Whose space is it?

A WebQuest for Middle School and High School Teachers

Designed by Olga LaPlante

olaplante@mainelearns.org

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page

Introduction

Do we need to introduce MySpace? Well, you could call this one an introduction...

DetNews

MySpace is an example, the most popular at this time, of a social-networking site - a way for people to communicate and "meet" new people.

Whether we support it or despise it, it's happening and there is no ignoring it. How do we form a comprehensive idea about what social-networking sites do and don't do? How do we write policies for schools? What do we tell parents? How do we educate students? If adults can't come up with a solution, does it mean we leave it all to the teens???

Task

Myspace logo Start a conversation in your community and schools about social networking sites and promote internet safety awareness.

In order to do so, research what there is out there about dangers and benefits of social networking, and reasons why teens turn to MySpace, bypass proxy and get more and more sophisticated at helping MySpace survive even underground; then form a more educated opinion and plan to address this issue in your practice.

Process

In pairs, you need to establish the facts relevant to the issue as well as the various opinions. Are you mainly positive or negative about social networking sites? One of you will research the pro-myspace sites, and the other one will research the anti-myspace sites.
On your own, research the following situations. List 10 major reasons to support your respective point of view.

Click on the list to see the links, and click again to collapse them.

MySpace is Bad List:

MySpace Can be Good List:

Evaluation

Regardless of what your opinion is and which format for your final product you have selected, the following content should be revealed and criteria addressed.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Teamwork	Only studied 2-3 sources, didn't take notes, didn't keep an open mind, didn't show support	Studied own list, took some notes, not as involved with others	Collaborated, provided peer support, and was responsible for own share; used appropriate technology	Led discussion, helped make everyone confortable to express views, used and suggested use of appropriate technology; was responsible for own share, but did own search as well
Ability to Achieve Consensus	Showed little interest in working out differences, lack of involvement	Tried to work out differences, but agreed half-heartedly; allowed personal opinion to dominate professional choices	Reflected on own findings, and the partner's; made suggestions, and informed decisions; was willing to negotiate and addressed issues professionally	Same as in Accomplished; plus discussion was successful and consensus constructive
Information Organization	Information is arranged randomly	Information includes just one side of story; logic is somewhat present	Information is organized in a way to include multiple views for clear comparison and contrast; appealing and is easy to use	Information is organized to include multiple views and provide additional input; easy to compare and use in further work; appealing; enhanced through use of technology
Audience Appropriate	Author's level, not necessarily the audience's; random format; few or no resources	Some discrepancies in language and content; nor all resources suitable for claimed audience	Suitable resources and format have been used	Content, resources and format suitable for audience, audience identified, more than one version to address a different audience
Message	A general piece of writing on topic, no particular message	A variety of topics addressed, message not clear or many messages implied	Message is clear and is constructive in character promoting safe and healthy use of technology; appropriate reliable sources have been cited/included	Extremely compelling, clear, and involved; promotes safe and healthy use of technology; multiple reliable resources
Content and Format Cohesion	Format clashes with content, seems to be random	Format doesn't present the content in best way; distracting	Format was chosen appropriately for the type of content (interactive, presentation, etc.) and enhances its perception	Format was chosen to create an extremely compelling message, and appealing technology/techniques was used
Participation in Final Project Creation*	Custom-identified	Custom-identified	Custom-identified	Custom-identified: Sample: Outstanding collaboration and leadership skills have been demonstrated

Conclusion

You have embarked upon a road that has an unknown destination. The world is changing at blinding rates, and we need to prepare students to succeed in it. Learning how to stay safe and behave appropriately may save a few bumps on the road, and it's a teacher's responsibility to offer learning opportunities.

To most of us that means never-ending learning, but that's why we are in this business, isn't it?

Explore blogging, wiki, other online collaboration and information exchange tools, or create your own social network, and keep an open mind!

You may also want to explore other ways of social networking:

Social Bookmarking | Yahoo! Answers | Photo Sharing

Credits & References

Edutopia Magazine, April/May 2007, Vol 3 Issue 3

Technology and Learning, March 2007, Vol 7 Number 8

Thanks to Becky Ranks for sharing the NING site with me on del.icio.us.

The Design Patterns page was used for scaffolding.

We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the my name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL.

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page