Blogs and Blogging

The Power to Publish

At one time, the only people who could post information to the Internet were those who had the skills to program a web page and access to a server that could host their creations. In the late 1990's, the invention of the "Web log" or "blog" began a shift in "power" that would eventually give anyone with web access the power to post.

Much in the same way the Gutenberg press revolutionized how people were able to communicate and disseminate ideas to the population at large, the ability to share one's thoughts or experiences through an online forum has made it possible for anyone to share a part of them with the rest of the "Blogosphere".

According to a study done by Technorati on the State of the Blogosphere in 2010, some of the key demographics of the average bloggers are as follows:

• Two-thirds of bloggers are male.
• 65% are age 18-44.
• Bloggers are more affluent and educated than the general population:
  • 79% have college degrees / 43% have graduate degrees
  • 1/3 have a household income of $75K+
  • 1/4 have a household income of $100K+
• 81% have been blogging more than 2 years.
• Professionals have an average of 3.5 blogs.
• Professionals blog 10+ hours/week.
• 11% say blogging is their primary income source

As part of their study, Technorati provides their methodology on the site. Despite having some limitiations that could be affecting the findings (only having English speaking responses for one) one of the major trends in their study, also revealed,  "... an ever-increasing overlap between blogging and mainstream media." The lines between social media continue to "blur" and so do the definitions of what constitutes a "blog" and how they are being used today.

What is a blog?
A blog is a creation (or maybe better described as an "evolution"), of Web. 2.0 or "social web" development. Besides easy access (as most are free sites), and no special knowledge required to use one (most are based on WYSIWYG style UI's that are very simple to navigate - often "borrowing" features from other social neworking or social media sites, such as profiles, dashboards, etc...), blogs offer users the ability to add to the collective and public knowledge on the web relating to a variety of topics of interest, current news stories, or sharingof  information as an institution or corporation. However, blogs are often used as personal diaries or journals that are shared within a specified community, or (if the writer intends to publish these thoughts or essays), they can share them with the rest of the online world.

Blogger:
My own experience with blogging began with this course. After choosing to stick with a Google product, I built my blog using "Blogger". Although, as I mentioned in my very first post, the choice was mostly made out of brand loyalty and recognition, I am glad I chose a Google product as it has allowed me to easily link many of the new tools and applications (i.e Picasa, Google Reader, etc...) I have learned about and used through the common access points of my gmail accounts.

Having used Blogger for the past three months, I have also learned how to embed video and audio file, add pictures and provide links to other sites. I find that most of these media sharing and/or creation sites expect you to embed or display what you produce on some kind of website, blog or social networking site, (i.e Facebook, MySpace, etc...). Because of this expectation there are many features within the media sites that allow you to access the html or xml codes you need to make your files accessible on or to your blog. These codes can be inserted either directly (in the Edit HTML mode) or as a "behind the scenes" function (through the use of a gadget or as a feature of the Blogger application).

In terms of an overall layout, Blogger provides you with templates to create the look and feel of your blog. If you have a web programming background and can manipulate code yourself, Blogger allows you to alter the visuals and the layout using HTML. If you are like me and haven't used HTML for years, you can still make good use of the templates to develop a simple layout.

These templates not only help you with placement, but also allow you to choose the features (or gadgets) you would like to display as part of the functionality of your blog. Once you have chosen an basic layout you can begin to build the "theme". If you want to add more features or alter your layout at a later date, Blogger also allows for this flexibility.

As you can see, I chose a very "nature" oriented visual theme for three main reasons: 1) I really enjoy the outdoors and the "freshness" of this kind of imagery, 2) I find green a very soothing colour - so I would have something comforting to look at when technical issues were causing me grief, and 3) green is supposed to be a colour that psychologically inspires creativity...crossing fingers that it's working. Once I had established the "look" of my blog, I had the "blank canvas" on which I could begin sharing my experiences with you.

Blogger also provides added features to help organize your blog and help you to follow the blogs of other bloggers both within the application and those using other sources. The Dashboard is the literally the "hub" for all your blogging and blog following activities.

Through my dashboard I can instantly check out the "Blogs I am following" and see the updated versions in the preview window under "Items", making it easy to quicly scan what other "bloggers" have been recently posting. When I subscribe to a blog and place it in my reading list, Blogger will continue to send me updates from the blog so long as it has a feed to relay the information back to my account.

Getting organized:

Despite having all this built in functionality in Blogger, there are more efficient ways for me to access these blogs and be able to get feeds from other types of sites as well. Having so many things to follow can be a daunting task. This is what led me to switch over to using Google Reader. Although I initially signed up for reader at the beginning of the course and initially established my subscriptions there, I found I was still using Blogger's Dashboard for current updates. However, at this point in the course, with the number of subscriptions I have and the number of blogs I am following, I really needed to start using Google Reader to make my access to blogs and news feeds more efficient.

