Social+Networking

One aspect of collaborative hypermedia that has seen little integration in schools is the rise in social networking sites such as [|Myspace] and [|Facebook]. These sites allow users to create a profile and then link to a number of “friends.” Once a user has created a profile, he or she can add and share a variety of media using [|chat], [|messaging], [|email], [|video], [|voice chat], [|file sharing], [|blogging], and [|discussion groups]. (“[|Social]”). Many students have embraced these services wholeheartedly, but schools are wary. Despite worries of privacy and online predators, more and more students are using social networking sites, and they are learning networking skills that could be useful in both learning and the workplace. Schools that can harness these new networking skills will be able to catch and hold the attention of their students. Schools in Seattle, Washington are implementing a [|system] that lets teachers post multimedia material in a format similar to Youtube. They also plan a system called Medley that will allow students to create profile pages similar to those of Myspace. District officials say it will allow the benefits of collaborative sites, but will avoid the problems of bullying and predators because it will be moderated by school officials ([|Fields]).

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