f.+Chapter+5+-+Social+Networking

Social Networking Through Teams

"Susan Greenfield, a neuroscientist in Britain, warns people about the possible changes in the brain as a result of social networking, playing video games, and even watching some television programs." (pg. 57) Social networking is a familiar term to most teachers, administrators, and students alike. This can be useful for our students, as long as they have guidance from adults, and use the sites in an appropriate way. Due to the use of these new resources, such as Twitter, FaceBook, and blogs, some children are becoming more familiar with interactions with one another via internet, but have social inadequacies when it comes to face-to-face interactions.

Creating groups or "teams" can help students interact with others face-to-face, and boost self-esteem. To put together these support teams, follow these steps for success: 1. Form the teams, according to random groupings, various learning styles, similar interests, complementary skills, various ages, technology teams, multiple-intelligence teams, or mixed ability students. 2. Learn new things about one another to get familiarized with one onother or to get reacquainted with one another. 3. Choose team leaders, explaining what makes a good leader and celebrate the leaders' achievements. 4. Foster team spirit by having the teams make up cheers and names for the teams. 5. Set individual goals, having each student write down 3 positive, specific goals. 6. Set team goals that are agreed upon by the whole group. 7. Post the goals for each team on a poster for all to see. 8. Create team scorecards, including whether or not the team has reached its goals. 9. Make public promises that each person will do for his or her team. 10. Make an overall scorecard that shows the teams and how they are progressing each week.

After creating these teams, the teams will be used to form collaborative relationships.
 * They will need to understand that listening is important to the success of the group.
 * The team shares goals.
 * They have a safe place to work.
 * Different points of view allow for changes in representations.
 * Teams should communicate when necessary. Wikis would be a good place for communication between group members.
 * Teams can change their meeting place.
 * Students within the teams do not need specific jobs, because the roles can be confining.
 * Good leaders will take initiative to assist when a unanimous decision cannot be made.
 * Students should understand that collaboration isn't cheating in the teams.
 * Encourage the students to have fun while participating in the groupwork.

Grouping students can help alleviate problems in the classroom. Students are being guided through learning, as well as learning to work with others, a necessary lifelong skill. Using these teams can "lead them toward (their) stated goals, perhaps show them the connections they need to make, help them weed out the riff-raff, and stand back as they search, communicate, have fun, and learn!" (pg. 69)