Thing #22-Social Networks

1. Why is it important that educators know how social networking works?
Educators need to know about social networks because they are very popular and students today are very familiar with how they work. While their primary use is outside of the classroom, teachers need to have an understanding of their place in students lives.

2. What new insights did you gain about these popular sites?
I was familiar with the sites before, and my main observation is that they require a significant amount of your time to keep them up to date.

3. What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored?
The like is that it is nice to keep in contact with friends and family who you do not see on a regular basis or who live far away. This is a simple and easy way to keep up with those who are not a part of our daily life. The dislike is that when the information is posted for "all the world to see" your information can be accessed by practically anyone. Even by using the private blocking options of the sites you can still be found through search engines.

4. Which site had the most useful features?
Facebook has the most useful features because it's programming uses information you provide to recommend people you might know to be your friends.

5.Can you see an educational application for any of these sites?
I really do not see any educational application for the social networking sites at this time.

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