Journal entry #2

This weeks article titled, Social Networking by Jim Klein covers some of the ideas and concepts behind the use and purpose of learning through technology in and out of the classroom. He starts off by bringing up the purpose behind the SUSD Teacher and Student Community sites called "learning landscapes" which is intended to better the communication, collaboration, and learning process  between students and teachers. Suggested technology tools to help better the communication process include: public blog entries, videos, and podcasts. Since some of the tools have been incorporated in the classroom, there has been a definite improvement in test scores as well as in the area of writing and language fluency. These elements and tools help the student remain engaged and interested in learning. 

Questions:1.) With this said, what about the idea of facebooking to better the relationship between students and their teachers? This can be a tricky question, although the idea and concept behind facebook is harmless and actually encourages people to better their networking and communication skills this use of technology can be inappropriate between teachers and students. There has to be a boundary somewhere and an alternative to this can be by using blogs to express themselves and to see what's going on with other people.

2.) How can podcasts improve the learning process? Podcasts are a good way to keep students as well as teacher informed and engaged. They also bring a sense of ownership to whoever help make it and they are a good way for the students to use technology in the classroom while learning and having fun.