Week3 Blog Posting#5 - Social Media

Reviewing various videos about “Social Media”, I have come to the decision which video made the most sense and is the easiest to accept. That was the video, “Social Media in Plain English.” (2008,May) found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MplOClX1jPE  . The use of new technology allows feedback from others, so improvements can be made. It helps with organization to help customers find what they are looking for. As well as, the new technology helps users generate more contacts (or customers without the high cost of advertising) with little or no effort.

These same principles, described in the “Social Media in Plain English” video can be applied in education, at any grade level.  As the student develops their blog, they begin to learn to organize their site, formulate their ideas into just the right words, she their ideas, and analyze the feedback given which can be anything from corrective criticism to supportive encouragement. I can see where the student will gain self-confidence, courage to share their ideas, trigger creative innovation, a network of supports, and a voice if they never had a voice before that was heard or recognized. This new technology in education most definitely belongs in the classroom. The biggest benefit students will experience with Social Media is the real life applications of technology displaying tangible steps of progression.

The George Lucas Educational Foundation’s web site “edutopia”

http://www.edutopia.org/search/node/Social%20Media%20in%20education , has 45 pages of articles, videos, student testimonies, all pertaining to Social Media usage in education. I highly recommend anyone associated with education at any level review some of the content in this link above. I now believe that as schools begin to embrace the new technology and the changes in our culture, the public may start to warm up to the change.

When Prime Minister Gordon Brown, spoke in Oxford, England this July, (2009)

http://www.ted.com/talks/gordon_brown.html he spoke about writing a web for global good. He showed how images had captured the attention of people around the world. By explaining how prevalent collaborative communications and the sharing of information has become, he feels that it is our moral and ethical duty to use this new technology and develop a global community to address issues that no longer affect a single country. I see his point, but many older folks may see his enthusiasm for his “cause “ as another fore front movement before WWII, The Cuban Missile Crisis, Viet Nam, Salt II, The Cold War. There are still a number of us that remember these events and remember that with each time period and historical event, a sense of panic moved among the people. To this day there are many US citizens that want to remain a Democracy as our Forefathers had established. With speeches and movements moving as fast as technology and pressuring the public to either jump in or miss the boat, a new level of panic will arise and be grounds for folks to fear that a one world order may be developing.