New Study Shows that Online Creativity and E-learning Popular with Kids
A new study released today by the National School Boards Association shows that 96 percent of students with online access use social networking technologies - defined as as chatting, text messaging, blogging, and visiting online communities such as Facebook, MySpace, and Webkinz. 81 percent say they have visited a social networking Web site within the past three months and 71 percent say they use social networking tools at least weekly. The report also claims that one of the most common topics of conversation on the social networking scene is education. Nearly 60 percent of online students report discussing education-related topics such as college or college planning, learning outside of school, and careers. And 50 percent of online students say they talk specifically about schoolwork.
The study also shows that students are engaging in creative activities on social networking internet sites; including writing, art, and contributing to collaborative online projects "whether or not these activities are related to schoolwork". Almost half of students (49 percent) say that they have uploaded pictures they have made or photos they have taken, and more than one in five students (22 percent) report that they have uploaded video they have created. Those figures are "at some point". The weekly figures are shown in the graph below and suggest that it's probably 1/4 or less of students who do creative activities online at least once a week.
To use the television metric, teens who use social networking sites spend about 9 hours a week online compared to 10 hours a week watching television.
And here's one for the 'nerds' of a previous generation: nonconformists, defined as "students who step outside of online safety and behavior rules", are said to be "on the cutting edge" of social networking, with online behaviors and skills that indicate leadership among their peers. They are the heaviest users of social networks. The study states that one in five (22 percent) of all students surveyed, and about one in three teens (31 percent), are nonconformists. 50 percent of nonconformists are producers and 38 percent are editors of online content, compared to just 21 percent and 16 percent, respectively, of other students.
Interestingly, the NSBA report contrasts a little with another recent report, by Online Publishers Association (OPA), that suggests Internet users are spending more time looking at content and less time communicating with others. According to Nielsen/Net Rating statistics released by OSA, from January to May 2007, about 47 percent of users' time was spent looking at content and 33 percent spent on communicating - a trend attributed to an increase of online video and search usage. Although, that report doesn't account for IM as communication - which seems a bit behind the times.
Conclusion
What the NSBA data shows - see the report for the full details - is that US teens and tweens are not "passive couch potatoes online", as the report put it. This generation is very participative and creative online. Or at least growing more creative as time goes on and the Internet becomes more pervasive.
The report, ‚ÄúCreating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking,‚Ä? is based on three surveys: an online survey of nearly 1,300 9- to 17-year-olds, an online survey of more than 1,000 parents, and telephone interviews with 250 school districts leaders who make decisions on Internet policy. The study was carried out with support from Microsoft, News Corporation, and Verizon.
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As one of the founders of www.imbee.com the first parent approved social network for tweens, I can attest that tweens are in fact very active in developing and then sharing their own content.
Also, at the urging of a few teachers, we launched a free school blogging program to enable educators with the ability to teach basic new media skills. The program has been an enormous success. We now have hundreds of teachers and thousands of students all using imbee.com for blogging, pod-casting, collaboration and communication.
Used for the right reasons, and in the right environment, social media can be a very powerful, very positive tool for education.
Tim D
Founder, imbee.com
To use the television metric, teens who use social networking sites spend about 9 hours a week online compared to 10 hours a week watching television.
I think that Kids should be encouraged to spend less time both in social networking and watching television. They should be encouraged to use the internet to further their education, such as maths, science, economics. I doubt that they go to social networking site to discuss calculus, unless I am wrong here. There are forums for discussing high-school level related subjects such as the MathForum for instance, where anyone in that list can ask a question and others will try to answer. This type of forum is more important than kids hangin out at MySpace. Social Networking sites is for entertainments and social connections (nothing more) and not about education. I would be very interested if Social Networking sites such as MySpace does contribute to kids education.
Social network sites have spread beyond just youth. My boyfriend's mom added him as a friend on the Facebook the other day. But are there any sites that are more mature (in a non-pornography sense), where adults can have meaningful conversations? Yes.
Check out The Experience Project to find a community of really meaningful conversations and connections between people who are technically strangers (but many share things with one another that they've never told anyone face-to-face!).
I'm not surprised at all at the results of this study.
Thanks for highlighting this study. It spotlights how the 'Net Generation', far from just a bunch of slackers, is using the Web's rich interactive environment for creative and useful purposes. Man how I wish we had this opportunity back in the early 80s! (anyone remember punch cards?)
The fast changing global economy offers gobs of opportunity
for those who can creatively collaborate across borders. 'Wikinomics' is here, and that means both disruption and opportunity. It's up to the idividual whether to benefit from all of this opportunity, or be run over by it.
My company, http://www.fellowforce.com, knows that Open Innovation, Mass Collaboration, and CGI (consumer generated ideas) are only in an infant stage. And we're thrilled to be on the leading edge of this emerging trend.
Jeff C
Director, North America
http://www.fellowforce.com
There is increasing amount of time being spent by students online and a large part of that in social networks. We at http://www.proprofs.com, recognized the need for allowing use of our educational features inside social networks and blogs based on feedback from students and instructors. We recently added widget support to our quiz (http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/) and flashcards (http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/) feature so educator and students can use these study aids easily inside any network or blog of their interest.
The online social environment is a very powerful learning platform and one that will become of increasing importance.
The coming time will see some very interesting innovation in this area.
Thanks for spotlighting this survey. The Net Generation has and is growing up with the web as an everyday, every hour part of life. And I think we'll continue to see more and more teens joining the modern 'nerd' list (great that it's cool to be a nerd, eh?), if nerd means you are a pro-sumer, creative content producer/editor, and willing participant and leader in the 'social' web.
All of this creative energy and ability, if harnessed wisely, can ultimately beef up the real world abilities of the up and comers. My company, Fellowforce, loves to have students join in Crowdsourcing and Crowdcasting 'challenges'. It's great experience for them (and they might get cash rewards), and companies benefit from the creative and out-of-box thinking of the young and talented.
Jeff C
Director, North America
Fellowforce.com