Socializing the Classroom

Social Networks and Online Learning

By (author) Susan B. Barnes

Not available to order

Publication date:

26 April 2012

Length of book:

228 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739140130

Socializing the Classroom: Social Networks and Online Learning, by Susan B. Barnes, examines how social media can be used in education through two research grants and real-world applications. Barnes analyzes social media including Facebook, Courseware, and Second Life, while providing a theoretical foundation for examining social software. A new generation of students is surrounded by digital technologies, leading scholars and teachers to consider virtual worlds to engage students.

By bringing together human-computer-interaction theories with social theory, Socializing the Classroom creates a theoretical foundation for future research in the area of social media, online learning technologies, and the development of social networks. Readers will gain a better understanding of how students use online learning environments to communicate task-oriented messages and maintain social interactions. This is an essential text for scholars, students, and those interested in social networks and the implementation of technology in education.
In Socializing the Classroom: Social Networks and Online Learning, Susan Barnes has illuminated a new approach to the study of using technology in the classroom, one that takes into account the dynamic social changes in students and their engagement with technology. In this valuable new work, Barnes opens new windows into understanding the multiple media illiteracies of students, through the lens of media ecology. While many either bemoan or overtly praise the way technology has been introduced to the classroom, Barnes and her team ask tough questions, and provide valuable answers to anyone wondering how students really learn.