develop activities and environments that enhance the

practices of group meaning making. Social networks are the newest generation of such

computer-supported collaborative learning environments.

Lastly, social networks help students create narrative versions of their lives and

the lives of others. Reading and writing blog entries, podcasts and creative stories on a

social network encourages students to effectively express themselves, and to reflect upon
the tales of their peers. As Jerome Bruner (1985) states in his article titled Narrative and

Paradigmatic Modes of Thought, “Children turn things into stories, and when they try to
make sense of their life they use the storied version of their experience as the basis for
further reflection. If they don’t catch something in a narrative structure, it doesn’t get
remembered very well, and it doesn’t seem to be accessible for further kinds of mulling
over.” Educators can help students capture and analyze knowledge through the various
narratives that form within an online social network.

CONNECTIONS BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Social networking and online learning communities are keeping teachers and

students connected in and out of the classroom. The University of Wisconsin-Madison

documented the enormous potential social networking technologies have to connect

students, faculty and staff, and increase the efficiency and flexibility of campus services

(Berg, Berquam & Christoph, 2007). These networks create opportunities for students to

share, collaborate, showcase and grow together. At the Rhone Island School of Design

for example, e-portfolio based online learning communities give teachers and students the

ability to personalize and share their content (Yan, 2008). In the United Kingdom, at a

school in Haslemere, Surrey, sixth graders are using a social network to post book

reviews and critique each others’ writing (McLean, 2006). And in the Saugus Union

School District in Santa Clarita, California, 418 teachers and 700 students use the open

source social networking software Elgg to share student generated sports articles,

historical fiction and math podcasts across classrooms and across the district (Glitten,

2006).
 Social networks also allow for the exchange of information and ideas not only

within the confines of a classroom, but across schools, districts, states and the world.

Euroland, a cross-national educational project developed by Ligorio & Van der Meijden

(2007) showcased the use of a virtual environment to reshape classroom-based activities.

Students ranging from 9 to 14 years old, from seven schools located in two European
countries (Italy and The Netherlands), participated in an “online world,” which proved a
successful example of mixing a face-to-face community with a larger, online community.
Through synchronous chat, text based posts and the manipulation of virtual 3D objects,
the project fostered student reflection on cultural issues and sustained a sense of
belonging to the European community.

A similar cross-cultural project, documented by Cifuentes & Shih (2001), brought

together American pre-service teachers (PST) at Texas A&M University and university-
level Taiwanese students majoring in English language and literature. The project aimed

to prepare the instructors for online teaching, and improve their ability to reach diverse

learners. The authenticity of the interaction proved very helpful to Taiwanese students,

whose language skills improved through online discussions and private email with

instructors. And the teachers had the unique opportunity to learn to teach through

observing, conducting and reflecting on these authentic experiences.

CRITIQUES OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IN SCHOOLS

The damaging effect of social networks, both in and out of the educational setting,
has been widely debated. Bullying, both online and in person, remains a hot button issue
for many schools, especially since 2000, when the fatalities at Columbine were linked to

harassment at school. Online anonymity paired with widely available electronic devices

make both bullying and retaliation easier than ever. A 2005 national study found that
18% of students in grades 6-8 said they had been “cyber-bullied” at least once in the last

couple of months and 6% said it had happened to them 2 or more times (Kowalski, 2005).

Several studies, including a recent article in the Illinois School Board Journal suggests

that girls in particular are prone to online bullying (Godard, 2008). While the motivations

of such behavior vary, the more anonymous and impersonal the school environment, the

more bullying you are likely to see (Godard, 2008). Carefully developed and closely

monitored social networks in middle school have the potential to strengthen student

communities, eliminating the alienation and isolation that may fuel such bullying and

intolerance. In fact, these networks may increase the opportunities for shy, reserved or

awkward youth to connect with their teachers and peers. The truth is, bullying exists with

or without online social networking, and it is up to parents and educators to teach

children proper behavior and personal responsibility on the Internet. Safe, secure and

educational social networks would be the perfect tool.

“Careless connection” with the outside world, through online networks, is another

common critique of social networking software. Though the publicity about online

"predators" who prey on naive children using trickery and violence is largely inaccurate,

many parents still fear social networks for this very reason (Wolak, Finkelhor, Mitchell,

Ybarra (2008). The more insidious problem is that students today see the web as their

“private playground” and are unaware of the dangers posed by careless online postings.

