<P> According to Doering, Beach and O'Brien, a future English curriculum needs to recognize a major shift in how adolescents are communicating with each other . Curriculum uses of social networking services also can include sharing curriculum - related resources . Educators tap into user - generated content to find and discuss curriculum - related content for students . Responding to the popularity of social networking services among many students, teachers are increasingly using social networks to supplement teaching and learning in traditional classroom environments as they can provide new opportunities for enriching existing curriculum through creative, authentic and flexible, non-linear learning experiences . Some social networks, such as English, baby! and LiveMocha, are explicitly education - focused and couple instructional content with an educational peer environment . The new Web 2.0 technologies built into most social networking services promote conferencing, interaction, creation, research on a global scale, enabling educators to share, remix, and repurpose curriculum resources . In short, social networking services can become research networks as well as learning networks . </P> <P> Educators and advocates of new digital literacies are confident that social networking encourages the development of transferable, technical, and social skills of value in formal and informal learning . In a formal learning environment, goals or objectives are determined by an outside department or agency . Tweeting, instant messaging, or blogging enhances student involvement . Students who would not normally participate in class are more apt to partake through social network services . Networking allows participants the opportunity for just - in - time learning and higher levels of engagement . The use of SNSs allow educators to enhance the prescribed curriculum . When learning experiences are infused into a website students utilize everyday for fun, students realize that learning can and should be a part of everyday life . It does not have to be separate and unattached . Informal learning consists of the learner setting the goals and objectives . It has been claimed that media no longer just influence human culture; they are human culture . With such a high number of users between the ages of 13--18, a number of skills are developed . Participants hone technical skills in choosing to navigate through social networking services . This includes elementary items such as sending an instant message or updating a status . The development of new media skills are paramount in helping youth navigate the digital world with confidence . Social networking services foster learning through what Jenkins (2006) describes as a "participatory culture". A participatory culture consists of a space that allows engagement, sharing, mentoring, and an opportunity for social interaction . Participants of social network services avail of this opportunity . Informal learning, in the forms of participatory and social learning online, is an excellent tool for teachers to sneak in material and ideas that students will identify with and therefore, in a secondary manner, students will learn skills that would normally be taught in a formal setting in the more interesting and engaging environment of social learning . Sites like Twitter provide students with the opportunity to converse and collaborate with others in real time . Social networking services provide a virtual "space" for learners . James Gee (2004) suggests that affinity spaces instantiate participation, collaboration, distribution, dispersion of expertise, and relatedness . Registered users share and search for knowledge which contributes to informal learning . </P> <P> In the past, social networking services were viewed as a distraction and offered no educational benefit . Blocking these social networks was a form of protection for students against wasting time, bullying, and invasions of privacy . In an educational setting, Facebook, for example, is seen by many instructors and educators as a frivolous, time - wasting distraction from schoolwork, and it is not uncommon to be banned in junior high or high school computer labs . Cyberbullying has become an issue of concern with social networking services . According to the UK Children Go Online survey of 9 - to 19 - year - olds, it was found that a third have received bullying comments online . To avoid this problem, many school districts / boards have blocked access to social networking services such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter within the school environment . Social networking services often include a lot of personal information posted publicly, and many believe that sharing personal information is a window into privacy theft . Schools have taken action to protect students from this . It is believed that this outpouring of identifiable information and the easy communication vehicle that social networking services opens the door to sexual predators, cyberbullying, and cyberstalking . In contrast, however, 70% of social media using teens and 85% of adults believe that people are mostly kind to one another on social network sites . Recent research suggests that there has been a shift in blocking the use of social networking services . In many cases, the opposite is occurring as the potential of online networking services is being realized . It has been suggested that if schools block them (social networking services), they are preventing students from learning the skills they need . Banning social networking (...) is not only inappropriate but also borderline irresponsible when it comes to providing the best educational experiences for students . Schools and school districts have the option of educating safe media usage as well as incorporating digital media into the classroom experience, thus preparing students for the literacy they will encounter in the future . </P> <P> A cyberpsychology research study conducted by Australian researchers demonstrated that a number of positive psychological outcomes are related to Facebook use . These researchers established that people can derive a sense of social connectedness and belongingness in the online environment . Importantly, this online social connectedness was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety, and greater levels of subjective well - being . These findings suggest that the nature of online social networking determines the outcomes of online social network use . </P>

What is not a popular service offered by social networking sites