Some thoughts on social networking & how I view the world through it

Not having television service I am sometimes out of the loop on things unless I happen to be jacked-in to the Internet. That was the case Thursday night. I was out of the loop (unplugged), so I missed all the news coverage of the horrific earthquake in Japan and the subsequent tsunami warnings for the Pacific Islands & US Pacific Coast. Instead, I was on the US mainland watching “Grownups” via Netflix-Instant.  I woke up Friday morning, and jacked back into the world and found out the terrible news. I spent the rest of the morning finding out what happened to friends/family throughout Micronesia via Facebook, emails, & Twitter; getting the news reports linked from Facebook & blogs about the tsunami approaching Hawaii; and reading blogs about the earthquake/tsunami in Japan. When the news that the CNMI and Guam were given an all clear, I was still asleep. I quickly found out that Palau, and FSM were ok (main islands). However, I was really concerned about the outer islands of Yap and Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands (low lying atolls, most between 3-6 feet above sea level). Even small tidal surges can wipe out crops and the fresh water lens, leaving the populations devastated. Through a discussion forum and on Facebook, my friend Clark Graham on Chuuk was able to report out on the status of the outer islands and that they were ok, and soon after reports that the Marshall Islands were fine. (Clark’s discussion post on Chuuk Reform)

This isn’t new news, of course…using social networking & the Internet to spread information has been widely reported for years (and most recently throughout the Middle East). The true power of social networking became apparent to me, personally, when I was Twittering during the Honduran unrest a year and a half ago. A father of a girl that was on a mission trip in Honduras picked up my Tweets and figured out I was at the same hotel as his daughters group. He emailed me to check on her safety, as the phones were out (but Internet was up???), and I was able to tell him that her group had left the hotel earlier to catch a plane out back to the US. Some guy I never met, didn’t know his daughter or the group, but via social networking he was able to get the info he desperately needed. I was reminded of the value of social networking again yesterday when I was the one searching for information.

This afternoon the Facebook postings and Tweets are back to the normal, random (and often pointless) musings I am used to seeing, but it is good to know that it is there when we need it (really need it). For those in Japan, and those Japanese abroad still searching for answers about their loved ones, I hope they can find what they need, as well. Far too many of their stories will not have a happy conclusion like mine did today. Through social networking and the Internet hopefully some minds can be put at ease through the instant stream of information that surrounds us.

Social Bookmarking Changed My Life (...well, my teaching)

This week I saw an advertisement for a book (yes a book) on the best websites for fill-in-the-blank. Hmmm. A book on good websites? Another great example of the old guard holding on to the past…still hoping that some Boomers out there think that this is a good idea and will plop down over thirty bucks for free resources. Sure, the sites are cataloged, researched, annotated, and have nice descriptions. But a book? …and not just a book, but an expensive book? Rather than go into the obvious here (if you are going to sell a product on websites, wouldn’t it be better to sell it as an app so you can update/modify/change sites as they change), I am going to talk about the wonderful and free world of social bookmarking. Besides, anybody in 2011 that would buy a book on websites isn’t reading this blog (and probably think blogs are marshy areas in cold, temperate climates). Ah, I am digressing. (Is that getting blogged down?) Anyway…

So, social bookmarking. Free online services that allow you to not only share your bookmarks, but find other bookmarks on a variety of topics and interests. Here…go to to Wikipedia if you want more on social bookmarking. I had dismissed social bookmarking for years, actually. I remember hearing about this new service called Delicious and how I could save my bookmarks online AND share bookmarks online. As is often the case with me, I dismissed it as just ONE more thing that was neat, but I didn’t need. Why would I need it? Share my bookmarks online? I already shared bookmarks with myself across platforms & computers through web browsers, and that seemed good enough. Then I started sharing a lot more bookmarks with colleagues, students, clients, etc. In the “old days” when I shared bookmarks, it was usually through a website. I would copy & paste the URL into a webpage, give it a name, and write a description…voilà! Bookmark shared via website…people could access it…life was good.

