I really enjoyed reading The Socially Networked Classroom by Kist’s because it attempts to navigate the socially networked classroom and their struggles against the barriers that we all encounter—lack of technology, lack of support, lack of time, and, of course, standardized curriculum and testing. Their experiments weren’t always successful, but each attempt gave them insights that helped them further refine their methods. It also demonstrates how Social networking in an unlimited tech environment, some teachers are able to work in a kind of filter-less bliss. For these teachers, they don't need to worry about having to mimic Web 2.0. They can use the real thing live, seemingly with few difficulties. Also, this chapter includes some “off campus” settings in which Web 2.0 activities may be housed—such settings as libraries, afterschool clubs, film festivals, and home. He spoke of Web sites like Facebook and Twitter and how they have transformed the way young people interact and communicate. With appropriate guidelines students' social networking skills can be harnessed to develop new literacies and deepen teaching and learning in the 21st century. I have found out with experience from implementing these creative ideas in my class that it really helps my students learn.

He also points out that With this accessible guide for Grades 5 - 12 teachers of all levels of technological expertise can help students develop the new literacies necessary to succeed in a digital Web sites like Facebook and Twitter have transformed the way young people interact and communicate. One example given in his book is that After months of looking, there was only one teacher he could find who admitted to using Facebook unfiltered within the school day in a K–12 setting, and even this teacher said that it “flew under the radar screen” of his school's administrators. We set one up for our classroom to discuss books and it is wonderful. To see them put their thoughts down and discussion about those thoughts is amazing from my special education class.

In chapter six “Refill” which is this final chapter, returns to some of the overarching themes we educators continue to encounter as we grapple with the implications of screen-based communication tools. Being a high school teacher, I often think the transition in the monitoring of students is abrupt as they graduate from high school. I usually have to cover a study hall a couple of times as part of my schedule, and I think how odd it was that we, as a society, expect our students to ask permission to leave a study hall because they are done or to go to the bathroom, while the very next day, after graduation, their whereabouts are their own business. This kind of in-school restriction seem arbitrary and unnecessary to me when in the midst of it. Yes I know some may skip or roam the hallway but they will suffer the consequences just as they would in the real world.

 

Kist, W. R. (December 9, 2009). The Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the New Media Age. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press Inc.