The technology that allows for me to follow and be updated without having to visit each blog myself is called an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. This is the same feed that Blogger uses to update your Reading list posts and makes your site posting available to those people who are following you.

What is RSS? As usual the Common Craft people have provided an excellent explanation:

http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english . (Just keep in mind that the stats they use are actually from almost 4 years ago).

Using Google Reader:

Google Reader is an aggregator that collects all the feeds from the sites you subscribe to and organizes them for you to view at your convenience. It's UI is similar to an "email" format in that it not only lets you know what is new and feeds you the content in a reverse chronlogical order (keeping the most current posts first), it also provides a display of the post and keeps an archive of past posts as well.  Having this as your "one stop shop" is what makes this method even more efficient since most sites have built in the ability to connect to the RSS feed built in to work with Google Reader specifically and can make the connection with the click of a button (although sometimes it is still necessary to input a URL). If you do not have a blog yourself, or your blogging application doesn't have the dashboard features of Blogger, Google Reader is an excellent choice because of this direct connection to so many sites.

An example of my GoogleReader page.

The RSS feeds allow me to not only get notification of a new post but also see it - minus the background, but with all the information (or as much as the writer of the blog has specified in their Feed Settings).



Personally:

Although I have found the experience of blogging my way through this course a very useful means to convey my learning and experiement with Web 2.0 communication, I am not sure that I would pursue a blog strickly for personal use. I do not know what kind of information or stories I would share or want to share with others outside of my usual circle of friends and my first reaction when sharing something about me or my life is to use Facebook. The only exception I might make would be to use a blog to document and "adventure" of some sort (i.e. travelling through Asia or Europe). I have always kept a journal while I travel to new places, and think a blog might be an interesting way to share the experience with friends and family back home. That being said, I would probably still keep a personal journal as certain experiences or feelings can be profoundly personal and not something I would want to share with anyone.

In terms of following blogs however, I do think there are a lot of interesting people with wonderful stories to tell and important information to share. I can and most probably will continue to use my Google Reader to keep track of blogs that are of both personal and professional interests. I believe there is a lot to be learned from the experiences and perspectives of others and the blogging format allows anyone to share and share in this knowledge.

Professionally:

Once again, I am not sure how I would incorporate blogging into the daily work of my students in a CTS course. I can see it as a tool for discussion and perhaps as a presentation tool, but the sometimes finicky nature of the UI would make precision an issue in terms of design elements and layout of the blog itself.

For my own personal, professional development, I see subscribing to blogs as an excellent means to stay "fresh" and informed in my areas of study and in terms of growing as an educator. In this context, I could see myself creating a blog to help and communicate with other CTS teachers and share my own knowledge and experiences with the CTS community - I know (and subscribe to) a few CTS blogs that are functioning much like social networking sites to share resources discuss curriculum changes and develop project ideas between teachers.

As a teacher in general , blogging holds a lot of appeal as a means of not only communicating with students, but also having students use a familiar technology to express themselves, their thoughts and present their work to the community (this could be limited to classmates or may include parents and other peers within the school, or depending on what is feasible in your district, an even larger audience beyond the geography of the school itself).

While inverstigating the possible sites that could be used in educational context, I found this blog and this particular posting of links to the suggested blogs that educators are using in their classrooms. As with most of these Web 2.0 tools the extent of professional use comes down to what is acceptable within the schools you are working in, and if you are able to convince your school that using these tools will further student engagement and learning, but still keep students safe and meet with parents' approval. 

I would encourage you to take a few minutes to watch this video. It was posted by a teacher in Hawaii for a University couse on Inquiry. She used blogging in her classroom initially as a "class webpage", but later branched out to have students create their own blogs and use them to complete literacy projects for the class.

What I really like about this video is that you get to hear the comments being made by the students about their experiences with blogging. It is not as polished as the production in Richardson's vidoe clip, but I think the information is just as pertinent and just as valid. There is often a lot of research and information available through academia and from our colleagues about the effectiveness of encorporating new technology into classroom practice, but it is not often that you get to hear from the students themselves and are able to have a sense of how they feel about the experience.

Professionally, the choices we make to use, not use , or how we use a new technology cannot be based solely on the beliefs of the educators but needs to also take into consideration the voices of our students. Blogging could be more than just a means to completing an assignment, but could also help students to develop that voice through the process of using the technology.

Twitter

Twitter: validation for the self important or valuable communication tool ?


I have to admit that until I started taking this course, Twitter held absolutely no interest for me. If it had not been a requirement for this course, I probably would have never even considered signing up. In my mind Twitter is a very public forum (and those of you who have gotten to know me through this blog know my "issues" with privacy and wanting to limit my digital footprint as much as possible). Before I began this investigation in to Twitter, as far as I was concerned, I had no reasons to let my friends and the rest of the "Twittersphere" know what I was doing or thinking every moment of the day, nor did I care to know what colour Miley Cyrus wanted to paint her toenails or what "Joe Guy" was planning to make for dinner tonight....because that's what Twitter is for, right?

