You Twit Face!

 No, it isn't the lasted slang word from urban dictionary floating around the halls of your local high school.  YouTwitFace is the result of a joke at a dinner party reaching the mouth of Conan O'Brian and then going viral in the summer of 2009.  YouTwitFace will be a website where all of the great aspects of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are all rolled into one website.  According to Conan in the year 3000 these three webistes will combine to create one giant time wasting website known as YouTwitFace. 

There is no question that YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are three of the largest wasters of employees time.  The question is, what is it about these three websites that people enjoy so much?  The ability to watch entertaining short videos?  The ability to follow friends and celebrities in 140 characters or less?  The ability to update the entire world on the fact that you are wasting your employers time while tending your virtual farm?  Yes, these are three reasons why people are drawn to these three websites, the question now is how to get YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook to be a part of students time while being on task at the same time.

David Thornburg, an award winning futurists, stated (2009) "If we who care about education truly take the time to examine emergent technologies, we can perhaps anticipate some of the changes that can take place in our schools to help students learn more effectively.  The sooner we know what may be coming down the line, the more time we have to think about the implications of these technologies, and to plan on their eventual adoption when they do come to the market" (p. 2).  It is clear that YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook have emerged and become a regular part of our daily interactions with technology.  The challenge with these three websites is not figuring out educational aspects that can be included in the classroom, the challenge is the fear of coming across material that is not appropriate for students.  In response to coming across inappropriate material on these three very public websites, similar services have been created that offer social interaction with an educational focus.  Edmodo is a social media website that looks and feels similar to Facebook, but with the protections that a teacher needs.  TeacherTube is a educationally focused video website that is similar to YouTube, but again with the safety protections that a classroom needs.  Twitter can be an educationally safe resource as long as the students create accounts specifically for class and are only subscribed to each others tweets.

Between TeacherTube, Edmodo, and Twitter a teacher can create a safe environment where students can interact using social media.  Through including these three websites into the daily classroom a teacher can demonstrate to students that these types of websites are not just for entertainment, but can also be used to collaborate and interact in way educational ways.  It also demonstrates a unique way to stay connected with each other, as well as provide a different way to share ideas with each other.  These types of connections through the Internet are the types of connections that businesses are trying to create and want their future employees to be able to participate in. 

There are several ways that these technologies could be improved.  One improvement would if these three services all being replaced by one website, like the fictitious YouTwitFace.  One website would mean one username and password that the students would need to remember, as well as the ability to access all of the resources in one place.  

Enjoy ~SJ

Living In A Material (Digital) World

In 1985 Madonna was right in her song Material Girl, it was a material world.  If she were to release that song today the lyrics would be that we are "living in a digital world".  To be an active learner in the digital age you learn through a variety of channels.  In the new learning learning theory called connectivism, networks and connections are critical to learners ability to learn.  Wikiversity defines connectivism as "a learning theory advocated by George Siemens and Stephen Downes, among others, which emphasizes the importance and role of networks and connections between people (and things?) as prominent (central) to the learning process".  Below is a mind map some of the many of the networks that I learn through. (You can click on the image to view it larger)

 

There are a plethora of digital tools available for learning, and I try to utilize as many of them as I can.  The number one digital tool in my 21st century toolbox is my MacBook Pro.  Without my laptop I would not be able to connect as easily to many of my other digital tools.  I have been reading and writing blogs for several years now.  I write two blogs, one professional (this one), as well as a personal blog.  I also read over 50 blogs, many of which are technology or education related.  Another digital tool that I utilize for learning is magazine websites.  Edutopia is one magazine website that allows you to connect with the material on more interactive level.  Through the groups, blogs, videos, and community section I haven't found an educational topic not covered.  The countless peer reviewed journal articles also add depth to my digital learning network.

My digital network has only enhanced the ways that I can learn.  The instant discoveries of new information only a fingertip way allows for constant learning.  I am almost always on my computer looking and reading about any given variety of topics.

When there is a new topic that I want to learn about I always start with Google.  If I am looking for more academic focused results and Google doesn't give me the answers that I want I then check Google Scholar.  If I am looking for less academic results then Wikipedia, an online public editing encyclopedia,  YouTube, a collection of public submitted videos, or Google Reader, a blog search engine can be helpful.  My newest discovery for answering burning questions is Wikiversity, which like Wikipedia allows users to collectively edit encyclopedia entries, but all of the topics are focused on education.   



This is how I am "living in a digital world", how do you live?

Enjoy ~SJ