Promises-SocialNetworks

//(this is a great topic but it needs some development it has a bit of a pasted together feel...don't you think? I don't get the what the reference to Dede is saying. I reworked the taspcott citation but either more needs to be said or it should be dropped. Where is the discussion of my space and ebay and amazon and all of the great examples of social networking. ) //

Technology and its users have created a new generation of social network services. These services have built virtual communities which are created without barriers, and allow their users to socialize, learn, and share with one another. As a result, learning models in educational and organizational settings have experienced a shift in recent years to focus more on student learning and collaboration rather than a teacher-focused approach based on instruction. This shift and the expanded use of social networking tools has seamlessly brought education outside of the school or corporate classroom to a more informal setting where facilitation and relevant information are readily available across time zones and geographic regions.

One of the early social network services, classmates.com, allowed high school and college alumni to reconnect with one another. It quickly became a popular site and many other sites such as sixdegrees.com followed in its footsteps. However, users began to look for more opportunities and levels on which to connect. In 2003, myspace.com launched and people from all around the globe were able to connect with friends, coworkers, and people with similar interests. MySpace was not the only popular social network service for long, according to wikipedia, the top five sites with the most users are [|Windows Live Spaces] with 120 million, [|Facebook] with 115 million, [|MySpace] with 110 million users, [|Habbo] with 100 million users and [|hi5], which reports 70 million users. According to wikipedia, the 70 million hi5 users are predominantly teenagers from Portugal, Cyprus, Romania and Latin America. Suffice to say the number of social network users is staggering. (wikipedia, 2008).

“The Year in Review and Trends to Watch in 2008”, from the academic peer reviewed journal, Nursing Education Perspectives, called attention to the growth of social networking. The review not only noted a significant increase in the number of users of social network sites, the review sited an increase in older adult users. Skiba points to the increased use of social networking technology in education, referring to platforms such as [|Facebook], [|Myspace] , [|Skype] , [|linkedin] , [|IPhone] , [|wiki’s] and [|blogging]. Skiba’s review includes a link to a video clip of [|Nicholas Negroponte], founder of the [|“One Laptop Per Child”] initiative. Negroponte’s presentation covers social networking as an educational medium. [|Dr. Paul Sparks] recently spoke about the concept of allowing one to learn as opposed one being taught. Negroponte likewise refers this concept of learning in the video clip. (Skiba, 2008)

These virtual communities are not only used by teens and adults. Some virtual communities are formed for younger students to use as well. DeDe suggests the idea of interfaces he calls "Alice-in-Wonderland" that allow multi-user environments or a "costume party" environment. These environments can be provided for both student and adult in the virtual worlds of MUVE or [|Second Life]. These virtual worlds allow instructors, students and parents to create an avatar and navigate throughout the world. The creation of the avatar allows all members of the community to be seen as equals and all members are learning from one another. Tapscott provides an example of kids who asked speakers if they had email addresses and then used them to pose their questions which he claims is fracturing the power dynamic that exists between children and adults (Tapscotte, 1998)

Existing social networks are also benefiting from new social network services. An article in the eastern edition of the Wall Street journal covers how small businesses are benefiting from social network sites like [|Ning.com]. Small businesses use social networking to collaborate, communicate and cross publicize their businesses. The article suggests that small business social networking increases market exposure as well as adding a comfortable intimate appeal to the customer. (Spors, 2008)

Education, business networking and reconnecting with old friends are not the only uses for this new generation of networking. Many people also began to connect on another social network service, [|ebay.com], an online auction and shopping website. [|Craigslist.com] is another network, with a similar purpose. One may buy and sell items on craigslist.com, however you may also place a classified ad, meet a friend, or open a discussion forum.

The possibilities for social networking services expand as the needs of their users vary. Once a world where you must mail a letter and wait for a response has given way to an email, or a question posted on Facebook, MySpace or listing in a forum. The once large world is now connected and closer than ever.

2.5.1 Social Networking Tools in an Educational Setting
Social Networking tools not only connect you to your former classmates, but can also lead to expanding the possibilities of such tools (in students' eyes) beyond free time and into an educational sense. Students can, for example, use a tool such as Facebook to connect //globally// to students of similar interests or working on similar projects. Classrooms on different continents can become one. We are in a time were the world is level-less and one large community and economy. Social Networking tools are not only readily available, but they are mostly free to use. This limits the road blocks to only the worry that a group may not have the physical technologies (ie. computers and Internet access).