Perhaps my view of Twitter would have been more positive if my friends and colleagues were already "tweeting". Even those people who are big fans of blogs and Facebook were choosing to avoid Twitter  altogether. None of my Facebook "friends" are Twitter users and most, upon hearing that I had signed up for an account were very quick to provide me with the many reasons they thought Twitter was, "...useless", "...a waste of time", "...too public", "...too voyeuristic", and one even went so far as to tell me that Twitter was simply, "...a source of validation for the self important".

I decided if I was going to start "getting" Twitter and appreciate what it is and what it could do for me, I needed to put my own bias' and assumptions aside and start with a fresh attitude and approach. After reading some of the trailfire articles and reviewing Richardson's writings, I ventured out on my own to research what Twitter is, how it works and what others were saying about it and doing with it.

Twitter:
Twitter is considered a "microblog" application that allows users to share their "thoughts" through 140 character-limited statements with each other. Initially, the "conversation" is very one sided until you begin to develop relationships with your followers, or those you choose to follow yourself. In the ideal scenario, updates provide not only a real time status update for the person "tweeting" but it also provides the community (which can be limited to a specific group, or include the entire Twittersphere), with pertinent information on a topic of interest.

Whether the topic of discussion is the last episode of , "The Walking Dead", (I have a "thing" for zombie stories), or about the newest Web 2.0 applications that are revolutionizing education, Twitter is first and foremost a tool to help you connect with others who share in the same interests you do.

Getting Started:
Setting up an account and getting started is very simple. Basically, anyone with an email address can set up an account, and then anyone with an account can "tweet" to their heart's content....though at this point when you are just getting started, it is hard to tell if anyone is interested, (the first "followers" I had were advertisements for "female" companionship and a "get rich quick" scheme). My suggestion is to go into your profile settings as soon as you launch into your account and set up some privacy settings. I understand that this is initially a bit counter intuitive since the whole point of Twitter is to be heard and make connections but until you are a bit more familiar with using Twitter, it is not a bad idea to put up a few "fences" while you are getting the hang of things.

Upon further investigation I found that you can control who sees your tweets when you set up your privacy settings under your account profile (using the "protect my tweets" feature); choose who you want to follow you either by requiring them to submit a request to follow you or by eliminating unwanted followers by going to the "gear" icon in their accounts and "blocking" them (a technique I used for the "female" companion I was not looking for); and communicate privately with other users through "direct messages" or DM's (these are messages that are sent directly and privately to a specific follower without being posted globally to all the people who are following you).

A screen capture of my Twitter account

I found an excellent site that provided me with a quick overview of the Twitter terminology, which really helped me to better understand how Twitter works and navigate through the UI. There were also quite a few tutorials on how to get started, but I found this post on Cnet that was very helpful as a more in depth overview to how Twitter works. It definitely provided some important tips to get you started (without overwhelming you with jargon or too much information), and it really helped me to get my head around using features like hashtags to help find and organize tweets and followers.

Who to Follow?
The more Twitter becomes familiar with who and what you are interested in, they will begin to provide you with possible tweeple to "follow". These suggestions can be based on finding users that are similar to yourself and your interests, or they may come to your attention as similar followers of the tweeple you are already following.

Suggestions page in Twitter

As a interesting side note, there are discussions about Twitter etiquette that ask the question: " if someone chooses to follow you, do you need to follow them"? Unlike Facebook "friending" agreements, "following" does not have to be mutual - for very practical reasons, and according to Twitter themselves: 

(from the Twitter Help Center Following Rules and Best Practices)

Twitter facilitates social networking, but it's not a social networking website. In fact, the way Twitter works is quite different from social networks: when you accept friend requests on social networks, it usually means you appear in that person's network and they appear in yours. Following on Twitter is different, because instead of indicating a mutual relationship, following is a one-way action that means you want to receive information, in the form of tweets, from someone. Twitter allows people to opt-in to (or opt-out of) receiving a person's updates without requiring mutual following.

If you follow too many people, there’s no way you can keep up with everyone's updates in your timeline. If you need to communicate with someone but don't need to see their updates everyday, you don't have to follow them. Send them an @reply when you need to; it doesn't require following and your update will appear in the person's replies tab, so they can reply back.  

Using Twitter:
Twitter may seem like a very simple application, and it is simple in it's concept. Where it gets more complicated is in the "application" of this application to find the people and information that you are looking for and in some cases find it before you even know you are looking for it (a lot of Tweets are suggestions to checkout relevant blogs or websites in your area of interest). There are many "apps" (some provided by Twitter and some come from outside developers), that can help you use Twitter more effectively and make the experience of using Twitter more relevant and meaningful in both a personal and professional context.

