Earlier this year, I decided to do some live tweeting during parent teacher conference down time as a way to engage students. I simply made silly remarks about the ins and outs of meeting with parents. Many of my students enjoy following my twitter. I think it's a good way to connect with students. Having said that, I have heard a lot of negative things about how students use social media. I have a Facebook, but don't really use it, and I have never 'friended' a student. Many teachers do, but I feel like they are taking a big risk to charter into those waters.
I would consider using social media in the classroom if I could figure out what kind of educational value it might have. Certainly, a teacher could set up his/her own page as a way for students to keep up to date about what is going on in class. If social media is used just for the sake of collaboration, then I think tools should be used that have a strictly educational purpose. I am not sure that we can get students to shift their focus at this point and use twitter or facebook as a tool in the classroom. Too many potential distractions.
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