As with all things “web” the static webpage I created was hard to keep current. Sure, a few web links here and there were easy to keep track of, but what about dozens or hundreds of websites? Ack. Each semester with each new class there were more and more and more changes. In the world of educational technology, things just kept evolving and moving on! THAT is when I FINALLY saw the light (and the point) of social bookmarking:

1)   I needed easy/fast way to change/add bookmarks

2)   I needed to keep current in my field without surfing the web 24/7 for new & engaging websites to share in classes/workshops

A benefit I found later was the organization these sites provided. I could place sites in a list. The example here is from a list in Diigo: Practice. This list has 59 websites related to “Practice” as it relates to skill in K-12 classrooms. The list is also public, so I can share it online with anyone (private is also an option to share with selected people, or even just yourself).

Bookmarks can be tagged, too. So one bookmark could be useful for music, reference, lessons, and practice. So if was looking for a good website on any of those topics, that site would pop up.

There are a lot of great social bookmarking sites out there (Delicious, Google Bookmarks, Diigo are among the most popular…and free). I have settled in on Diigo, though. Diigo seems to take social bookmarking to the NEXT level by adding in features like leaving notes on sites, caching websites, saving sites to read later, etc. There is also a wonderful (and free) account for teachers to better utilize Diigo in the classroom. Just one of the ways Diigo has changed my teaching and the way I deliver staff development is I am now part of several networks on Diigo that share web resources on a variety of topics in my interest areas. Rather than pay for a static book on websites that may or may not remain active by the time of printing (or be current by the time of printing), I get annotated web links from many professionals that I can review and comment on…and best of all, add to my bookmarks to share with my networks. And vice-versa. When I find great things to share, my network can benefit and share those on, as well. All in real time, current, relevant, and free. Just how I like my education resources.

For my Diigo lists go to: http://www.diigo.com/list/islandandy

The iPad2. The silver bullet we have been waiting for? Maybe.

I just finished watching the blog-cast of the unveiling of Apple’s iPad2. Normally I don’t go in for such things…especially since not only was it not a video stream (blog-cast?)…I just don’t care when Apple releases something (or care enough to stop my day and watch). This was different though (pardon the pun). The iPad2, I think, has the potential to really, really change education. So, there I sat in my office watching the blog-cast, YM’ing my friend in the office (she was also watching) and Tweeting and ReTweeting the goings-on of the event. Yes. Ubernerd.

So why the excitement? I have an iPad right now. Love it. Use it for word processing, web browsing, games, movies, music…even all the books I read now are on it. I haven’t pulled my laptop out on an airplane since I got it! Even so, while I think it is great for me, I didn’t run and jump on the iPad in the classroom bandwagon. It wouldn’t allow video-out for most applications, was very limited on productivity for schools, and inputting files could be cumbersome. I thought it was great for me, but just not quite there yet when it came to the classroom. Or should say, rather, advocating for all classrooms…as classrooms across the country are doing great things with it. The price point per student didn’t really excite me. If you could afford it, super. But really, a laptop was around the same money and had a lot more options (multimedia for one).

That changed with iPad2. Video-mirroring, cameras, lighter…all for the same price as the original iPad. Ok, nice. BUT, but got my interest was the increase in productivity tools (iMovie and Garage Band for one), and the interactivity. The potential to be always-on…jacked-in is there. Finally a digital tool for the digital natives. This has the potential (POTENTIAL) to be the big game changer in education. A device the size of a slim paperback is a window to creating knowledge, as well as intaking knowledge. Wow!

There is a lot of potential here (notice, I keep saying potential). I have been an educational technologist for well over a decade and this is the first time I have thought, “we just may be right about there!” I am an early adopter of mobile technologies (yes, I had a Newton and my first mobile phone was the size of a large purse)…and I like to figure out how to use mobile technologies in the classroom, too. That doesn’t mean I was on a bandwagon to put those technologies in ALL classrooms. I am wondering about iPad2, though. Seems this could be the precursor to the Holy Grail of ed tech we have been waiting for…textbooks are now “textbooks” and studying crosses lines into entertainment. It has the potential (POTENTIAL) to rewrite how we look at ed tech. It COULD replace textbooks, multimedia, and computers for students...all in a cheap & portable device. It COULD become the center of their learning, entertainment, and communication...all crossing borders into the other.

 

I have seen a lot of great ed tech squandered over the years, and seen the systems (education, government…and especially the business of education) usually get in the way. This is so powerful, though, I think the students might actually make it work in spite of the efforts to ensure their failure. Game on.