Social Networking Trials

I have a MySpace account. I don't use it. Oddly, my reason is because the pages take forever to load, and I'm impatient.

I have a Facebook account. I don't use it. Mainly because my age would make it too creepy for teens and 20-somethings to include me in their network.

I have tried Twitter. I don't really want people knowing what I am doing all the time. Twitter's feature of mapping where you are is also disconcerting to me. Do I really want people to know I'm not home so they can break in undetected? Do I want them to know where I am? I'm more private than that.

I have thought about Second Life, but just because there is a 3-D, avatar component does not make it much different than other venues as far as I can tell. I am going to create an identity and play around. Perhaps during some summer days I'll get an opportunity to wander. My name is Chevyer Forder in SL.

I heard about Ning through one of the feeds I read daily. My initial thought was could I create a ning account for our students, and monitor it as a Media Center promotion? Could we discuss books, homework, and make it safe? I think it can be done. Will it be allowed? I think it should be. Here's why.

I have joined the Library 2.0 and Classroom 2.0 groups in Ning. The Library one has some things that have been good. The Classroom group is great. The goal is to discuss ways to use web 2.0 tools in the classroom. How do we overcome fear, time, and other obstacles? You can make "membership" open or by permission. Once in, you can request other members to become your friend. I haven't figured out any advantages to "collecting friends" because all the features I have with my friends I also have with any other member. I am enjoying my time in Classroom 2.0. I have joined in on a few conversations. Not to make it sound as a "misery loves company" saga, but it is nice to know that many of the struggles we face are also faced by others from around the world.

However, I must remind myself that just because many face the same difficulties of filters, bad policy, fear, and other educational technology issues does not make the current practices the right practices for our students. If everyone is doing the wrong thing, this does not justify our following suit. It's time to play the trump card, and take control of the hand we have been dealt. What is the trump card?

I think the trump card could be to get the kids so interested in Learning 2.0, and in what could be, that their parents "revolt" if their kids are denied service. It has worked many times before, but not often in academic issues. It is usually a sports-related issue.

If we use a tool that kids relate to, then we might be able to teach them the things they otherwise might not learn. It is a way for adults to "earn the right" to be heard by the students.

Understand, Powerful - But How Many

Alan Levine, over at CogDogBlog led me to the video, Digital Ethnography, by Professor Wesch @ Kansas State University. This is now a new feed for me.

The interactivity of people and Web 2.0 technology is not about the technology, it is about connecting people to people. The evolution of the Internet is rather simple yet profound.

Over-simplified time-line of the Internet in Education

• It used to be a place for people to find information.
  
• It became a place where teachers could post class information, store files, and communicate within the context of the class. [Teacher as knowledge supplier]
  
• It is becoming a place where teachers AND students can create, share, and build content beyond the context of the classroom. [Mostly to include family members of those in the classroom.]
• Some have ventured out to include their community in the activities of the school/classroom. [Restrictions of system policies make this difficult in some areas.]
• Some have collaborated with distant schools to create content and build relationships. [Again, restrictions of Web 2.0 tools and system policies deter advancement for too many educators.]
  
• What it will become is dependent on the values of the creators, sharers, and builders -- students included.

The final bullet is my concern in education. Many people still believe the Internet is a place to find information. Too many educators believe this. We are behind the curve, as I hear some teachers just beginning to ask about html and creating web pages. This includes our higher education institutions.

Being behind the curve, I believe, is why school policies reflect the fear leaders have toward any web-based application that allows people to connect with others. These leaders then project their lack of knowledge about the tools into incomplete policies. They are not using the web to connect with others...they are consumers of information, not yet contributors of content. Those who seek to contribute are seen as radicals in a world few understand. Those who dare to risk creation, contribution, and relationship development are viewed, not as pioneers but as intruders of the sacred past of outdated educational methods that simply are not reaching the modern student...who creates, shares, and builds without the guidance of people who can help them weigh the value of the content. Students have to sneak around the adult community to build their own content on MySpace, Facebook, etc. Worse, adults are now wanting to spy on the children, with the intent of censuring them instead of helping them become responsible, accountable contributors of content that others may be able to use.

The problem I fear is that without someone to teach the children RESPONSIBLE creation, sharing and building, they must fend for themselves to figure out a world their adult leaders fear, merely because they do not seek to understand. What becomes of the interactive web-world when today's students become adults who do not possess the understanding of accountability? Then we will see serious issues of privacy, copyright, and ethics violations. The time of fearing what might happen needs to fade. Principles of education on Web 2.0 ideas need to become a part of school policy, curriculum, and practice. It will engage the student, attract the community, and impact the world.