TwitterSearch:





A very useful application is TwitterSearch. When I first began looking for Tweeple to follow I tried searching from my Twitter account, but the results were overwhelming since it would return all the tweets that used the search term I typed in. When I started using TwitterSearch instead, I had more control over my searches and was able to locate relevant tweets and tweeple to follow quickly and easily.

Results of my search on Educational Technology led me to great tweeple sources to follow
(which I could organize and keep track of in TweetDeck)



TweetDeck:
TweetDeck was created by an outside source (Adobe), but can help you to organize the tweets from the users you are following, your own followers and your own tweets and communications to make it easier to keep track of all that information that continues to accumulate (and TweetDeck can actually be used beyond Twitter as a "dashboard" for all your social media including Facebook, blogs, etc...).

Welcome Page - Introduction to key features of TweetDeck



"Dashboard" column format to organize Tweets and Groups you create

TinyURL:

Because Twitter has character limits on the tweets, users need to find ways to make the most of the their tweeting "real estate". One way to do help gain some space and still direct followers to sites of interest is by using applications to shorten the length of long URLs. Twitter has a build in feature that will allow you to do this when you include a URL in your tweet. I still haven't mastered using this feature (for some reason it doesn't want to work for me), so after 3 tutorials and numerous moments of frustration and banging my head on my keyboard, I decided to stick with something that for me was "tried and true": TinyURL

Using tinyurl I can convert this 86 character link from this:... http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_one_teacher_uses_twitter_in_the_classroom.php

...into 25 characters like this: http://tinyurl.com/ml3pcp . In the 140 character, microblog world of Twitter, this downsizing of the URL makes a HUGE difference when writing a concise but effective tweet!

I found these three applications in particular very helpful in my exploration process, however it should be noted that there are MANY apps out there for you to use. If I had been able to get my new iphone up and running earlier, I am sure there would be other apps and interesting tools that would help me make the most of that platform as well. For now I am contented to use my laptop for access, and these three applications to round out my experience. Part of what makes the experience of Twitter more personalized is finding the one's that are right for you. The fact that new technology is always changing the Twitter experience means that there are alwasy going to be new developments. As long as what you are using still works with the current Twitter technology, I believe what works best is what you are most comfortable using and what meets your own personal needs.

Personally:

I am still struggling with the idea of using Twitter for personal use. I understand that there are interesting conversations to be had and ideas to be shared, but I think until I find some followers who are following me and vice versa, I still haven't had the opportunity to really experience the kind of interaction and connection that I can have with my "friends" on Facebook.

On the other hand, do all my “friends” necessarily want to discuss technology integration in a classroom? My teacher friends might find that an interesting or a good “coffee-talk” type subject, but the majority of my Facebook friends do not have a vested interest in it. So maybe I could use Twitter to fill that void in my life? In an instant, I can be connected to potentially millions of users who have similar interests, and like me may not have a group of immediate family or friends to discuss these interest with.

Twitter may have been intended to be a way to let your friends know what you are up to during the day and vice versa, but this ability is not that different than a Facebook update. Having mobile internet technology on your phone also levels the playing field between these two applications as both can provide real time access and updates.

What sets Twitter apart is this idea that you are not restricted to your present circle of contacts. You have the ability to follow other people's conversations and thoughts without them even knowing that you are interested in what they are saying or doing until you choose to "follow" them - Although this definitely opens up the possibilities of sharing knowledge and experiences to connect and build relationships in the Twittersphere, it also sounds a bit creepy.

For example, if you are in a coffee shop and you are listening in on a conversation, and even if the people talking are VERY loud talkers and assume that they are probably attracting attention, is it okay to listen in? More importantly, is it appropriate to join in? In essence, Twitter is making that kind of behaviour not only "okay", but encouraging it. In the context of the Twittersphere, this ability to track and comment on each others' tweets, even those from complete strangers is what eventually creates the group or community that learns from each contribution to the stream of information that is constantly flowing onto the page. The strength of Twitter is that it can literally give everyone a voice.

Professionally:

In a professional context, Twitter is an amazing tool for research and discussion. In this video, Jennifer Clark Evans (who is featured in Will Richardson's DVD version of our textbook), talks about using Twitter to brainstorm ideas with other experts and educators, but her examples are more about using Twitter to help her answer her own questions.

Many educators are quick to point out that they find incorporating Twitter into their classrooms has increased student engagement and participation in class discussions. This video looks at Twitter from a students' perspective and even though the "experiment" was conducted at a post secondary level, the comments being made by the students are also relevant to the issues faced by secondary students.

Twitter can also be used as a communication tool for teachers, students and parents in order provide a link between the school and home. Teachers can remind students and their parents about up coming tests or deadlines for assignments and students can tweet their teachers and ask questions either publicly or privately to ensure that teachers are able to address all students' questions (which can't always happen in a traditional classroom setting if students are too shy or if there are too many students to address everyone's questions during the same block of time).

