social networks not just for the young anymore

With the growth of social networks, there has been a change in the demographic who uses social networks to communicate.  There has been an increase in the number of middle age and older adults who have begun to use social networks.  This is not only because they are easy to use and navigate, but also because they want to be connected to old friends just as much as  young people do.  The article that I read mentioned that this is still a phenomenon for young people, but it also is not exclusive to that demographic.  I guess this is true because social networks help people do what they most desire, and that is to be connected to one another.  People feel special when they get to talk to someone who they haven't talked to in months and it is nice to see that someone sent you a message just to say hello.  Yeah it may seem a little weird when you see your grandma on facebook, but why shouldn't she be able to use a social networking site.  I don't think that there is any fear about social networking sites being taken over by an older age bracket, but I think that it is safe to say that there may emerge social networks specifically geared toward an older generation.  The appeal of social networks is that they give people a chance to just show the world the person they want to be, wether it is an accurate depiction of that person or not is a completely different question, but it is the freedom that people crave.  Here is a link to the article I read if you would like to read more about it http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1079/social-networks-grow

Cell Phones: How Young is too Young?

I got my first cell phone when I was 14, a freshman in High School.  I started playing on a school sports team and my parents wanted a way to stay in touch in after practices, or just so they could reach me if something happened.  I remember it was cool to have a phone, but it wasn't something that I used a whole lot, I had it when I wanted to talk to one of my friends or if I needed to call my parents, but for the most part it wasn't a necessary addition to my life.  Since then though it's hard for me to leave my phone at home or not to know where it is because it has become something where I am afraid I will miss out on what is happening if I leave my phone behind.  I have become accustom to being connected at all times that is hard when I need to disconnect and take a break from it.

I just read an article that talked about how cell phones are becoming a must-have item for tweens and younger.  This is something that really boggles my mind.  I can't seem to wrap my mind around why a 7 year old would need a cell phone.  Yes they may think that cell phones are cool because they see their parents or older siblings with one, but at the same time 7 year olds have existed without cell phones for quite a long time and they can continue to do so.  First of all I don't think 7 year olds should be in a situation where they aren't with an adult who can be contacted, they shouldn't need a phone of their own because they should be with someone who is older and responsible enough to have a phone so that they can be contacted.  Secondly it seems wasteful to me that children are being given such expensive toys that are not getting that much use.  When most people had landlines, it didn't seem critical that young children had their own phone lines, so why should it be any different now.  I understand that we live in a technologically advancing world, but it doesn't mean that the youngest members of our society need to be constantly connected.  I know that my views may change over time as technology advances, but as for now I don't think that children under about 13 need cell phones.  Children always want to grow up as fast as possible, but that doesn't mean that we have to let them do so, it is our job to help them not get ahead of themselves and simply be children.

Here is an article I found at the end of chapter 2 of Brooks-Young's book.
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/26/Business/Must_have_for_tweens_.shtml

Why wear your heart on your sleeve, when you can wear it on your blog

I recently read this article on USA Today's website.  This article was talking about social networks and how they have shaped the way that people communicate with one another.  This one focused specifically on the boom in internet blogging.  It talked about how blogs had in a way replaced the paper and pen diaries that many people kept, these online blogs have turned into a way for teens to write about their day, their thoughts and communicate with their friends.  This article was mentioned at the end of chapter 7 in Brooks-Young's book, which was on creating content, more specifically writing online.  I found this article kind of interesting despite the fact that it is about 6 years old.  This allowed me to think about how our use of the internet has changed in the last 6 years and it made me question if these things have become more prominent in our society.

This article also made me think about blogging from two different perspectives, that of a teacher and that of a teenager who was using sites mentioned in the article when it was written.  From a person who used sites such as myspace, looking back I can see how it becomes easy to put your whole life on display for the whole world because it feels as if only your close friends will be the ones who care enough to look at the information that you are posting online.  It becomes easy to rant about the things bothering you or post the exciting things that are happening in your life because you want to tell everyone about it instantly.  You want to share things with your friends who are near and far because they are your friends and that's what you do.  It is easy to get caught up in the desire for everyone in your life to know the important details that you forget, that people not in your life have access to things you put online as well. But from a teacher's perspective you want to keep your students safe, you don't want to expose them to anything that could cause them harm.  It is our job to teach our students how to responsibly use the internet but that doesn't always ensure that they will use the internet properly.  It is easy to get caught up in the moment and put something up online that you shouldn't.  I think from a teacher's perspective that is where google docs and other things like that come in useful because it allows students to put stuff online but the teacher can better monitor what they students are doing and posting online.  They have freedom but it's controlled freedom, kind of the best of both worlds.

Do we really know the facts about social networking?

