Online Communication Tools

  As I reflect on my learning this week I have found that I have learned a lot about online communication tools.  I have used email a lot for online communication for specific reasons at whatever job that I was currently active in.  I have also used Facebook and Myspace for online communication with my youth group when I was working as a youth career advisor. 

The specific online communication tool that I have learned the most about has been blogs. Blogs can be used for multiple things. I have learned many uses for blogs in the educational aspect. Blogs can be used for book clubs, posting information about your travels, fitness, news, sports, posting about emergency situations, etc. This online tool is an amazing application that can be used for businesses to post advertisements. This is a great marketing tool for businesses. Blogs are a wonderful multifaceted utilization tool.

1. Have you ever used online communication tools in the classroom before?  If so, detail your experiences.  If not, what has prevented you from using online communication tools?

When I was working as a Youth Career Advisor at KCEOC Community Action Partnership I used Facebook, Email, and Myspace as an online communication tool. My job as their advisor was to schedule workshops such as: ACT preparation, financial aid help, guest speakers from different career and educational backgrounds, community services, etc. I scheduled different career site tours to visit so that the students could experience in person what is required of certain jobs that they had interests in. During the summer I scheduled different job sites for the students to work at and earn money.

I used the online communication sites to provide the times when our events were scheduled, list community events, list job openings, and list informational websites about careers. The kids enjoyed Facebook because they all had one. They all became a fan of our Facebook page and then had access to all of the information.

2. Identify one online communication tool you can use in the classroom and discuss how you will prepare your students for using this communication tool.

I am very interested in using blogs in the classroom. The reason is because of its versatility. This was my choice in my paper that we wrote this week about online communication tools. Blogs are amazing in the fact that students can be creative and have a choice of designing their work to their style.

The way that I would prepare my students for using blogs would be to design lessons in a step-by-step guide on how to create and design a blog. Students are technologically savy this will not be a problem for them at all. I believe that the students would talk about their work to their friends and have them check out their designs. I believe that having the ability to add music and other media that the students would be excited to get started. A few problems that I would run into would be the use of the computer lab. If I try to get them to work on them at home some students may not have access to a computer.

Online communication tools are the future of education. This tool is gaining popularity in the college atmosphere because of its accessibility. People who are not near a college they would like to attend can get online and take courses. If gas continues to rise I think high schools may eventually use this method.