I am not sure if I am ready to incorporate Twitter into my classroom practice as most of our discussions in CTS are "hands on" in the sense that we are often guiding students through new skills or exploring ideas in practice rather then traditional lecture style teaching and learning.  However, I do see it as a valuable research and communication tool. I could definitely see myself using it to learn from others while hopefully contributing a few things I've learned to other people who need that information, and using Twitter to help students stay on top of their own studies is definitely something I would think most teachers would also be happy to incorporate if their school policies allowed them to do so.
Final Thoughts…for now…

As one final thought, I am reminded of my very first real encounter with Twitter. My husband is a firefighter and in 2009 they were dispatched to the Big Valley Jamboree when the stage collapsed during a violent wind storm. I was at home working on my computer (a grad course, of course), when he called me and asked if there were any news reports coming from the site? They were not getting information from the security people at the site and had no idea what to expect or how critical things might be.

I used my computer to check out a few of the all news streaming radio stations and local television sites and found a lot of information about the scene. I was able to relay the information to the crew and reported what I read and heard based on the eye witness reports being sent in to the stations. After I hung up the phone, I suddenly realized that almost all the information that I gave to the firefighters was information that came into the new centres through Twitter users.

It wasn’t professional reporters sending info back to the broadcaster, but just regular people who had just experienced first hand a chaotic and terrifying moment but had the clarity of mind to capture it all in video, photos and tweets.

Suddenly, Twitter was not just a social site for sharing jokes or letting the world know that you bought a new car. I saw the value and potential of what Twitter could do in an emergency situation and it definitely started to change my own understanding of what Twitter is and the potential of how and what it can be used for.

Until I really started to play with Twitter myself, I really had no idea how much potential there is in this tool. What I understand now is that as usual, it is not so much the tool that has issues, it is the perspective and intent of the people using it that makes all the difference in what it is perceived to be. There is definitely value in using Twitter as a tool for communication and learning, but it is up to us as the community of users to make it an effective tool.

Social Networking

Making Connections Online

As usual the "Plain English" guys do a great job introducing the concept of Social Networks:





When I began investigating the topic of social networking, I suddenly realized that my understanding of social networking has completely been turned on it's head by my experiences with this course.

According to Boyd & Ellison, social networks are defined, "...as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site" (2007).

The explanation and descriptions from the "Plain English" video are very much in line with  how I would expect my own expectations of how the concept of social networking and networking sites operate. But when I think about the key characteristics of social networking I can see that these characteristics are not exclusive to networking sites.

Here is my epiphany:
I thought I had a good grasp of what defines a social network and the impact these networks have on our lives, but all the research and exploration that we've been doing over the past few months suddenly had me asking, "What specifically defines a Social Networking site"?

This may seem like a silly question, but what I was starting to realize is that social networking has grown beyond the exclusive association to sites like Nextopia, MySpace or Facebook and has literally "infiltrated" multiple applications of Web 2.0 technology and tools.

Media Sharing sites like Flickr, Vimeo, Glogster, YouTube, Audioboo and even Blogger are just some of the sites that provide options to create a private or public profile to represent who you are to other users of these tools. Through these profiles you are able to connect and communicate with other registered users, and some of these tools even provide the option to connect their services and your profiles to other accounts you may have with sites like Twitter and Facebook. As these "complementary" tools and others like them continue to gain in popularity and connectivity to larger, more established networks, it really won't be long before "followers" and "friends" become one in the same...or maybe they already are?

Facebook:
Facebook is my major social network experience. I have used it for sharing pictures videos, planning events, updating my friends on what happening in my world, checking in with them to find out what's happening in their lives, and for keeping in touch with my friends and family abroad in places as exotic as New Zealand, Afghanistan and Lethbridge Alberta...and maybe the occasional game of "Bejewelled" or "Tetris". (I did have a virtual pet at one point, but it was getting ridiculously complicated trying to ensure I would have Web access to be able to "feed" my online puppy on time to avoid having him run away...that and I believe my real dog did not appreciate the competition).

All of my experience with Facebook has been for communication with people who are already known to me. I have "become a fan" of a few organizations that promote themselves on Facebook, but I have not found many educational sites on the network. I wondered if part of the reason for minimal Education sites had something to do with many school policies that limit access to these sites (both for students and staff), or if it is just a reluctance from the educational community to utilize a very public network like Facebook since there are many school boards and educators themselves who are not comfortable with the possibility of teachers and students "friending" each other in the process of communicating with the public in this kind of forum.

Classroom 2.0
To find other teachers and resources I turned to Classroom 2.0. What appeals to me the most is that this a network of educators (membership is reviewed by an administration level), who have come together specifically to explore and discuss the use of Web tools in education. As a site that provides access to so may interesting ideas and experts, (not to mention levels of expertise from complete newbies to developers and researchers), it has been a great place to get ideas and see what other people are doing in their schools and classrooms.