Chapter 5 in Brooks-Young was all about social networks.  It brought up the potentially good uses as well as the negative uses of social networks, this is something that is worth knowing about because as the years go on we become more and more connected by social networks and it is important to understand them.  As with almost anything on the internet you can never be 100% sure of anything accuracy.  I know that some sites are more reliable than others, but as a general rule, people can post misleading information online and share it with the whole world.  This is especially true in regards to social networks.  The thing about social networking sites is that you can in a way be anyone that you want to be and most people would not know any different.  This ability to mask your true identity has created a problem with underage children being solicited in an unwanted way.  They become more vulnerable to adults who lie or even other teenagers who can say whatever they like without  them seeing any consequences for their actions.

I just read an article that was talking about how people often quote the statistic that 1 in 7 children have been sexually solicited online.  But does that statistic actually reflect the truth or is it just an exaggeration of the truth.  The  article I was reading seemed to think that this was an exaggeration of things.  It may be misleading of the data to say that 1 in 7 children has been sexually solicited online, it goes on to say that often times the encounters are very minor and are from other teenagers.  I'm not sure if that make things any better, but it does help to put the information into perspective for you, it can be easy to let your imagination run wild with a statistic, but it is important for us to be well informed members of our society.  I did find it comforting that one of the points that this article made was that most people were able to report the incidents in an effective and easy way.  Here is a link to the article if you want to read it for yourself: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.law.harvard.edu/files/1in7Youth.pdf.

As with all things social networks have a positive and a negative side to the, but it is also important to seek the truth when you are online and to be smart about who you share your information with and what you make accessible on the internet.  If you take the necessary precautions and think about what you are putting up for the world to see social networks can be a great way to stay connected to people.

Core Knowledge or 21st Century Skills. What do your students need?

I recently read an article on that was talking about the push for students to develop their 21st century skills. It mentioned that at least 10 states had adopted what they called p21 into their curriculum and standards.  P21 stands for Partnership for 21st Century Skills, this Arizona based group that sees the need to not only develop knowledge, but also skills.  They want students to be prepared not only cognitively for the challenges that they will face but also to prepare them for the skills that they will be expected to know and use in the workplace.  As with all things though there is a group of educators who oppose this movement and are in favor of Common Core.  They want their students to have "a full core curriculum."  This group speaks about how those students who are economically disadvantaged will not benefit as much from P21 skills because they are not going to have as many resources available to them at home so they will fall behind.  As with most articles it doesn't offer up a solution to the readers but rather it gives you some information and leaves the decision making up to you.

This article did make me consider what is important to incorporate into your classroom and what skills do your students need to be successful in school and then after school.  Is it more important to focus on the technological skills and the learning they can bring or should you focus on the standards that you are forced to meet?  Is there a way to incorporate the two and make learning more meaningful and deeper?  From what I gathered in chapter one of the Brooks-Young book and then from this article was that teaching your students 21st century skills will help them to be that more engaged and better equipped student.  Personally I think you need to make sure you that you have a balance between the old and the new.  You also have to know your students and know what kind of things will be helpful for them to know how to use and which won't be as helpful.  My hope is that as a teacher I will be able to learn that balance and not only teach my students the standards that are important for them to learn but also that I will be able to teach them the skills that will be important for them to use later in their lives.  If you would like to read this article please click here.

Where is your citizenship?

This chapter in Brooks-Young talked about our digital citizenship which basically deals with the fact that we are part of a bigger community when we put information online we become part of a global network, wether we want to or not.  So it talks about some of the issues that have come up with this digital citizenship.  One thing they talked about in great detail is your privacy, the fact that unless you take precautions you never know who is going to be looking at the things that you post online.  They also talked about how once something is on the internet you can never really get rid of it, it always exists out there in some form, and so it has this way of letting the past come back to haunt you.  This chapter seemed to focus on how it is the responsibility of adults to model to students an ethical and responsible approach to using the internet, but often times the adults are just as bad as students.  We forget that even though the internet allows us to keep in touch with people who are far away it also allows other people to learn about us, such as potential employers and they will make a judgement about you based on what they see online.  This chapter also talked about copyright information and how it is important for us a digital citizen to use the information we have in a responsible and ethical way.  We need to remind ourselves and our students that everything out on the internet isn't for our taking and we need to respect the rights of others online.

As far as the issue of sexting goes I think it is important for teachers and parents alike to model and talk about responsible ways to use technology.  I think often times people forget about the potential consequences of their actions and then they ending up getting themselves in a big mess.  Trying to be proactive is the ideal approach to a situation like this, but I think if you face this issue in your school you'll have use judgement and time to come to the appropriate and best solution.  I am not sure what I think the appropriate solution is, but I think often times that charging someone with a felony over this may be a little much especially if they are younger students who have their whole lives in front of them.  This is definitely a touchy issue and is one that is growing, but until I am faced with a situation where I have to deal with it I'm not sure I could tell you what the best course of action is.

