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August 14, 2007
Social networking study takes the stage
Today, NSBA formally released* (more on that in a second) a new study on teen and 'tweens use of social networking sites. The study, Creating and Connecting//Research and Guidelines on Online Social - and Educational - Networking explores the online behaviors of teens and 'tweens.
The study, conducted by Grunwald Associates LLC and sponsored by Microsoft, News Corporation, and Verizon, shows that 96 percent of students with online access use social networking technologies, such as chatting, text messaging, blogging, and visiting online communities such as Facebook, MySpace, and Webkinz. Further, students report that one of the most common topics of conversation on the social networking scene is education. This seems to be encouraging news for educators.
“There is no doubt that these online teen hangouts are having a huge influence on how kids today are creatively thinking and behaving,” said Anne L. Bryant, executive director of NSBA. “The challenge for school boards and educators is that they have to keep pace with how students are using these tools in positive ways and consider how they might incorporate this technology into the school setting.”
You can read the complete report here and NSBA's press release here. Education Week picked up the story and has a great article, here.
Not surprisingly, the report has created quite a buzz in the online community. Our old friend David Warlick comments about the report on his blog, pointing out, "I’ve had the privilege of working with the NSBA staff on several occasions and once with the state leadership, and have come away with the very same impression that I had from the Council for Chief State School Officers institute last week. They get it. They believe it." Thanks Dave!
Be sure to check out the comments portion of his blog too, because they really show the discussion being tossed around the tech community on this subject.
Some other blogs covering the story include Computerworld.com, which points out the tremendous opportunities present for school districts by social networking. One of BoardBuzz's favorite, from Slashdot, came with the headline School Boards Rule, and also elicited quite a discussion on the comments section.
*As an aside, BoardBuzz hears from its source in the press office at NSBA that they learned a very valuable lesson about the power of bloggers. Originally, the release was sent to press and select bloggers with an embargo (for those not in the know, an embargo is used to create a buzz and give reporters time to do some research--including reading the report and conducting interviews--prior to the formal release) for Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. No sooner had the media advisory and copy of the report hit the airwaves than the blog world began buzzing, throwing caution (and the embargo) to the wind. The excitement was palpable, as blogs carried the story in three different continents, but the embargo was blown. Which is why those tech-savvy of you who read plenty of blogs out there may have already seen this story. Lesson learned: you gotta know when to embargo and when to run with a story. Not to mention when to share with the blogging community who answer to their own rules and not the unwritten rules of the mainstream press. Who knew?
Posted August 14, 2007 4:57 PM |
Education Technology
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