T.H.E. Journal is featuring another very interesting article by Dr. Ruth Reynard this week, which discusses the ongoing debate concerning the benefits/drawbacks of social networking tools and software in education. In the article, Reynard seeks to explore whether or not social networking as an instructional concept and user skill can be integrated into more conventional approaches to teaching and learning? And whether or not the skills developed within a social networking environment have value in these conventional learning environments?

To help answer these questions, Reynard mines a recent data-rich survey conducted by The National School Boards Association (USA) in partnership with research firm Grunwald Associates and with the support of Microsoft, Newscorp, and Verizon, which dissects social and education related activity patterns by American students. The focus of the study was K-12 instruction; however, much can be learned from the results of this study that apply to the uses of social networking technology in general.

As Reynard fleshes out the debate, she ultimately comes to the conclusion that an appropriate response to social networking tools is not to reject them as irrelevant to learning but to realize that current students are likely to already be familiar with the passive uses of social networking and need to be challenged towards innovation. She argues that we are already challenged in that regard with all learners: engaging students at a higher level to develop active learning skills and facilitate full engagement in the learning process. She writes: “The issue then is to build on what is already being done and accepted by students as a familiar activity to develop more innovative uses of the same activity and encourage students to become engaged participants in their online connections.”

Reynard’s full article is certainly worth checking out.