Brownies?

I recently created a website dealing with one of my favorite things in the world, brownies.  Please feel free to take a look around it and become inspired to eat. http://jmcounts.webs.com/index.htm

A picture says a 1,000 words. The impact of images in the classroom.

In this chapter Brooks-Young they talked about the way that images are used and mostly about how the internet has revolutionized the way that images are shared.  The availability of the technology needed to take pictures and make movies has changed drastically over the past twenty years and it is much easier for people to get their hands on cameras and camcorders.  But with the greater access to this kind of technology you also see a rise in the misuse of this kind of technology, because with every good development that comes you also get a negative side effect.  I know personally I have used the internet to look at pictures or find pictures for projects and presentations.  It makes not only finding pictures easy, but it also makes finding video clips easy.  I know if I am working on a project I will often see if there is a video I can include in my project that will help to emphasize my point or to better help explain whatever it may be that I am talking about.  Things like youtube and google make it easy to find a video or picture for almost any occasion you can think of.  Also with the rise of social networks like facebook and myspace there has been a rise in online photo albums.  Websites like those help you to make your pictures available to all of your friends with a few simple clicks of the mouse.  Aside from pictures and videos that go up on social network sites you can also go to pages like flickr and photobucket and have more pictures then you ever imagined all at your fingertips.  

As well as viewing images and videos online I have also uploaded videos and pictures to the internet.  Most of the videos that I have uploaded have been for school use and to make them easily viewable I placed them on Youtube so that I could retrieve them from any place that had internet access.  I have also used social networking sites to upload photos so that I could share them with friends.  These are great resources to use, but it is important to think carefully about what you post online because you never know who may end up viewing your pictures and videos.  

After taking some time to research creative commons I have learned that it is a type of alternative the strict copyrights that are available.  It was created by people who hoped that the internet could be this place where the resources could be shared and more available to people around the world.  This does not give someone full rights to another persons work, but it allows for people to work with their images without requesting direct permission from the owners.  It was started as a way to open doors and possibilities for people all around the world.

are blogs, wikis, and microblogs #creativewriting?

This chapter talked about the way that our writing and communication has changed over the past few years.  The rise of blogs, microblogs, and wikis is easy to see all around us.  Personally I have had the experience of using a blog on blogger as well as having a twitter, a form of microblogging.  My experience with blogger has been very limited.  I created one a couple of years ago, but rarely posted on it and it still sits idly waiting for me to write in it, I think the thing that has kept me from writing in it is this need I feel to make whatever I write on there funny and captivating.  I felt this bigger pressure to make whatever I was writing meaningful because you never knew who could be looking at your blog.  I know logically that my blog is just this tiny part of the internet, but I couldn't shake the fact that someone I didn't know would end up reading it and be a little less than impressed.  But another part of me loved how I could simply just use it like an online journal or a place to put all of my thoughts down and know that they would in a way be preserved.  And I think that using blogs as a place to let students express themselves through creative writing could be very helpful, but I also think that these suggestions are more useful for an older set of students.  A second grade class may not get as much out of writing a blog as a middle or high school student would.  If you were to set up a blog where students were given a grade for their ability to recap the past weeks events in that class you are not only having them think about what they've learned, but also giving them freedom to recap the week as they think best fit.

As far as my experience with twitter goes I used it at first as a way to keep up with what was happening in other people lives.  It was a way of feeling connected to people who were far away, like a way for me to share in special moment with them or laugh with them from miles away.  I still don't use twitter very regularly, but I like the way that it allows you to share little moments of your day with other people.  It is like you get a chance to let people be in that one moment with you even when they're not there in person.  As far as it's use in the classroom I like the idea of having students post comments or questions about a lesson while it's happening.  I saw this used at a church before as a way for people to ask questions as the church was going over some very sensitive and touchy subjects that people might have been to embarrassed to ask about in person.  The disadvantage was that the person speaking in this case the preacher was sometimes caught off guard by some of the questions, but that was a risk they were willing to take.  This technology I also see being more useful with middle or high schoolers because they are immersed in technology.  With younger children technology like this has more risks and you must be more cautious when making it available to them.

Wikis are one thing that i have not had a lot of experience with, but I like the idea of using them as a way to communicate between school and home.  Communicating with your parents and students outside the classroom is very important and anything that can make it easier should be welcomed with open arms.

