When Students Blog: An Afterschool Guide to Social Media

The term “social media” refers to activities that combine technology, social interaction, and the sharing of words, pictures, video, and audio. Many people are familiar with social media like blogs, wikis, and podcasts and may have ventured into the world of social networking. Having students use these applications may raise concerns about safety, privacy, and appropriate use (see “Teaching Tip” for more information on safety considerations). However, a growing number of social media applications are designed for educational purposes and enable adults to monitor student activity.

When students learn to use social media appropriately, they write about a variety of topics, analyze and synthesize information, collaborate on projects, and give feedback to peers. Below is a list of types of social media that can be useful in afterschool programs. The technology section of the National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning’s Afterschool Training Toolkit also has resources for technology activities, including social media.

A BLOG, short for Web log, is an online journal or diary. Blogs enable people to write and publish about anything that interests them, from politics to hobbies to entertainment. Students can use blogs to practice writing, share ideas, and interact with their peers. For education and privacy purposes, consider Class Blogmeister or 21 Publish, two blogging tools that allow you to create multi-blogger communities where the instructor can review and edit student posts and comments before making them public. Other blogging sites like Edublogs, Blogger, or LiveJournal allow instructors to create accounts that can be viewed only by friends (other classmates) and the instructor. For a more detailed lesson on using student blogs, see the technology section of the Afterschool Training Toolkit.

When students learn to use social media appropriately, they write about a variety of topics, analyze and synthesize information, collaborate on projects, and give feedback to peers.

One of the disadvantages of wikis is the potential for bias, inaccuracies, or vandalism because anyone can edit them. Be sure to point out some of these advantages and disadvantages to your students and ask how this might influence their work. Afterschool students can consult wikis as a source of information, or they can create or edit wikis as a way of sharing their research with their peers. If you are looking for a wiki dedicated to educational purposes, consider the Student Wiki (http://www.thestudentwiki.org - site no longer available - March, 2012).

A podcast is a form of audio broadcasting on the Internet (think radio). Most computers with Internet capability and access have a media player that will allow listening to a podcast. Although some podcasts are one-time productions (i.e., a student’s lecture on art history), many podcasts are serial, with new episodes produced each day, week, or month. In an afterschool setting, students can create podcasts to share work in any content area. Your afterschool program could also consider publishing regular podcasts in the form of an afterschool news program. Consider Web sites like the Education Podcast Network or Podomatic. The technology section of the Afterschool Training Toolkit also has a lesson on podcasting.

Social bookmarking is a way for students to collect and organize links online. Sites like del.icio.us and Furl allow users to register and create accounts where they save and tag, or label, links of interest. In an afterschool setting, students might use a social bookmarking site to save links for Web sites related to a topic they are researching. Students can use accounts individually or share an account for group work. Many of these sites also let you hide topics from public view to maintain privacy.

Social networking is one of the most popular forms of social media for young adults, but it is also one of the areas where they need the most counseling. Popular online social networking sites include MySpace and Facebook. In online social networking, people register and create profiles that provide personal information and photos. They can then make connections with, or “friend,” members who have similar interests or connections. Most social networking sites allow users to interact through a variety of features, such as chat, messaging, blogging, discussion groups, photo and video sharing, etc.

AfterWords Wins Top Publishing Award

AfterWords won the 2008 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers. The March 2007 issue of the newsletter won in the category for adult learning, e-newsletter. The issue focused on afterschool program evaluation. For more than 40 years, the AEP awards have recognized significant and excellent achievement in educational products and education marketing.

AEP received about 1,000 entries this year in the Distinguished Achievement Award and Beacon Award competitions. The Wall Street Journal and WestEd were finalists in the E-newsletter, Adult Learning category along with SEDL. The National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning’s Afterschool Training Toolkit was also a finalist in the Adult Learning Instructional Technology category.

Chief Leschi School 21st CCLC
Puyallup, Washington

The Chief Leschi School 21st CCLC afterschool program uses technology for a variety of activities, including core content instruction that is aligned with the day-school curriculum and enrichment and extension activities. “We use technology to engage kids in learning,” says special services director Norm Dorpat.

Although technology is integrated into both the regular school day and the afterschool program, the afterschool setting allows for more flexibility and hands-on use of technology. “In afterschool, kids get to sift through the technology and use it as they need to,” says program coordinator Sunny Anderson. This might include using tutorial software to reinforce core academic subjects, using the Internet for career exploration, or watching video clips that support literacy topics covered during the regular school day.

Technology also helps Chief Leschi School meet student needs as a tribal school serving American Indian students in Puyallup Valley. The school is the largest of seven tribal schools in the state of Washington, with students from nearly 60 different American Indian tribes, clans, and independent nations. The afterschool programs includes culture classes that creatively combine the use of technology with activities that teach American Indian traditions. For example, in a recent beading activity, students used the Internet to research their tribal history and patterns and designs that were used in tribal artwork. They then used a graphic design program to create beading patterns that served as the prototype for the final piece of art.

Like many successful afterschool programs, the Chief Leschi School 21st CCLC fosters strong relationships between students and afterschool staff. Many of the day-school teachers also work in afterschool program. “The staff are already invested in the kids,” says Dorpat. “The relationship they build after school helps the students’ attitudes during the regular school day. Afterschool is not an add-on. It truly is an essential part of what we do.”

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What types of social media do students in your afterschool program use? (Select all that apply.)

	Blogs
	Wikis
	Podcasts
	Social bookmarking
	Social networking
	None