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I think that this slideshare presentation provided an interesting perspective on where social networks have come from historically as well as their uses. On slide number 27, the author points out that because of how social networks have developed, students really expect them to be used as a social outlet, not necessarily an educational one. As we work to harness the potential that exists within social networks to be effective learning environments, we have to recognize and utilize the medium in those ways that students understand and expect. The author points out 3 particular ways to best harness these networks for educational purposes. First, by defining goals from the introduction. We have to be upfront with our students about the purposes of the network, how we expect the tools to be utilized, and the professional manner in which we will be utilizing the network. Second, by staying on topic. The instructor plays the critical role in maintaining the focus of the class on the specified topic. And third, clear participation rules. Students have to understand how they are expected to participate. How often, with whom, and what will constitute adequate participation will all have to be addressed. I liked these points of discussion because they are relevant to every kind of social network, not whatever is the current flavor of the day. Honesty with our students about the purpose and expectations for conduct apply just like in a regular classroom. The exciting part is all of the additional tools that are available for students to commmunicate and collaborate which simply do not exist in a traditional classroom. The asynchronous nature of it all is a unique aspect that changes the way we look at class interactions. Social networks are like any other tool. We have to understand how to use it before it can bring about the results we desire.

I like this site, especially the link to social networking, which is why we are here. Seems like a great tool for the classroom too!

Todd, I found the challenges section interesting- that students expect social networks to be just that- social- rather than educational. We will need to keep this in mind and address it as we utilize SNL. There suggestions for keeping things running smoothly are also helpful- define goals, stay on topic, and have clear participation rules.

This article describes what social networking is and why teachers should use it in schools. It brings up a lot of good questions about how social networking can be used in the classroom. The article also addresses a lot of the issues involved in bringing this type of technology into the classroom.

Check out http://academia.edu/

I am now a member and follower! Looks like a great place to network and find jobs.

This publication is an overview of research on student use of social networking tools by the National School Boards Association in July 2007. While the recommendations to school districts about using social networking were generally positive and generic, two sets of statistics were surprising. The first dealt with the almost universal use of social networking tools by teenage students. 96% of students with internet access have used some form of social networking tool. 21% said they post comments on discussion boards every day. The second set of statistics tried to allay the concerns about student safety while using social networking tools. Only 0.08% of students have reported committing the cardinal sin on online behavior: meeting someone they met online without their parents permission.

This is one of the fastest-rising educational social networks you should know about. Twiducate got me excited from the start with the unique approach to setting up your classroom online: the teacher does all the work and then students just get a simple code to punch in. Then, voila! They're all set up and have an account! Twiducate was started in 2009 and focuses on giving teachers more control than they'd typically expect to find in a free social network. Twiducate is all about creating a "safer online learning environment" and it shows. The site, even from the start as I mentioned, takes great care in putting the power of the tool in the hands of the teacher. Whether you agree with the tact or not, it's worth checking out Twiducate.

Billed as an "education 2.0 social network for your class," Diipo reminds me more of Edmodo and some Blackboard applications rather than Pinterest or your standard social network. That's a good thing. Diversity and competition are wonderful for this kind of environment. Like Edmodo and other tools of that ilk, Diipo offers plenty of 'community' tools such as a group discussion area, direct messaging, student project management, class rosters, microblogging, a knowledgebase, and the ability to upload and share files. That last one is my favorite and seems to be one of the most useful ways to start with Diipo. Don't want to use Dropbox or unsure about other cloud-hosted services? Diipo (to me at least) has shown itself to be a simple and secure way to effectively upload and share digital resources for your class only.

I really like this blog because he talks about how much a personal learning network can help teachers. It gives very simple steps on how to begin a personal learning network and a boat load of resources to use.

This article was written by one of co-authors of the article Eric posted Personal Learning Environments: Challenging the dominant design of educational systems. The key points of this article is that a PLE is made up of more than just software. While it has tools - these could be considered more of problem solvers or strategies. Some of the typical problems that these tools solve are discourse monitoring, micropattern spotting, creating and mixing media and indicating presence of other participants in your personal learning network. In comparison with an LMS which can be static this environment actually can function as an ecosystem. While I have already started on my PLE in bubbl.us, this article is making me rethink how I categorized according to tools. Perhaps, I should be thinking more about how the social network is functioning and what tools best fit the culture of the social network. How do members of the network choose to solve their problems or implement their strategies for their own PLEs?

Hmm very interesting Kae! I would love to see you take a stab at categorizing your PLE in this way, and see what you're able to come up with in the analysis. I noticed that Jamey (I think!) categorized her PLE by purpose (social, learning, entertainment, etc.), and this seemed to provide a useful sorting mechanism, as well, especially when you overlay the SNKC color coding on top. You could see where she spent her time contributing, lurking, etc. You might find some good insights using your approach, as well. Good luck!

