I have joined several groups on Diigo. You can search for groups based on your interests. I am already a member of Google_Earth_Ideas. I'm a big fan of Google Earth (Google, 2014). At Kent State University, I was the teaching assistant for Remote Sensing. If you are unfamiliar with remote sensing, it is using some kind of data, typically satellite or aerial imagery, to do analysis. My background is in GIS and Geography. All three of these topics can use Google Earth, sometimes in complex ways. Often they are used in much more simplistic ways for teaching, especially freshmen or sophomore level classes. Google earth can be a great tool to give a feel for topography, to create basic maps, or for other activities. This group pools together to share teaching ideas and other ways to use Google Earth.
I joined another group that I had to wait for approval from the moderator. The group is called IB Geography Food and Health. The group is a natural fit for me being a geographer who is now in Health Education looking at food, health, food access, and health/food myths. Members pool together to share articles, both news and scholarly, that deal with the topics that we in the group are interested in. I have found several interesting articles already.
A variety of sites like this exist, allowing people to get together and collaborate on whatever they happen to be passionate about. This site, Flat Connections, allows educators to get together and share ideas (Lindsay, 2014). Educators get together to learn new methods and new ways to teach to a variety of learning styles. They can share methods, materials, and ideas all on a site that brings them together in a social collaboration. This site is a list of several different educational networking sites (Tangient, 2014). This site brings educators together who have an interest in introducing games into the classroom (GBL, 2013). The site is interesting aside from the deplorable (and eye hurting) website design.
Many people, myself included, are members of social networking sites like Facebook or Linked-in. MySpace used to be considerably more popular about a decade ago, but lost many members to Facebook (Common Craft, 2007; Facebook, 2014; LinkedIn, 2014; MySpace, 2014). MySpace has been working to reinvent itself by incorporating music and entertainment, pushing as a site for those involved in music/entertainment/arts. Facebook started off as a site for college networking. It quickly expanded and became a popular site with the under 30 crowd. Now people of all ages are drawn to it, including parents and grandparents, which is causing many teens to head to other sites. Facebook's decline, especially among younger users has some articles speculating that Facebook is fate will be similar to MySpace. Regardless of if this is true or not, it currently is still a nice way to connect with friends, family, former classmates, and colleagues.
The drawbacks and the difficult part is keeping it professional, or it can hurt your chances of getting or keeping a job (Bond, 2013; Broderick, 2013; Huffington Post, 2011). These sites can bring you together and help you find connections. Just like networking in real life, social networking introduces you to people who can help you get where you want to be. LinkedIn is the more professional site, where people do to share their education, what they do, and how they do it in hopes of meeting people who have they skills they want or are looking for the skills that they have (LinkedIn, 2014). Of all of the sites, LinkedIn is the best way to network professionally, without some of the pitfalls of the other sites. I have yet to see a picture of a drunken party on LinkedIn. People tend to bring more of their office persona to this site, while Facebook and other similar sites are more like hanging out with friends. Other sites that allow networking among specific groups, such as educators, are also helpful and tend to remain more professional.
As educators, we can network with other educators to find new ways of teaching. We can find materials and methods. Why reinvent the wheel? Networking sites are something that many students use on a regular basis and their use comfort level is high. Finding ways to incorporate what students already know into the classroom is beneficial. Some teachers use Twitter to help students communicate in a large classroom (Twitter, 2014). This is just a few of the ways that Twitter can be introduced in the classroom setting (Sardine, 2013). Instead of working against social networking and smartphones, we are using them to help educate. Other sites can be used similarly.
This article by Dawley (2000) discusses some of the ways that changing technologies are shaping our classrooms. This impacts both our physical and our distance learning classrooms. I teach several distance learning classes at the University of Toledo. While most of my students are locally based, many live thousands of miles away. Some schools are facing a student population that is dispersed not only around the country, but the globe. One unique way of bringing the students together is using Second Life to allow the students to walk the stage digitally at graduation (Bryant & Stratton College, 2010).
Regardless of if you choose to integrate technologies like Facebook or Twitter into your classroom to facilitate discussions or if you help your students make professional LinkedIn accounts, as educators we can network and learn from the experiences of our peers.
Works Cited:
Bond, L. (2013). "J99 Social Media Strategies." J99 Social Media Strategies. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. <http://drakejournalism.com/socialclass/2013/10/03/keeping-it-professional-on-social-media/>.
Broderick, R. (2013). "10 people who learned social media can get you fired." CNN. Cable News Network, 1 Jan. 1970. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/06/living/buzzfeed-social-media-fired/>.
Bryant & Stratton College. (2010). "Graduates Start a New Life via Second Life." Bryant & Stratton College Online: Accredited Online Degree Programs. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. <http://online.bryantstratton.edu/slgraduation/>.
Common Craft. (2007) "Social Networking in Plain English ." YouTube. YouTube, Web. 14 Feb. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6a_KF7TYKVc>.
Lisa Dawley, (2009) "Social network knowledge construction: emerging virtual world pedagogy", On the Horizon, Vol. 17 Iss: 2, pp.109 - 121
Diigo. (2013). "Diigo - Better reading and research with annotation, highlighter, sticky notes, archiving, bookmarking & more" Diigo - Better reading and research with annotation, highlighter, sticky notes, archiving, bookmarking & more. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. <http://www.diigo.com/>.
Facebook. (2014). "Connect with friends and theworld around you on Facebook.." Facebook. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. <http://www.facebook.com>.
GBL. (2013) "Games Based Learning MOOC." Getting Started. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. <http://gamesmooc.shivtr.com/pages/gettingstarted>.
Google. (2014). "Google Earth." Google. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://www.google.com/earth/learn/>.
Huffington Post. (2011). "Lost Job Because of Facebook." Huffington Post. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/lost-job-because-of-facebook/>.
Lindsay, J. (2014). "Flat Connections Global Project." - Building bridges for the future through collaborative projects. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://flatconnectionsglobalproject.net/>.
LinkedIn. (2014). "World's Largest Professional Network | LinkedIn." World's Largest Professional Network | LinkedIn. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. <https://www.linkedin.com/>.
Manolovitz, T. (2014). "Diigo: Highlight and share the web." Digital Research Tools. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. <https://digitalresearchtools.pbworks.com/f/Diigo+Description.pdf>.
MySpace. (2014) "Featured Content." MySpace. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. <http://www.myspace.com>.
Sardine, C. (2013). "60 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom by Category." Fluency21 Committed Sardine Blog. N.p., 18 June 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. <http://fluency21.com/blog/2013/06/18/60-ways-to-use-twitter-in-the-classroom-by-category/>.
Tangient. (2014). "Table of Contents." Educational Networking. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://www.educationalnetworking.com/List+of+Networks>.
Twitter. (2014). "Twitter." Twitter. Twitter, Web. 15 Feb. 2014. <https://twitter.com/>.
Jacqueline,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very informative and offered great ideas! I think it is remarkable that schools are beginning to integrate social media into their curriculum. Like you said, I agree we need to remember the fine line between what is professional, especially when you are trying to work your way up on the career ladder.
Your background degrees sound very interesting, as well as the Diigo groups you joined. I am now inspired to join some groups about food myths and nutrition too - sounds neat!