As an advisor that teaches an intro to university class this fall, I notice many students use Facebook and MySpace. If they are going to be addicted to internet content, what popular site would be the most educational and positive experience?
2006-06-20 07:41:59 · 31 answers · asked by Cheshire Cat 6 in Education & Reference ➔ Higher Education (University +)
By "if they are going to be addicted" I mean they are already addicted and sitting on computers too much already and we have a tough time peeling them off! Why do you think they are more diabetic and getting flabby? No exercise on the computer! Granted, treadmill-powered computers might be the wave of the future, but for the time being, how can we redirect this energy in a more positive direction.
2006-06-20 07:44:55 · update #1
As a colleague in FYE, I think that the response to your question is embedded in the messages you teach. Succeeding in college is all about awareness. If a student is aware of how they are spending their time, then they can be successful. Challenging first year students to master their time management for use of any resource, be it MySpace, Facebook, etc. will be the key. It's not any different than skipping class, partying too much, not studying, or playing X-Box all day long.
I appreciate the supportive environment of Yahoo Answers. I myself have found that I spend time on specific areas to respond to. I too have a MySpace website that is more "socially" driven. I think the purpose behind the sites differs and informing your students of those will be the key, at least to me, in their use of them.
A favorite quote that applies to this and to the success of first year students is:
"I am able to control that which I am aware of. That which I am unaware of controls me. Awareness empowers me."
Heighten their awareness about how they are spending their time and let them grow!
I hope this helps!
(PS-what campus do you work on?)
2006-06-20 07:54:53 · answer #1 · answered by professorofsuccess 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Haha. With questions like "Click on this question!!! It's awesome!!! YAAAAAY!!!?" Yahoo! Answers is hardly educational.
Mind you, the same can be said about Facebook and MySpace. According to Wikipedia MySpace can actually have a detrimental effect on students because of gossip (See 'MySpace in educational settings').
Although having said that the accuracy of Wikipedia content is also often questionable.
And now I'm getting all confused...
2006-06-20 07:51:46 · answer #2 · answered by blankbook 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yahoo Answers is more educational than Facebook and Myspace. Both websites only give communication to people you know and don't know. You can't really learn anything. However, on Yahoo Answers you can be learning things as well as helping other. Don't get me wrong, I have both a Myspace and Facebook, and they are great in keeping in touch with friends, however they are not educational.
2006-06-20 07:45:41 · answer #3 · answered by allison 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yahoo answers isnt really educational unless you are searching specifically to answer some kind of academic or intellectual question. since it can be educational though, id say it definitely is moreso than facebook and myspace. those are good for social purposes, to keep in touch with people back home or at school or at other schools, etc. i dont know of any real educational websites that people just browse around for fun in their spare time. everything is really just what you make it to be for yourself. its not as much a matter of being addicted to the internet and finding the best sites as it is simply knowing what you want from the internet (like a way to get questions answered, or chat, or keep in touch with friends) and finding it through those or other mediums.
2006-06-20 07:50:00 · answer #4 · answered by lebeauciel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Using Yahoo answers is, at best, giving people a chance to show their knowledge, and find the answers to their everyday questions.
It can help with homework, relationship and social problems, and in general, just show people that everyone really does think about the same things.
whereas Facebook and Myspace, are disgusting Drama whore websites that promote materialism, superficial attraction, and a hierarchy of friends.
It is more important to be "on the top 8" in a friends list, than to have any significant relationship with anyone.
i have heard of many fights, and broken friendships, over something as immature as "what position on my friends list" or comments that were left on a picture of someone standing in front of a mirror with their digital camera.
Myspace is a website who's main purpose is to brag and gloat, and to show off your newest hairstyle.
"blowouts" and no shirt pictures taken at arms length by the subject are more abundant than oxygen.
2006-06-20 07:51:02 · answer #5 · answered by sobrien 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say so. Especially if they spend time in the science or mathematics section of Yahoo Answers. Perhaps there are some questions that they could answer or at least take a good guess at. Is it as much fun as Myspace or Facebook? Well.... that's not easy to answer.
2006-06-20 07:44:54 · answer #6 · answered by crossj_2002 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think time on Yahoo! Answers is more educational than on MySpace of Facebook because on Answers, you actually learn something, while on MySpace you just learn rumors that are sometimes true. Also, on Answers, you still interact, just in a more educational environment.
2006-06-20 07:45:55 · answer #7 · answered by *star* 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Myspace and Facebook aren't meant to be eduational like Yahoo Answers. Myspace and Facebook are places for friends to communicate, and Yahoo answers is a place where you can ask questions for complete strangers to give information on. They are completely different functions.
2006-06-20 07:51:54 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since Facebook and MySpace are not educational at all (they're pretty much just personal ads), I guess this wins by default. I would say that this is not very educational either, but mostly just for entertainment.
2006-06-20 07:44:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
actually if you are in the right catagories on this site it can be very educational. MySpace I personally feel is a joke more of a dating or attracting site. FaceBook I have never heard of, so I wouldn't think that its very educational either.
2006-06-20 07:44:16 · answer #10 · answered by navymilitarybrat76 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