Many are simply oblivious of the legal rights they give up when private info is posted

publicly. Thanks to incriminating photos or details posted on MySpace or Facebook

pages, many students are finding themselves denied from schools, rejected from

internships or excluded from sports scholarships (Fleming, 2008). To combat these

dangers, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal wants to see MySpace raise

its minimum age limit from 14 to 16, and several bills in Congress have included

provisions barring schools that receive federal funding from allowing minors to access

networking sites like MySpace and Facebook (Fleming, 2008). But I believe education,

rather than legislation, is the answer. Based on the astronomical rise in usage of online
social networks cited at the start of this proposal, the belief that legislators can keep
students off the internet’s most poplar websites is, quite frankly, naïve. The real problem
is, most students have never been taught anything about Internet privacy — aside,
perhaps, from some vague protests by worried parents (Read, 2006). Now that schools

have the potential to build safe, private and controlled social networks with programs

such as Elgg, institutions can educate students on internet safety and privacy. These

“sandbox-style” social networks would offer schools the opportunity to educate students

in a secure, online community. Issues of proper online behavior, the persistence on online

documentation (those posts don’t just disappear), consideration of one’s audience and

internet copyright considerations could be taught through the use of a social network.

When students “graduate” to real world software like MySpace and Facebook, they will

have already learned how to be safe and responsible web citizens.

REFERENCES

Berg, J., Berquam, L. & Christoph, K. (2007). Social Networking Technologies: A

“Poke” for Campus Services. Educause Review. March/April 32-44
Berger, P. & Luckmann, T. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality: A
Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Garden City, New York: Anchor Books.

Berry, M. (2008) Personal Interview (Elgg use in Haslemere, Surrey UK)

Bruener, Jerome. (1985) Narrative and Paradigmatic Modes of Thought. Learning and
Teaching Ways of Knowing, Eighty-fourth Yearbook of the National Society for
the Study of Education 97-115
Cifuentes, L. & Shih, Y. (2001) Teaching and Learning Online: A Collaboration Between
U.S. and Taiwanese Students. Journal of Research on Technology in Education,
v33 n4 Sum 456-474

Fleming, Dana L. (2008) Youthful Indiscretions: Should Colleges Protect Social Network
Users from Themselves and Others? New England's Journal of Higher Education.
Winter. 27-29

Gee, James Paul. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy.
New York: Palgrave Macmillian.

Glitten, S. (2006) An open source education. Network World. Retrieved on: August 3,
2008: http://www.networkworld.com/allstar/2006/092506-open-source-saugus-
union-school-district.html

Goddard, Connie. (2008). H8@ Skul: Cyber World Bullying. The Illinois School Board
Journal, 75. Nov/Dec. 2007. Springfield, IL. 4-9

Ivins, Robert. (2007) Social Networking Goes Global. Retrieved September 11, 2008,
from comScore.Website http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1555

Kowalski, R. et al (August, 2005). Electronic Bullying Among School-Aged Children

and Youth. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological
Association. Washington, DC.

Ligorio, M.B. & Van der Meijden, H. (2007). Teacher guidelines for cross-national
virtual communities in primary education. The Authors Journal Compilation.
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

McLean, H. (2006) The Writing’s on the Wall For Pencil and Paper. The Guardian.
Retrieved August 5, 2008:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/may/16/elearning.schools6

Piaget, Jean. (1955). The Child's Construction of Reality. London: Routledge and Kegan
Paul.

Read, Brock. (2006). Think Before You Share. Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 52,
Issue 20

Stahl, G., Koschmann, T. & Suthers, D. (2006) Computer-supported collaborative

learning: An historical perspective. The Cambridge Handbook of
the Learning Sciences, 409-420.

Wolak, J., Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K., Ybarra, M. Online "predators" and their victims:
Myths, realities, and implications for prevention and treatment. American
 Psychologist. 2008 Feb-Mar Vol 63(2) 111-128

Yan, Jeffrey. (2008).Social Technology as a New Medium in the Classroom. New

England's Journal of Higher Education. Winter. 29-30