Hello Tech list colleagues,

In advance of our discussion on social networking sites which begins
Monday, I wanted to provide some touch stones and background
information. These are some of the basics of a social network service,
sites, technology and uses. I'm sure many of you are already amply
familiar with this type of technology and may use it yourself socially
and/or professionally. Some of the most popular social networking sites
are Myspace, Friendster, Facebook, Classmates.com, and LinkedIn. Part of
the "Web 2.0" revolution which aims to facilitate creativity
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity> , collaboration, and sharing
between users, social networking sites have been in existence since the
mid-nineties. 

If you have a resource that you think would be valuable to the group in
advance of our discussion please send it to the list!

A Wikipedia definition of this technology reads, "A social network
service focuses on the building and verifying of online social networks
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network>  for communities of people
who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring
the interests and activities of others, and which necessitates the use
of software <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_software> . Most
services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various
ways for users to interact, such as chat
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_chat> , messaging
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messaging> , email
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email> , video
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video> , voice chat
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_chat> , file sharing
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_sharing> , blogging
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging> , discussion groups
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discussion_groups> , and so on...Users can
upload a picture of themselves and can often be "friends" with other
users. In most social networking services, both users must confirm that
they are friends before they are linked. For example, if Alice
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_and_Bob>  lists Bob as a friend,
then Bob would have to approve Alice's friend request before they are
listed as friends...Social networks usually have privacy controls that
allows the user to choose who can view their profile or contact them,
etc." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service

An excellent resource to begin to focus on the current use and trends of
social networking sites in education is found in the 2007 Horizon Report
(a research oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging
technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or
creative expression within higher education) by the New Media
Consortium:  http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2007_Horizon_Report.pdf

Although the focus is on post-secondary students there is much that can
be gleaned about the potential value of this type of technology for our
adult and young adult students.  The report says of social networking
sites, "Increasingly, this is the reason students log on. The websites
that draw people back again and again are those that connect them with
friends, colleagues, or even total strangers who have a shared interest.
Social networking may represent a key way to increase student access to
and participation in course activities. It is more than just a friends
list; truly engaging social networking offers an opportunity to
contribute, share, communicate, and collaborate." 

 

And lastly, from the Classroom 2.0 (a social networking site for those
interested in the use of collaborative technologies in education) this
video submitted by a member on how he is using social networking
technology with his students:

http://www.classroom20.com/video/video/show?id=649749%3AVideo%3A32073

All the best,

Mariann

 

Mariann Fedele

Director,

NYC Regional Adult Education Network

Literacy Assistance Center

Moderator,
NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List
32 Broadway 10th Floor
New York, New York 10004
212-803-3325
mariannf at lacnyc.org
www.lacnyc.org

 

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