I have only recently signed up and have mostly been checking out the discussions and groups that are pertinent to my work in my own school, or to continue with the research I am doing in Educational technology, but as I become more connected to the groups and have more time to follow, I hope to become more of a contributor than "lurker". I feel much more comfortable using a networking site like this rather than a more informal site like Facebook to connect with a educational community in a professional context.


Personally:
Another question that came up in my exploration of social networks is related to how these sites are funded. Some operate on donations, others use freemiums or pay per click advertisements, but what is often the case it is the selling of the "statistical" information gathered when you create your profiles and following your use of applications on these sites.



As a follow up to this video, I was directed to the an interview with Jennifer Stoddart, the Federal the Privacy Commissioner, who spoke to George Stoumboulopoulos in early 2010 to discussed the issue of Facebook violating Canadian privacy laws through the site's process of obtaining users' consent to gather and distribute this information to application developers (if you want to check out the video for the specific discussion about Internet policies and Facebook scroll the playback to approximately 3:55).

The reason I am mentioning this point about companies taking advantage of user's personal information is that I personally find this to be my greatest dilemma when considering the use of social networking sites, or how many I am willing to subscribe to.

As a teacher, I am very guarded about my online personal persona and use an alias on my Facebook profile. Although I am still very cautious about the information I post or upload in a professional context, I am much more comfortable with being "public" in my professional life than in my personal one.

I understand that I can control how much information I submit to these sites and I could invent an alias or hide behind some other form of "avatar", but doing this compromises the authentic representation of yourself to the rest of the community you are connecting with, (it's like trying to introduce yourself to a new group of people, but you are wearing a "mask"...how can you be trusted as a legitimate or credible source of information, or how do people get to know who you are as a person if you aren't willing to literally be recognized?). I am definitely struggling with this and still trying to figure out how much I a willing to compromise of my personal persona in order to be authentic (or at  least more so) in revealing my public persona to the online world.

I do have to admit, however, that on a personal level, I do LOVE Facebook for allowing me to stay in contact with my friends and family. Especially these busy days, when I am up at 11:30 pm and working on this course or on my "real job". As phone calls are not really appropriate at this time of day, communicating via Facebook with the people who know me already, is what keeps my relationships relevant and keeps me in touch with all the important connections in my life.

This is not what I would consider the best scenario for maintaining relationships as I am still very rooted in the belief that there is not real replacement for human to human contact - at least until  James Cameron figures out the technology to make THAT happen too -  but I do think there is something to at least letting people know you are thinking about them and do want to know what kinds of things are happening in their lives. Social networking and Facebook in particular, are an excellent means to this end.


Professionally:

For my students:
Our school just recently allowed student access to Facebook and Flickr. So far, no issues have resulted from this change in policy and it has actually been very helpful to my COM tech students who sometimes "forget" to bring in their digital photos for projects. Now, they can easily select an appropriate photo from their online accounts. We discussed the proper use of the site and my expectations for how and why they will access these accounts, but I did talk to them about the privacy issues that I had been researching. Although I use Facebook myself for personal use, I am not sure how I would use Facebook as part of my pedagogy for teaching my courses. I think there are better and more appropriate tools (blogs, wikis, or other media sharing sites) that would be more effective for our needs. That being said, Facebook did provide the opportunity to discuss the issues of privacy, Internet safety and intellectual ownership.

There are studies that suggest today's students have a very different concept of privacy than their parents and do not make the distinction between what they should keep private and what is "free game" to access or publish about themselves. It did get some reassurance that they understand safety concerns and that posting information about other people without their consent or with the intention of hurting someone's feelings was inappropriate, but some were still quite willing to "put themselves out there" without a lot of consideration about the consequences.

This is a major concern for Clay Shirky in this video clip feature on Privacy and Social Networking.



Given the opportunity, I would like to use this video clip in a presentation to all my classes. I think it would he a great discussion starter and hopefully get the students to think a bit more about the consequences, both positive and negative when using social networking sites.

I think it is important for students to know that networking sites can be used for more than just relating with friends. Some of the major 21st C skills we want our students to have is to be critical thinkers and effective collaborators. If we can help them to be responsible and to use these networks effectively then there is an excellent rationale for having access to these tools and addressing their use in the classroom.

For my own professional development:
As I mentioned earlier in this blog, I was very pleased to come across the Classroom 2.0 network and immediately registered with them to be able to communicate with other educators and begin accessing (and hopefully contributing to)  the timely discussions on incorporating Web 2.0 tools into teaching and learning!  It is such an amazing resource and having access to the thoughts, opinions and expertise of so many people (50,364 members) who share an interest in technology and education is invaluable to my both for my studies and for my professional growth.

Currently, I only belong to a few groups, one of which is a "beginners" group, to help get oriented to the site and start building connections with other members. I consider Classroom 2.0 is a much more professional social network and appreciate the security measure they have in place. I am much more comfortable sharing my personal information on a site like this even if they subscribed to the same privacy policies as Facebook, (though I really hope not...should probably check that out again...).

