My+Space+Review

The term " Web 2.0 " refers to a second generation of web development and layout, that smoothed the progress of communication, assisted information sharing and so forth. Web 2.0 concepts have led to the expansion and progress of web-based communities, such as [|social-networking sites], [|video-sharing sites] , [|wikis] and [|blogs]. My review will be based on a particular Web 2.0 known as ‘MySpace’. I will briefly explain what ‘My Space’ is and display the advantages and its drawbacks in a classroom setting. [|MySpace] and other social networking websites allow the user to post audio, video, and textual materials online as a way of communicating with friends, colleagues, and strangers. However, sites like MySpace have recently been criticized in the national media; whereas, a recent Chronicle article complained about networking sites as being the “disruption” of the classroom. They believe that in order for students to learn, college lecturers should find ways to switch off the technology. Furthermore, in contrast to this opinion many consider ‘MySpace’ as the new mean of teaching. MySpace, when used as a teaching tool, can generate conversations about a number of issues, for instance identity, rhetorical analysis, genre, and Web design. However, many educators are concerned about the privacy to be in danger and the danger of getting too friendly with their students. Educators before introducing ‘MySpace’ in the classroom they should sign up and create an account, in order, to explore the sites qualifications and restrictions. Furthermore, a search in ‘MySpace’ will also give them the opportunity to learn to control user settings, for example, privacy control and account control. Instructors recognize that the most difficult part of learning and teaching a new language is to make students aware of the grammar requirements of the language taught. When the person learning English is an adolescent or pre-teen there are a few ways that can help the learning process without rising boredom. Students do not care about English prepositions and adjectives. In fact, they are interested to learn as quickly as possible to talk about issues, such as, Brittney’s lipgloss, shopping malls and brand of clothes, the newest videos and whether Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are really dating. The best way to teach adolescents and teens a language is to introduce things that are important to them; for example, music, fashion, friends, sports and teen entertainment. We should teach them what they want to say to each other, in order, to grasp their interest. One of the best tools for this type of conversations can be ‘My Space’ Language tool. The instructor should involve his/her native English speaking teens to partner with the foreign teens and help them to create My Space Pages in English. Once they manage with the assistance of the teacher to choose songs, backgrounds, and create a friend list, the teacher should teach them to describe these things in English. The teacher should be able to access their web pages and as part of their grade they should try to create a number of topics to discuss with the group. The topics of discuss could entail the current movies, vogue, gossip about famous and popular people or personal interests. The writing should take place in English; whereas the teacher can have look at these conversations daily and can make corrections. This is a great way to point into what your students want to say and learn about the culture in of the language they want to learn. The teacher can also enhance oral communication within a group by asking questions concerning their discussions. Another interesting discussion ‘MySpace’ generates is the issue of identity**.** A lecturer could introduce a story with fictional characters and ask the students to discuss this character. While discussing characters in a fictional play, the MySpace structure can offer a set of expressions with which students are familiar. If students are having difficulty describing a character, it can be useful to ask what that character’s MySpace page might look like, for instance, what might such a character include in their “Interests” or “About Me” part. The MySpace outline aids students to talk about identity in easy and known ways. Moreover, MySpace pages have visual, aural, and written opinions. Users can post video clips, songs, blog entries, and unlimited information about themselves, such as, the schools they have been, jobs they have worked, and their sexual orientation. A user’s friends can also have a say in all this by posting general comments in the profile or comments on pictures and blog posts. I would like to note that a user can set his page on private and only his friends can view his page and comment on his blogs and pictures. The issue of some users protecting their content; whereas others offer their most personal details to all users raise several questions. An instructor could ask students to discuss this issue as a blog and through their comments write an essay stating their personal view according to the opinions they have received. A great deal of writing happens on a MySpace page, and a study of the different genres of writing on these pages could be a useful classroom exercise. Students could study these various types of writing: comments, messages, bulletins, and blog posts and comment on the different audiences depending on the type of writing. That is, users communicate via comments back and forth but users do so in a place where others either friends or everyone can view them depending on the set up of the page. Furthermore, other users communicate through messages. Messages are privately sent to particular users and are not posted in a public space. Finally, MySpace users can comment on a number of other things such as pictures and blog entries. In this way students would become aware of the different strategies they use in writing; whereas the lesson will not be prescriptive but practical. To sum up**,** there are 100 million users of MySpace account; whereas also over 230,000 new accounts are created every day. Despite the fact that some educators may argue about whether or not MySpace feels right into a classroom setting, one thing is certain it definitely belongs and exists in the student’s lives. For this reason, educators should take it into account and not ignore this phenomenon. Institutes could ignore technology or embrace these sites and their popularity and use the enthusiasm of the students in teaching. If students enjoy writing on social networking sites, and if a considerable part of their lives is spent creating and commenting on profiles, then it is of the teacher’s best interest to begin investigating and construct these spaces as sites of instruction**.** References:
 * ‘My space’ as a teaching tool in a TEFL class. **
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