Gaming

This chapter talked about gaming and it's place in the classroom.  In this chapter they talked about the use of mini-games and complex games, they noted that most of the games used in a classroom are mini-games.  This is because complex games are classified as games that take more than 20 hours to complete, and as a teacher 20 hours is a lot of time especially when you have standards and objectives to meet.  Teachers often feel as if they are in a time crunch and so it can be kind of overwhelming to commit so much of your time to something like gaming.  Also many teachers are not big gamers or haven't had a lot of experience playing with various games so they don't necessarily understand the things that can be gained by using games.  Personally I have played very few complex games because I would much rather do something that won't require a lot of time to figure out or get through, I like having results almost immediately or being able to figure out what is going on.  So for me the thought of having to dedicate so much time to something like one game seems vastly unappealing.  But when you look at the numbers a lot of kids game and want to see more games incorporated into the classroom and many teachers are willing to incorporate games into their curriculum they just don't know how to.

Personally I think that there is value in using games to help extend learning.  Every student learns differently and I think many of the students would benefit from simulation games or games where you have to put yourself in someone else's shoes, this allows students to learn by doing.  They not only get to be in control of what they are doing, but often they can see consequences to their actions and this helps them to learn and relate to what they are learning about.  Knowing your students will help you to know which kind of games will work best for them or if gaming will help them learn at all.  As far as having children create their own games I think there is great value in this, because it causes the children to develop complex systems and they get to harness their creativity in a constructive way.  It also allows the students to work on their communication skills and learn how to look at their work with a critical eye.  They will learn the value of revising their work and will probably gain more from an activity like creating their own game than you will at first imagine.  Allowing children to own something always helps them to not only work harder, but also gives them pride in a job well done.

What Kind of World are You Living in?

The chapter in Brooks-Young's book today was over Virtual Worlds.  I have not really had much experience with virtual worlds and as I was reading this chapter I was trying to think back and think about why virtual worlds are as big as they are.  I think at one point in my life I had a neopet, which was like a free virtual pet that you could get stuff for.  I never really wanted to use it to interact with others online and I never did any of the things that you had to pay for, but I remember thinking that it was cool that I had my very own pet of sorts.  It was exciting knowing that when I got online something would be there waiting for me to play with it, and also knowing that it was like this imaginary pet that I could play with.  I think I discovered this when I was around 9 or 10, but I also remember quickly losing interest with it and then never going back to play with it.  Virtual worlds are okay for a short time, but I think at least in my case I get bored with them, because I want to do things bigger than what is happening on my computer screen.

As far as utilizing virtual worlds in a classroom setting, I'm not too convinced of the benefits of using them.  I think that some children like having a way to escape and become whoever they want to be in a virtual world, but I think that can also be a dangerous thing.  I do like the idea where they can share written work like poetry on a website, without actually having to let people know who they are, that allows them to not feel as exposed to those around.  Also I think that the online safety skills that the children can gain as the teacher prepares them for something like an online world are valuable, but I am just not convinced that it is something I see extending the learning from the classroom.  I guess without taking time to explore virtual worlds I will not really know, but as of right now I'm not really sure that this technology will have a place in my classroom especially if I end up working with younger children.

lions and tigers and social networks, oh my.

Since the mid nineties the impact of social networks has grown and has shaped the way that people communicate with one another and really the way people communicate.  If you were to say that social networking has not changed the way that people communicate with one another you would be lying to yourself.  One of the first social networking websites that I ever used was myspace.  I got a myspace while I was in high school and I used it to talk to my friends, listen to music, and stay in touch with people who i didn't get to see very often.  I remember that my friends and I would have conversations about something that we saw on myspace and it was a place where lots of information was displayed at your fingertips.  It was almost like a very superficial way of getting to know someone you could see what they put on their myspace and then normally you would make assumptions about that person.  At the time when myspace was really popular with my age group was when facebook started to become popular among college students.  I remember my brother coming home from college on one of his breaks and telling me that I needed to get a facebook because it was so cool, but I responded with what's facebook I have myspace.  I think I eventually made one that laid dormant until sometime during my senior year of college.  Once I got to college myspace was beginning to be less exciting and facebook was what everyone was using to communicate.  And even since I started college in 2007 social networking has exploded.  Almost everyone you meet has a facebook or twitter or a blog or some other way of expressing their opinion on the internet.  We live in a world of smart phones where social networks are literally at your fingertips most of the day.  I think social networks are so appealing because they let people express their opinion in 160 characters or less.  Social networks are also so appealing because they can help you feel connected to people that are hundreds or sometimes even thousands of miles away.  You can talk to someone around the world, from the comfort of your own home, while you talk to your friend down the street at the same time.  Social networking allows people to feel like they are a part of something more and I think that's a big basis of their appeal.

As far as using social networking in the classroom I think it becomes a little harder to think of ways to use it.  I think one way that social networking could be used in the classroom is to set up a sort of twitter account where students could post questions throughout the day or night and they could receive help or kind of give the teacher feedback.  The book also mentions doing something where you teach the students what kind of things are appropriate to put onto social networking sites and then have them create a site that meets a rubric.  I think that not only helps them to become smarter internet users, but helps them realize that not everything in their lives needs to be broadcasted for the whole world to see.