August 12, 2009
“We have to be where they are in this world.” Kathryn Montgomery quoted an anonymous company spokesperson speaking about social networking sites and blogs. Generation Digital details the long history of the advertising and marketing industries’ web savvyness in taking advantage of the youth presence on the internet that was ripe for the picking. By the time social networking started to grow, industry had already been data mining and marketing to kids for years using sites that they created under the guise of education or entertainment. With the growth of MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, and other sites, new avenues were opening up to allow corporations to get their message to children and teenagers. They were and are adept at using what has captured kids’ attention to their advantage.
social networking logos
I personally condemn much of what industry has done to take advantage of kids on the web, but at the same time, I have to admire their skill and guile. Would that education had done or would do the same, but our school districts are so afraid of the potential dangers of students running into anything inappropriate, that they restrict the very thing that could help to engage and motivate students. The advertisers and marketers know that they “have to be where they are,” I wonder why my district and school administrators don’t see the value of education having a presence where the students are online. My district continues to block far too many valuable online applications, and advocating the use of computer software that is dry and boring, and resembles nothing more than electronic test prep.
Useful applications are in wide use in higher ed. Blackboard, Moodle, and other learning management systems could offer much to primary and secondary education, not to mention sites like Ning, Wikispaces, and others. One of the classes that I am currently enrolled in in my Masters program at SDSU uses a Ning site as a hub for much of the learning that takes place in the course. Discussion boards, assignments, a syllabus, and a space to organize and communicate in collaborative groups are just some of what the Ning site offers. Many others have done so as well, though they remain a rarity among teachers I meet in my district. I use Facebook, but not MySpace or others like it, and I can see potential for learning in the sharing and social groups that occur there. Sure, my friends share all kinds of useless information and annoying applications with me. I’m not particularly fond of being hit with virtual pillows or being recruited for battle in mob wars, but I have also learned quite a bit from useful links and groups that I come across from time to time.
It seems that throughout the history of media, education has lagged behind industry in taking advantage of new media. Radio, TV, and now the web. We need to be where they are, so we can get them where we want them to be.