If the information was being provided to application developers, in this case I might find myself more forgiving of the Classroom 2.0 administrators if it meant that creative and effective applications were being made available to educators and their students.


Social Networking is valuable tool:
The more I learn about all the Web 2.0 tools we've been exploring and start to add up all the accounts and profiles I have created, it's made me realize that social networking is not just about using accounts to communicate with people you already know (like one would use email or Skype to connect with friends and family), but it has the added feature of creating opportunities to establish relationships with individuals you would never meet otherwise.

I understand that for those or you who are way more open to "putting yourselves out there", this is not a big revelation. Again, as a very private person, the idea of sharing my thoughts or ideas with people I will never meet face to face is still a bit disconcerting and I still have my own personal "Big Brother is watching" hang ups to contend with, but at the same time, my exploration has left me with the impression and understanding that despite some of the negative aspects of networking, there is still much value in being able to connect to others through these ever expanding social networks.

Presentations on the Web

So much to see AND do!

This has been a very enlightening and educational two weeks exploring the multimedia options available online. I can say with certainty that despite trying my hand at a variety of presentation/multimedia Web applications, I am just "scratching the surface" of what is available, accessible, and possible in the Web 2.0 world.

Prezi:

My exploration of multimedia presentation and sharing sites started with Prezi, but I discovered very quickly that I am not a big fan of it's UI or the presentation style it creates.

Maybe it is the "digital immigrant"/ "old fuddy-duddy", neon sign flashing over my head again, but I have to say that in my logical, linear view of trying to follow the content and context of the sample presentations, I found the constantly changing perspective really distracting and hard to follow visually and contextually.

This was a personal revelation since I've always thought of myself as a very visual (or maybe that's the problem - "visual stimuli overload"?), and experiential learner who enjoys the benefits of being able to incorporate a variety of learning modalities, (my Educational Psychology professors would be so proud to know that I still have Gardner on my brain!), as both a student and as a teacher.

It is very much in my nature to want to know "where are we going with this?" or "what is the big picture/context for the discussion, presentation or experience?". Prezi is great when you have someone at the helm introducing and enhancing the presentation, but if I need to review the presentation on my own, this particular format did not seem very user friendly or intuitive for easily locating specific information. I found it very difficult to follow the constantly changing orientations and the zooming features in the presentation playback felt very arbitrary. (Yikes! Is that really as pragmatic as it sounds?)

If you can make the same point clearly and effectively through simple visuals, then "pragmatic me" thinks , do you really need to arbitrarily play with scale, zooming and orientations to make your point?

The upside of my Prezi experience was that it did bring to my attention the use of ZUI's in the development of Web based presentation tools and applications. Sites like the Magic Toolbox provide access to coding you can incorporate into your own sites and create the opportunity to "zoom in" to particular parts of an image you are presenting. I could definitely see this as a useful tool when critiquing compositional work or technical quality of photos and graphic design projects or examples.


SlideShare:

My next experience was with SlideShare.  It is an easy UI to work with as it is mainly a place to present the media you have already developed. Although I did sign up, create and then contribute/share a PowerPoint presentation on Design Principles, what I really enjoyed was exploring the site for interesting and entertaining presentations.

Some contributions are like mine, simple PowerPoints that are meant to be used as part of a larger experience or activity. Others are "self contained" and meant to be experienced by an audience without a "presenter". SlideShare not only allows for the posting of slide presentations, but also creates a space for Flash and video formatted files. All formats may be shared, emailed, or embedded (with the contributor's permission) into other websites.

This was one of the contributors that really intrigued me with her production and the message she so eloquently communicates. (After seeing this presentation, I really wanted to know more about this contributor and not only set myself up to "follow" Betsy's postings on the site, but also subscribed to HER blog! )
 

The Best Question in the World

View more presentations from Betsy Streeter.

Animoto:

This was a fun site to play with and it gave me a chance to do some reminiscing.

Animoto is a site that allows you to upload audio, video and photos, (or can supply you with "free" and "for purchase" sample files), from your computer or online media sharing site and create a 30 second multimedia presentation. You are given the opportunity to purchase more extensive resources and longer project time frames, but for a simple addition to a blog or website, or a quick "e card" type video greeting for friends, the free 30 second version will probably suffice.

This was a great opportunity/excuse for me to pullout some old pictures from a trip we took with friends to Hawaii a few years ago and enjoy them in a new way. Animoto was VERY easy to use and guides you pretty much through every step of the production process. Once you select the "mood" template, sequence of pictures and music, Animoto does the rest. The application sets the picture transitions to the selected music and produces a polished final product for sharing, and like SlideShare, Animoto allows for multiple ways to post, share, or publish your presentation. In this case, I have embedded the file into my blog for easy access.


 
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.


Glogster

Glogster was probably the most fun but most time consuming exploration I did. Glogging is the creation of an online, interactive "poster". The site includes many different uses for a Glog, including educational applications, documenting or promoting events, or just creating presentations to share with friends.

