Web 2.0 and Social Networking Concerns in K-12

The recent T.H.E. Journal article, "Principals Voice Enthusiasm for Social Networking, Though Concerns Remain," provided some useful highlights from the two-phase research report released last week, "School Principals and Social Networking in Education: Practices, Policies and Realities in 2010."

Designed to gauge attitudes toward K-12 schools' usage of Web 2.0 tools in various forms (including social networks and other online collaborative technologies), the report combined the findings from two phases of research. Phase 1 focused on quantitative research findings from an online survey conducted by more than 1,200 educators, including principals, librarians and teachers (you can find this report, here).

Phase 2 of the report (found here) focused on qualitative research methods by conducting in-depth conversations with twelve school principals that have harnessed the capabilities of Web 2.0 and social networking tools for professional use to gain better insight on their attitudes and experiences, how they used it, and ultimately, what they perceived as current or potential challenges to implementing it in K-12 classrooms.

As the report states, discussions took place with principals only, due to their leadership role and influence is setting school policies and culture. While most principals agreed that they think social networking has value for education, particularly students, most of those schools have also implemented a ban on the use of social networking on campus grounds. Despite wide-spread adoption of Web 2.0 and social networking capabilities by Universities in general, the report identifies K-12 schools as one of the "last holdouts" that have chosen to cultivate a very restrictive online learning environment amid concerns regarding, "safety, privacy, confidentiality and a lack of knowledge about how to best ensure appropriate use."

While these concerns pose major barriers to widespread adoption among schools, what is the largest inhibitor and how should each concern be approached and on what level? While overcoming the technical concerns of implementing Web 2.0 and social networking tools in classrooms (and effectively, the privacy concerns they create) could possibly be quelled by providers of various education technologies, perhaps the larger effort should be to analyze, on a higher level, the adoption processes of the district in which a K-12 school is associated.

Should policy, process and budget be analyzed before considering the technological demands among a school's faculty? Should the current level of use among faculty, and the density in which learning technologies have been incorporated into a curriculum (currently or potentially in the future) be taken into account first? Or, should the potential, measurable benefits of using Web 2.0 and social networking tools in the classroom, rather than technology for technology's sake, act as the driving force in contemplating the adoption process?

Ultimately, despite the fact that the policies and processes which determine the adoption of Web 2.0, social networking and even learning management tools within Universities are undoubtedly different, could K-12 districts rely on the experiences of Universities to facilitate successful adoption?

Let us know what you think.