So many times in education social networking is frowned upon, at often those frowns are easily justified, but maybe for a change we EMBRACE these tools and show their potential as an educational aid?! We always must worry of the exploitation of minors, but that can be smoothed-out with more filtering and monitoring. We can turn this worry into a new life lesson on the appropriateness of these sites, what content is viable to put on them, and how to use them...not abuse them! There is always an opportunity to teach something new built off of something else. These are known as Teachable Moments.

The flip side of the debate of Social Networking Tools in a classroom setting is an easy one: They are useless. People can argue forever about how Facebook and Myspace are ridden with garbage, exploit minors, and are redundant. And, it is difficult to not agree with that. This is why we need to find a way to embrace these tools which are so prevalent in our students' world and make them work some how. We need to find that 'happy medium.'

Let's break down the debate of social networking tools in the classroom into PROS and CONS:

Pros: 1- Opens the world into a single classroom 2- Connect with peers whom you may not normally connect 3- Embraces what is already relevant to them 4- Applies Real-World skills and technologies 5- Makes everyone a part of the learning process (everyone is engaged b/c they are all involved in the site) 6- Real-Time updates on assignments, reminders, homework help

Cons: 1- Personal safety of students 2- Provides another distraction from the topic 3- There is a fine line in student/teacher relationships when these sites are involved 4- ...

The **National School Boards Association (NSBA)** released a research report on online social networking sites and students, called **//C//**//**R****EATING &CONNECTING**//**Research and Guidelines on Online Social — and — ([|NSBA Report] ). According to the report,  an astonishing 96 percent of students with online access report that they ever used any social networking technologies, such as chatting, text messaging, blogging and visiting online communities. Further, students report that one of the most common topics of conversation on the social networking scene is education. **Almost 60 percent of students who use social networking talk about education topics online and, surprisingly, more than 50 percent talk specifically about schoolwork. **This is astonishing. This only proves the point that maybe there is some overreaction to the use of these websites in an educational setting.

The Report goes on to find that there are many positive things that come out of social networks for students. Some include sharing of original music, posting messages in discussions, sharing photos, sharing videos, blogging, creating content, site-building, and more. Let's take the original-music example and break it apart. A networking site such as Myspace.com and their Myspace Music feature allows a student with a microphone to showcase their talent, for free, to the world. This has proven true for millions of users and many have even gone on to be discovered and become international superstars. A prime example of this is Colbie Collait, who was discovered on Myspace and went on to sell hundreds of thousands of albums. ([|USA TODAY] ). **

//**2.5.2 Social Networking Tools in a Corporate Setting **// In today's changing business world, organizations are constantly searching for ways to implement cost cutting measures that do not negatively impact workplace productivity or learning. The need for just-in-time learning solutions has become more critical than ever as businesses must keep pace with competitors, new technology, and the ever-changing economic environment. Unlike traditional learning management platforms or instructional design processes which generally require a reasonably large financial and time investment to implement, employees can reap the benefits of social networking tools with just a few clicks from their computers or mobile devices.

It seems that social networking may provide solutions or relief for some of the most challenging issues that corporate learning departments face today. Such challenges include training geographically scattered employees, providing relevant knowledge or training on a timely basis, providing collaborative work environments to cross-functional teams, and ensuring that effective knowledge transfer occurs once the learner has returned to their job. While some may argue that valuable work time can easily be wasted on social networking sites or tools such as blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook, others can defend that these tools can provide access to resources within and outside of the organization and answers to work related questions in real-time.

List and describe ways (can be creative) social networking can benefit the corporate learning function... 1- Link learners to other resources in their technical field 2- Corporate learning departments can provide relevant updates to employees in real time 3- Corporate learning departments can use social networking tools to reinforce classroom training / evaluate understanding of content 4- Encourage sense of learning community within an organization (especially those with decentralized corporate structure) 5- Connects departments that may not normally work together 6- Promotes "oneness" or "community" 7-...