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Some interesting research going on in the EU on how social media can be used to inform policy: Social networking technology provides major new opportunities for policy makers (eGovernment) to engage with the community (eSociety). We will develop a toolset that allows full advantage to be taken of a wide range of existing and well established social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, WordPress etc.) to engage citizens in two-way dialogs as part of governance and policymaking processes. The tools will make it possible to detect, track and mine opinions and discussions on policy oriented topics. The tools will allow discussions to be seeded and stimulated through injection of policy discussion points into relevant communities in a secure and managed way. The tools will allow the origins, bias and evolution of opinions to be tracked to provide auditable records of provenance, guard against misuse, and ensure trust and privacy for all involved. A key feature of our approach is to allow policy makers to move away from the limitations inherent in the current practice of using bespoke and dedicated platforms (e.g. specific opinion soliciting websites hosted by government) and instead make full use of the high levels of participation and rich discussions that already take place in existing social networking communities. In this way, WeGov will develop the tools and techniques for closing the loop between policy makers and the citizens.

"Does your employer / Institution have a policy for the accepted use, by staff, for how they can use Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, SlideShare, YouTube, WordPress, etc)? Is it limited to how you can use it for work, or in work, or does it cover your usage outside of work and how you talk/post about what you do at work? Are you allowed to use images/logo of your employer/Institution in your work?"

We don't just build a boat, we make it sail too. Our team of expert developers is adept in both front-end and back-end programming and are delivering innovative web solutions everyday.

This post describes how educators can develop a personal learning network that supports meaningful and relevant learning. The MOOC, Education Technology & Media, etmooc, is used here as a working example of how to develop a PLN.

In this post I'll outline how educators can develop their own PLE, where to start, and I'll provide specific action steps, and what tools to use. First though, I'll share three convincing reasons why we should get serious about PLEs-why they aren't just for students.

There are around 40 'modules' in this online course - many of the topics are relevant to teacher and student learning.

This is a detailed and thoughtful reflection on the nature of learning and the role of ICT or Web 2.0 in learning.

Here's another way to break down the boundaries of the classroom and schoolyard using Web 2.0. There are other sites and blogs providing examples and tutorials which are relevant to senior students in particular.

Presentation to Middle School, and introducing Digital Citizenship.

"In a recent post I described how Social Media is About Nodes and Connections and explained "the importance [of] the network effect, with a growth in the number of nodes (the bloggers, the contributors, the Twitter users) leading to a growth in the number of connections (the posts, the comments, the tweets, the retweets) which help in the development of new insights and new ideas". But whilst many users of social media, including those working in higher education, are making use of such network effects to support their professional activities in legitimate and ethical ways others are seeking to exploit network effects in ways which may be considered unethical."

"This is a great list from Deb Ng, founder and former owner of the Freelance Writing Jobs. I thought hard about what she'd written to see if I could add anything, enhance or disagree. You have to teach internet safety. It's not part of the human genome. Nothing. It's a great list, as good as any I've seen since social media exploded on the education landscape. Read and take note:"

"Can we be addicted to a computer? No, I don't think we can. Addict is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "One who is addicted to the habitual and excessive use of a drug." A computer is not a drug, so in fact I would tend to say that we can be dependent on what the computer offers us. Shotton (1989) spoke at great lengths about the misuse of the word addict or addiction in the context of computers."

Google classroom update

"I took an informal poll of my 150 students at the beginning of the year, and 60-80% of my students don't even have a facebook. They connect with each other on Kik, an app that allows users to text each other without exchanging phone numbers. They use Snapchat, an app that allows users to send pictures that supposedly disappear forever after ten seconds. They use Whisper, an app that a user can "anonymously" tell their deepest secrets to a vast community of other secret sharers. They use Yik Yak, Vine, Tumblr, Twitter (do you know about subtweeting? you should.), Instagram, Oovoo, WhatsApp, Meerkat, and sometimes even dating apps, like Tinder."

What is transliteracy and what does it have to do with libraries?

"Digital citizenship isn't just about recognizing and dealing with online hazards. It's also about building safe spaces and communities. Digital citizenship is a comprehensive approach to the use of digital technologies. It helps not only students but all technology users understand how to manage personal information and be an internet savvy."

In fact there are only five positive and five negative points. Nothing really new and written by a marketer, but if you're looking for a quick summary of the main points, this is a handy list.

"Social media and online communication opportunities are important and can have a positive impact on all elements of the teaching and learning process, the school and learning community. We see teachers and other professionals creating networks to share ideas and resources, children and young people crowd source ideas and information. They seek and receive feedback on their work while parents engage more fully with teachers, their children and the school. Furthermore, even if we feel too old or too busy to engage with social media ourselves then we, as teachers, must still be able to model appropriate, safe and positive use of social technology for our learners and the wider learning community."