A comprehensive listing of social networks used in educational environments. It includes links to topic areas that may be of use to teachers in this course. For example- art.

Glori- This is a really cool page!! I just scrolled through it and looked at some of the links. It is so helpful that people work so hard to create these "compilation sites" for those of us that have such limited time to do hours of surfing on the net to find sites we need to use for school, work, etc. Super cool!! Thanks!

How helpful! I love how these sites are divided into sections of what we are interested in. I will come back to this page several times during the next year. Thanks for finding this!

Automatically post stuff from one social network to others.

Similar to parts of Edutopia and the WordPress Buddypress plugin, TeachAde hosts a number of useful discussion groups and offers plenty of free education resources. Billing itslef as "the first social networking website designed specifically for educators that is completely free and easy to use," TeachAde promises a host of activities, nearly 60,000 resources, core materials, a daily digital planner, and even a 'find a colleague' feature that I personally find the most compelling reason to try out the site. After all, isn't connected learning all about actually, you know, connecting with your fellow learners? TeachAde holds great promise and all the parts are there. Now it just needs your help and input. I've been tinkering with TeachAde for a few weeks now and it's proven to be very useful for finding peer-reviewed resources.

As an online 9-12 teacher and parent of three teenagers, I know that the majority of students have Facebook accounts and spend time each day socializing through this technology median. I have often accused Facebook as being a distraction from homework and "real socializing". This article helps me rethink the use of Facebook. The old adage comes to mind, "If you can't beat them, join them". I loved the practical suggestions this paper brings forth, such as making my own "Teacher Profile" that they can keep as a friend. Through this means, students will be able to chat with me about homework whenever we are online, as well as visit my page for useful resources. Sure we can introduce other software programs to provide these teacher interaction services to students such as e-mail, Moodle and Pronto, but why not work with a program they already know and love...In addition, the topic of Facebook profiles and postings can also provide "meaningful" classroom discussions about ethics and self dignity. Thank you, Amy Brown for putting this resource together.

When I first started using Facebook, I was determined to keep it exclusively made up of my real friends. I was living abroad at the time so it was a great way to stay in touch with friends. As it gained in popularity I started getting requests from students which, even though I primarily teach adults, I ignored out of a sense of professionalism. Eventually I did friend a few students who I considered actual friends and that opened the floodgates to friend requests from every student. I felt obligated to accept them and before long I couldn't use Facebook without second-guessing everything I posted and worrying about what my friends might post. I only used Facebook as an email alternative for a few years before I became confident in the privacy settings and once again felt comfortable that I really was only socializing with my friends and not also every student, distant relative and elementary school classmate I had ever had. I think the moral of the story is that instead of using Facebook as the One True Social Network, it's better to have smaller, more specialized social networks for different purposes, such as an EduBlog set up for one individual class.

John you bring up really good points. I share the same concerns and try not to accept every friend request I receive or offer friendship just because I recognize a name.

This article was useful to me because I have recently started to use Twitter in my own classroom as a way to get information out to other teachers as well as a tool for me to find other resources. The questions that this article presented for me are how many teachers out there use Twitter? I am constantly trying to find data to support my use, just in case the principal gets a nasty email or phone call about it. I have had nothing but positive thoughts from parents on the use of Twitter, but that could change is the wrong person found out. I have actually became a little more at ease since reading this article. I now have a good resource to finding other links on Twitter and this is something that I can show my principal to support the use of Twitter.

Keefe, This article was useful because it demystified the Personal Learning Network (PLN) usefulness for educational purposes. Some of the questions that the article prompted for me was how to utilize Twitter. I especially enjoyed reading about how Twitter was used for professional research networking. I feel that short tweets can lead to ground breaking theories that have not been presented on the internet. I also noted that there were 38 blog posts for this article. Thanks for sharing your insights. Brenda Janot

I found this short video describing the difference between a PLE and a VLE. I thought it was appropriate for our discussion of PLE's, and PLN's. VLE is a virtual learning environment that allows people to share idea's and content virtually. The author's make a reference to using VLE's in a University environment, which seems to fit in perfectly with this module's discussions. They give wonderful examples of resources for research to social networking. I wonder if we are going to discuss VLE's this semester?

This video can be helpful as you build your mindmap this week.

This website caught my attention when I was searching for a resource to describe social network learning. There were a couple of key points that were addressed on the website. The first was Personal Learning Style (PLS). I think that determining what PLS works best for a student enhances the effectiveness of the instruction. The website suggests that PLS is now being adopted by companies to enhance work performance. Since I have a hearing disability I gravitate towards visual learning so my individual learning is much different than an audio learner. The other key point identified on the website is that social network learning should be inclusive of all generations. The instruction or social mechanism should take into consideration learner autonomy. The learning community for academics is much different than personal. However, because the two may be interrelated, the learner must adopt some control over their learning environment whether it is social academic or social personal.