Blog 12- Safe Social Networking for K-12 Schools

I liked the idea of “safe” social networking. I believe it should be started in first grade in the classroom. What a better way to teach how to be safe on a social network such as Facebook or Twitter than to have a social network through the classroom? My niece has this and LOVES it! Don’t worry parents: No addresses, phone numbers, or real pictures of the child are used. Profile pictures are made through animations, characters, animals, or whatever the child is into and pages and fonts can be personalized to tailor the child’s interests. However, the only students in that social network are in their class! In fact, my niece even has assignments to update her “about me” and comment on 5 people’s wall. While the children have the privileges to go and write as the please, the teachers can monitor it all! That way if there is an incident it can be taken care of quickly. As you can tell, I really like safe networking. It is very beneficial in giving the children the opportunity to learn in a real setting without the dangers most parents are worried about.