I
investigated the social networking sites and reflected on the key questions.
Second Life
I have no
first hand experience of using this social networking platform. I did watch the
trailer - and I must honestly say it really does not appeal to me. I think it
is reasonable to assume that many students of today enjoy playing video games
and interacting with technology and social network - but I wonder where/when do
we draw the line.
I was
intrigued by the videos that were available about how some educators have been
able to see valuable connections between Second Life and teaching and learning.
Currently
as a teacher I feel swamped with the workload - it would be important to have a
significant need to invest time and energy in creating such a world -
alternatively having children create and interact in one themselves.
Facebook
I have my
own private Facebook account - however I do not make connections between my
personal social network and my students or work.
Privacy
settings are always being updated and changed - and I am very conscious of my
‘digital footprint’.
For me
personally, it is important to keep a distinction somewhere in your life
between your personal life and work - otherwise it can be a struggle to switch
off and feel like you are not always on the “clock”.
This tool
is far more beneficial as a personal social networking tool as opposed to a
tool to utilise in the classroom.
Scootle
I had never
accessed this resource until we were planning to access the program builder
available with the introduction of the new NSW English Syllabus. I have since
used Scootle to access a range of resources and learning tools. (Scootle
accessed through CNA - https://staff.cna.catholic.edu.au/)
I was very
interested to search through the learning paths that are available. I think
this is still one significant challenge facing educators - how to share and
collaborate on making and sharing appropriate resources with a wider community.
I am a huge
fan of the Primary Connections Resources - and have been able to access some
great resources for Science, among other KLAs.
Twitter
The video
overview of twitter suggests that a person’s life continues between emails and
blog posts and it allows a person to share this with their social network in
140 characters or less. It also suggested that the posts serve to paint a
picture of an individual.
In regards
to twitter’s impact on a person’s ‘digital footprint’ - if students are not
conscious of the speedy and sometimes long lasting effects of their posts and
updates, they may be significantly out of their depth. Critical literacy skills
are significant and students take time to develop such said skills.
Linked In
It is very
easy to sign up and log in to a host of sites and applications. I have
previously dismissed many invitations to sign up to many networking sites.
I find that
like in the short video on the module page - you may not always see a reason
for yourself to join up and be available across countless networking sites. It
has given me food for thought though - to reconsider my previously held
assumptions about such sites. I definitely believe you need to see a purpose
for why you need such a resource.
It’s like
the overview of a previous module - as the amount of information available on the web increase
rapidly, how is one able to keep up with new
ideas/information/technologies/networks etc?
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