ECM Briefs

Kids today are growing up in an “on-demand” world. The typical high school or college student couldn’t imagine a world without computers, and cell phones, without being connected full time and communicating instantly with text messaging, instant messaging, and email.

Technology has defined the culture of youth in how they communicate, socialize, and interact with each other. As such, it is no surprise that kids have flocked to Internet-based social networking sites as a way to express themselves and share their thoughts, interests, pictures, and music with their peers. Of course, social networking sites have a much-publicized downside: They’re freely accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. Such an unmonitored environment can lead to problems with Internet predators, cyber-bullying, and students unwittingly revealing personal information.

Schools districts are beginning to examine whether they can leverage the popularity and promise of social networking as an effective learning tool, while helping to ensure the same safety and security provided to students in a brick and mortar classroom. The concept of social networking in a school environment is a good one, enabling students to widen their circle of friends, enhance technology skills, and promote communication and collaboration.

A relatively new trend for school districts is to deploy technology within the school environment that provides many of the standard social networking features, without leaving students exposed to the dangers of the open Internet. The FirstClass solution from Open Text, for example, enables school districts to create online communities that connect students, teachers, parents, and administration within a secure networked environment. This type of solution takes advantage of the way today’s students prefer to communicate with each other and access information. Students can create personal profiles or pages which outline their thoughts, interests, extra-curricular activities, and any other information they wish others to know. Students and teachers can communicate via email, instant messages, blogs, or podcasts to share content and exchange information.

The popularity of the freely available social networking sites is not likely to lose momentum anytime soon. While school districts can’t expect to replace these sites, they can offer a safer alternative designed for education that appeals to the way today’s students want to learn, collaborate and communicate.