Social Networking – Page 10

Review of Frontline’s “Growing up Online”

I watched the program last night. (PBS has made the full version of the program available online, along with extended clips, discussion boards, and a chat room.) Given all the chatter before the airing I found the program to be more balanced than I was expecting, but it was not without bias. Here are some of my random thoughts related to the program.

It cautioned that kids may be smarter and safer about online socializing than we think. Are they learning this from themselves, school, parents, media, or …?
The program dedicated more time to the use of technology for socializing rather than for educational purposes. I’d like to see a follow-up program deal with that topic.
I’m not sure that everything in the program is generalizable to the larger population. While the episode never overtly made any such claim it’s important that viewers not make that assumption.
There are excellent teachers that do not make any use of technology in the classrooms. The use of technology does not necessarily make one educational experience better than another.
The issue of parents’/ schools’ safety concerns and children’s privacy is one that deserves a great deal more consideration.

FRONTLINE: growing up online | PBS via kwout

Here’s what others are saying:

Comments to my (Clif’s) initial post
Infinitude: Part I, Part II
Jennifer Maddrell
Weblogg-ed: Post 1, Post 2
Geeky Mom
Nick Pernisco
The Official Growing up Online Discussion Board

Tools I’m Currently Using

Several have asked me to share the technologies that I’m frequently using these days. Here’s a short list of tools that I’m using on a regular basis. You can access my accounts for most of these tools using the Navigation menu.

Firefox – There are a variety of technical and security reasons to quit using Internet Explorer. Firefox is the browser of choice these days.

WordPress – It’s clearly the content management system/ blogging platform of choice these days.

Trillian – Use and access all your different IM accounts through one platform.

Del.icio.us – Social bookmarking made simple and efficient.

Twitter – Twitter is a service that “puts you in control and becomes a modern antidote to information overload.” I use the Twitbin extension so that I can use the Twitter service even more easily.

YouTube, TeacherTube, and BlipTV – Using free accounts I setup channels allowing me to organize and share video with students and those with common interests.

SlideShare – A great way to share slide presentations. Be sure to checkout how easy it is to turn your presentation into a slidecast, too.

Feedburner – The “leading provider of media distribution and audience engagement services for blogs and RSS feeds.”

Zoho and Google Apps – These are free online office/ productivity tools. I’ve recently become more a fan of Zoho than Google because Zoho offers many more tools. Zoho’s Creator makes it possible and super easy to create your own online forms and databases without having your own server.

The following resources are also useful in helping you get your message out there and get connected: Digg, Social Poster, and Twitter

Here are other tools that I’m still trying: Flock (Combine your social tools into this Firefox-based browser), Second Life (I’m out of my comfort zone with this one), flickr (Good for work uses, but doesn’t meet our family’s needs) and facebook (It works well enough, but I don’t see the need for it).

When I finally migrate from a wordpress.com blog to a wordpress.org blog I’m going to start using Share This and Jiglu.

Go 2 Web 2.0 – Claims to be the complete directory of all the Web 2.0 technologies out there.

You can also take a look at other related posts I’ve written by clicking on the Free Educational Software link in the Navigation menu.

“Growing up Online” on PBS’ Frontline

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XyipM9STyY

UPDATE: The program has aired and you can read my review.

Free 3D Software for Interactive Whiteboards

It’s always exciting to run across cutting edge technology that has true educational implications. “Edusim is a free opensource 3D virtual world” designed to be used with interactive whiteboards. Did you hear that? It’s FREE and OPENSOURCE!!! “Edusim is an extremely powerful way to engage your students by bringing a 3D virtual environment that allows the direct manipulation of the 3D virtual learning objects directly from the interactive whiteboard surface.” You can also use the software to connect multiple interactive whiteboards allowing teachers and students to collaborate with others around the world.

Now, don’t misread my enthusiasm. The graphics, interface, etc. all have room for improvement, but that’s true with all new innovations. That will all get better with time, resources, and more innovation. And, yes, educators will need to look for effective ways to integrate this with teaching and learning and refrain from using another bell or whistle. I just find it intriguing to think about the door of possibilities that this opens. Aw, the fun we’d have with this in my math and science classes. We could potentially use this kind of technology when studying the parts of a cell, the layers of the Earth, fractions, ratios, proportions, measurement, metric vs. British measurement, conversion of measurement, and so much more. I’d love to be part of its future development!!! Wouldn’t that be a blast?How could/will you use this kind of technology in your instruction?