Wis Digital Learning Adv Council

one of the most significant factors in students’ success was their ability to participate in study groups. What the study reveals boils down to this: Understanding is socially constructed through interactions with others. This implies that we need to focus more attention on how we learn most effectively, and the signs point toward social interaction.

The centrality of group effort to human life means that anything that changes the way groups function will have profound ramifications for everything from commerce and government to media and religion.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that without diverse experiences and perspectives you won’t “have enough dots to connect and one ends up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem.” Social media exposes us to a galaxy of dots, and through education we can provide students with the tools to begin the connection process.

Consider for a minute a couple of the dynamics Web 2.0 brought us, frictionless communication, and instant access to any piece of information, picture, or video from any device 24/7.

With all of this opportunity, comes an increase in the need for responsibility, and ergo discretion.

With all these choices, and the consequences that come with them, we better learn the art of discretion, and figure out how to teach it to young people.  Fail that, and we will reap a generation that will be scarred by a billion cuts of bad technology augmented decisions…

tips for safe social networking:• Learn about and use the privacy and security settings on social networks. Consider restricting access to your page to a select group of people—for example, your friends from school, your club, your team, your community groups, or your family.• Think twice before posting pictures you wouldn’t want your parents or future employers to see.• Be cautious about how much personal information you provide on social networking sites. The more information you post, the easier it might be for a hacker, thief, or stalker to commit a crime.• Install a security suite (antivirus, antispyware, and firewall) that is set to update automatically.• Use tools to manage the information you share with friends in different groups. If you’re trying to create a public persona as a blogger or expert, create an open profile or a “fan” page that encourages broad participation and limits personal information. Use your personal profile for trusted friends.• Let a friend know if he or she posts information about you that makes you uncomfortable.• If someone is harassing or threatening you, remove the person from your friends list, block the person, and report the incident to the site administrator.• Make sure that your password is long, complex, and combines, letters, numerals, and symbols. Ideally, you should use a different password for every online account you have.• Be cautious about messages you receive on social networking sites that contain links. Even links that look they come from friends can sometimes contain malware or be part of a phishing attack.• Be aware that people you meet online might be nothing like they describe themselves, and they might not even be the gender they claim.• Flirting with strangers online could have serious consequences. Because some people lie about who they really are, you never really know who you’re dealing with.