Social+Media+SU2012

__Social Media __





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=What is social media?=

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Social web can be defined as a "network for individual nodes of people, connected by ideas and passions, constantly shifting and changing as new connections are found and old ones are reconsidered" (Richardson, 2010 p.85). It consists of various websites that support and foster social interaction, whether it's through social networking, branding, gaming, or education.=====

media type="youtube" key="syP7Ukk0Pj0" height="315" width="560" A brief video on the five eras of the social web with [|Jeremiah Owyang] __Five Eras of the Social Web__ //1. The Era of Social Relationship// //2. The Era of Social Functionality// //3. The Era of Social Colonization// //4.The Era of Social Context// //5.The Era of Social Commerce//
 * People connect to each other and share information.
 * Social networks become operating systems, which means that third party companies and developers build applications and widgets and put them on social networks.
 * People are getting more things done by working together.
 * New technologies (such as [|Facebook Connent]or [|OpenID]) allow all web pages on the internet to be social. These tools will allow users to find out what other people think of certain products (e.g. - restaurants, games, books, etc.).
 * You can choose to share pieces of your information to different websites, companies, or e-commerce sites in exchange for a more personalized experience, making information and advertising on the web more relevant to the user.
 * Communities start to look and behave like companies and brands on their own (e.g. - group buys). Basically, the communities work together on improving certain products to meet their needs, and companies can place bids on their improvement ideas.

=What are the implications of using social networking websites in the school setting?= Social media and networking sites are often banned from school and district internet sites in fear of their negative implications. However, the reality is that our students use these tools to communicate on a daily basis. As educators, we use background knowledge and real life experiences to teach our students effectively, and can use our understanding or personal appropriate use of social networking to identify with students and set a foundation or example for continued usage of such sites. "Whatever the challenges that prevent us from making social networking a part of our curriculum, they should not stop us from being able to talk about Facebook, or to share or model our own experiences there in appropriate ways so kids at an early age have some context for what the expectations and roles are that await them there." (Richardson, 2010 p.134)

The From Fear to Facebook Blog is one great example of using a social media site as a virtual home to school connection in an appropriate and effective way. One teacher, as seen in the video provided, uses status updates after content area studies that students dictate, create and edit content to be shared. Her reasoning provides the explanation that students can learn the power in such social networking sites and begin to see what other uses they have, while practicing writing, editing and contributing in an appropriate and literacy centered way.

[|The Worst Kept Secret (TWKS)] The Worst Kept Secret (TWKS) is the 1st company to introduce a [|social media course], "Social Media Fundamentals," designed by former Marketing and Content manager of MySpace, Andrew Davis This course was implemented in the U.K. at Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School with great success. Davis identified [|6 elements]that makes up social media - social networking, blogging, content communication, wikis, social bookmarking, and microblogging, all which could be used in a course and could greatly benefit students' engagement. The purpose of this was to help students bridge what they learn in school to what they learn in the real world. Through this course, students were able to raise their academic grades and teachers saw increase in student engagement and quality of work.

=What skills must a student possess in order to use social networking?= //Defining [|social networking]// Students should use online etiquette in any educational situation. They should remember to treat others how they themselves would want to be treated and respect others and their opinions online. What is important usually over looked in using social media in the classroom, students should be accountability for their own actions/postings. Though the internet is, for the most part, public, try to get students to use their real names, so they have to take credit for what they say, the good and the bad.

=What are some possible uses for social media/networking in the classroom?= Here's a good article from USA Today about teachers using social media in the classroom. While it looks at college teachers, social media/networking can be just as useful in the lower grades. If our students are already on their phones or computers in the classroom, why not make those experiences educational.

=What are some social media/network websites?=
 * **Social media/network websites** || **Possible uses in the classroom** ||
 * [|Twitter] || * Tweet about upcoming due dates, projects, and special dates.
 * Encourage parent involvement by tweeting about what students are learning in the classroom, or upcoming special events that parents can attend to such as field trips and writing celebrations.
 * Students can tweet a review about a book they just read, music they just listened to, or movie they've just watched.
 * Since a lot of students have trouble picking out the main ideas of a text, have them "tweet" a summary to practice condensing ideas. ||
 * [|TweetStats] || * Students can collect Twitter data on themselves and other Twitter users, and incorporate this into math. In younger grades, students can collect Twitter data of their favoirte celebrity (e.g. - justinbieber, selenagomez) and create math word problems based on their data. ||
 * [|Diigo] || * In small research group, students can use this website to help collect various sources that they can include in their group projects.
 * Diigo allows students to "write a sticky note" (virtually) on website that are tagged and take notes. ||
 * [|Delicious.com] || * Delicious is a social networking site that is "all about sharing links in as easy a way as possible" (Richardson, 2010, p. 97).
 * Students can save useful websites they have found and give it a "tag"
 * They can browse other websites with the same tag
 * Delicious is similar to Diigo except it does not allow for annotations or notetaking as Diigo does. ||
 * [| Facebook.com] || * This Teacher discusses how she incorporated Facebook into her classroom. She took a typically bland research project and put it on Facebook to create a fun and engaging experience.media type="youtube" key="Vj-XCUIbbcE" height="315" width="420" ||