Social Networking for Schools

ISBN-13: 9781586835378

220 pages • 6¼ x 9¼
 2012

This book provides specific and practical ideas for using social media tools to enhance communications, instruction, and professional development within the K-12 school environment—invaluable information for school librarians, instructional coaches, technology specialists, and educational administrators.

The pervasiveness of social networking is a fact of modern life and the use of these communication technologies is spreading to younger children. 81 percent of students between the ages of 9 and 17 use social networking sites, and 71 percent use them at least weekly. Schools and educators need to harness the power of social networking media for student learning and engagement.

Social Networking for Schools is the only book to take a comprehensive look at topic of social media use in schools. Starting with the numerous justifications for integrating social media into schools, it provides real world examples of how to seamlessly integrating social media within your classroom or library, examines the methodologies for crafting the necessary policies and procedures to ensure that staff members are prepared to use these tools effectively, and discusses the policy and legal issues surrounding the use of social media in schools.

The work uniquely identifies the three core ways that social media can be integrated within a school: as communications tools, as instructional tools, and for professional development. The collaborative effort of a former school librarian and current school administrator with a practicing school attorney, authors Steven M. Baule and Julie E. Lewis bring perspectives and critical insights to the topic not normally considered in similar literature.