Finding Our Way: Eighth Graders Explore Social Networking Sites

As adolescents spend more and more time engaging in various online activities, teachers are questioning the role that language arts curricula might play in helping them become savvy technology users. In this study, an eighth-grade teacher responded to her students' unauthorized participation on MySpaceâ„¢ by initiating an inquiry into social networking sites (SNSs). This inquiry explored positive and negative aspects of online participation and included two main components: 1) a series of engagements that focused on social networking issues in the news and 2) extended opportunities to engage in online interaction through Think.com, a site open only to teachers and students. Students concluded that participation in social networking provided opportunities for making international connections and for sharing their perspectives without having to compete with others for a chance to speak during oral discussions. The authors concluded that the experience provided opportunities for authentic literacy learning and the development of a more reflexive stance. Students showed evidence of growth in their ability to think critically about how they have used social networking to perpetuate injustices.