Will Richardson "Social Networks" Reflection

In Will Richardson’s article titled, “Navigating Social Networks as a Learning Tool”, he presents the reader with a variety of positive advantages for the inclusion of technology in the classroom and he also mentions a few drawbacks to why technology and the internet can be dangerous to student learners.

Richardson brings up an excellent point where he states, “Instead of learning from others who have the credentials to “teach” in the new networked world, we learn with others whom we seek (and who seek us) on our own and with whom we often share nothing more than a passion for knowing.” He brings up such an amazing point in saying that the internet is there, but it’s the job of the user to access that information. The users will most times access information that they are truly interesting in which makes the learning much more authentic and relevant to the user.

Eighty percent of high school students in the United States are apart or engaged in some act of publishing online. Most of these are through sites like Facebook or MySpace. The younger generation is so much more adapted to handle this technology change and they are waiting for it with open arms. Navigating a computer might sound hard for some adults, but for children its second nature. Students are waiting for this asset to enter into their classroom on a regular basis.

We are all now a part of a larger world. In recent decades the term Globalization has popped up. Basically this term refers to the inter-connectedness of the world. We are part of a community that is much bigger than we can see on a daily basis. Students should be able to tap into this resource.

Richardson brings up some really strong points into the dangers of technology and students almost immediate access to technology. He comments with too much technology students will forget the simple things that are crucial and essential in learning. Skills like organizing skills- notes, index cards, folders, binders, etc. These items will become obsolete because a computer can do all of this for you.

The author mentions the validity of online resources. Unless students are taught to evaluate online resources, they will not know what information is useful or correct. Students think that if it’s on the internet it must be true, that could be far from the truth. The job of educators now is to help students self evaluate these websites so they are truly accessing the correct information.