I've considered my self a computer nerd/geek my whole life, partly due to having access to a computer since I was 4 or 5, and partly due to using it as often as I could. I was exceptionally excited to see there was a class that would merge literacy and technology and I could get credit for learning new things. The first book we've finished reading, Blogs, Wiki's and Podcasts by Will Richardson, did not disappoint me with the creativity and novelty of the ideas that were expressed so enticingly and with such great enthusiasm.
I've come to embrace the blogging idea for a classroom, though I'm not sure how often I'll do it for personal reasons - I may surprise myself and find something I can't shut up about! I can also see the appeal and amazing strength of really using RSS to pull sources together. I look forward to our own class work on a wiki, and the digital storytelling. There was one part of the technology that left me a little leary because I don't think the safety measures of the sites have been addressed considering the information on Facebook and Twitter is over 3 years old, and both sites have changed policies a bit since (especially Facebook).
I think in the case of both of those social networking sites, I would make a case that they have educational value, but there is so much identity safety that needs to be established, that I'd rather use other sites for a classroom. The ability to create a page, have a discussion or forum, talk about interests and things relevant to the work, and to host images and video isn't unique to Facebook and Twitter, and I don't like how especially Facebook has changed so much into a corporation content to sell the information of the average person, no matter how private you make yourself. At the time the book was written, I'll acknowledge Facebook was a fair more user friendly, but I wouldn't trust the direction it's been heading in with my students and their work. I've even stopped using the site myself because I don't believe in plugging something you personally don't agree with.
Ultimately the book was an awesome and eye-opening look at the way the Web has evolved and what it means for us in the classroom, but I think we need to look past some of the enthusiasm built into selling us on ideas, and remember we're still the ones responsible in the classroom for the safety of our students and their intellectual property and identities.
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