Although Glogster also allows you to embed your presentation, I found the resizing of the file to fit the format of my blog made it difficult to view all the elements properly. Instead, I am providing the link to my Glog (it's much easier to see this way).

I really wanted to take advantage of all the multimedia elements available to me. I spent a lot of time experimenting with the different video and audio features and was able to incorporate both into the glog. Pictures can also be uploaded to the site and can be further enhanced with your choice of graphics and "frames". Glogster also lets you add scrolling text boxes to tell your story in short captions or full pages of info, and all items on the page can be linked to outside sources/urls if required.

Glogster is not only a multimedia site, but it is also a Social Networking site. Glogs can be created with or without accounts, but I wanted the full experience so I did choose to create an account of my own. Once you register, there are many features for developing a network of friends/contributors and you are also encouraged to share information about yourself in your user profile, (There is even a section on the page that asks you to post how you are feeling at the moment - like a simplified "Tweet" or Facebook status update).

What I really like about Glogster is that it provides more opportunities to customize and personalize layouts in your presentation. While a site like Animoto is very templated and restricted in how you can use it, Glogster lets you make the creative decisions of how you will use an element and where it will go on the "page". The composition and the items/graphics you choose to use are completely up to you, making the final product a much more unique presentation that reflects the "style" of the presenter, or makes use of various items to create the "mood" or "personality" you are trying to capture in the poster.


Personally:

I really enjoyed these last few weeks to checkout what Web 2.0 really has to offer in terms of multimedia creation, presentation and sharing. I am still not sure how much I would use these tools from a personal perspective beyond the sharing of animotos with friends and family - glogs take way to much time to do something "just for fun".

Personally, what I discovered through these explorations is that while I enjoy, use and appreciate multimedia for its ability to enhance the experience of learning, I am not a fan of presentations or tools that use multimedia as "bells and whistles" or that keep me guessing "what is the point you are trying to make"? I feel that a tool like Prezi's for example, is trying to take a the format of the "slide show" (which they consider an "old school" concept), and "spice it up" by literally turning the information on it's head. Is this REALLY the most effective means to communicate an idea?

Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of "bells and whistles" when there is a point to be made by using them. If multimedia is used in a way that makes the message more effective, I think it can be a great tool, but like anyone who has sat through or even created one of "those" clapping hands, spinning text, and flashing wordart PowerPoint presentations knows, using multimedia effectively and appropriately takes some practice. Knowing your audience, and being able to choose when and how to use multimedia, and understanding why these are good or appropriate choices are still invaluable skills to have no matter how much "technological cool stuff" is available to you.


Professionally:

Like our pod casting experience, this exploration really opened my eyes up to the possibilities of not only producing but sharing what is created in classrooms or for classrooms with the rest of the World. In the past, have been very hesitant to publish work to the Web, especially the work of students (the issues of FOIP, maintaining a "safe" environment for students, living with the limitations imposed through school policies on Internet and computer use made publishing or posting an unlikely option). While I am still working through my own "privacy hang ups", I am realizing that I can access many of these technologies and still maintain a "safe" environment for my students.

Some sites like Animoto.com/education, and GlogsterEDU offer special accounts available to schools and individual educators. These accounts are part of a network of Education based users and adheres to "community" standards for what is posted and how users communicate with each other.

Although I REALLY enjoyed Glogster and can definitely see how students would find this a creative way to use visuals and sounds to present their ideas, (no more Bristol board, sharpies, glue sticks and piles of magazines to contend with), I am not sure how I would incorporate it into my own COM classes...yet.

Also, the investment of time for students to be comfortable and familiar with the Glogster technology might be an issue when we already have a lot of ground to cover and only 25 hours for each module to do it in. Instead, I would be more inclined to begin incorporating something like Animoto as it definitely has the "just jump in an do it" quality that would make it easy to access and very quickly have a handle on using it.

I would use (and most probably will use) Animoto as an introduction into Multimedia presentation with my multimedia class next semester, but I will still be teaching my students to storyboard, plan, acquire or create their own images and video snips, and edit and produce their projects in programs like AdobePremier, iMovie, or AdobeFlash. We could then share these projects on a site like Vimeo or post to a communal class blog. I would like the students to see what is possible and get ideas from a tool like Animoto, but in the end I would like to empower them with the understanding and ability to produce their own "visions".


Food for thought:

This brings me to the only issue I have with making multimedia work seem "that easy". In someways streamlining the process of:  conceptualizing an idea; developing your idea and planning a project around it; making decisions and living with the outcome of those decisions; and seeing a designer or director's perspective come through in the final product; are all the things that seem to get muddied or lost when we take away some of the struggle and the personal choice involved in creating and communicating a message.

Artists and designers learn a lot about their craft and about themselves when they are faced with having to make decisions that impact their work and the context in which it is seen. I think this is still an awareness that is important to convey as part of the process of developing a multimedia base message.