Tag: YouTube

Social Media: An Overview

Yesterday’s blog post provided an overview of social networks. Today we are going to build on that and look at social media.

What is social media? How do you define it?

“Social media is the interaction among people in which they create, share, or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks” (Source). It describes the technology of interaction amongst a network of people. Perhaps because of the current pervasive use of online social media, many mistakenly assume that social media only came into existence with modern-day technology. Consider that African drums have long been used by tribes to quickly pass news about deaths, marriages, and other events. In this case, the drums serve as the social media.

Look over the this provocative article and consider how it fits within your understanding and definition of social media.

Social Media

Conclusion

“Digital social media are mobile and web-based applications that enable users to interact, collaborate, co-create, share, and publish information, ideas, and multimedia. Social media connects people and is built on the foundations of Web 2.0” (Source).

In a broader sense, social media is the technology that might be leveraged to connect individuals or groups, be it digital or other. We’ve had social networks and social media for a long time.

Social Networks: An Overview

In yesterday’s post, Lisa Durff and I discussed social networks and the role that they play in her life. I thought I’d dedicate this blog post to diving a bit deeper into this topic.

A social network describes the relationships between individuals or groups. The following video provides a quick overview.

Everyday parents, students, and educators connect through blogs, wikis, Twitter, and other forms of social media. This crowdsourced video explains a few of the reasons.

Read Mark Suster’s TechCrunch Series:

  1. Social Networking: The Past
  2. Social Networking: The Present
  3. Social Networks: Future

An Especially Beautiful Version of Pharrell Williams’ Video, Happy

World Down Syndrome DayHere’s another remake of Pharrell William’s video, Happy. This one is especially beautiful as it’s a celebration of World Down Syndrome Day (March 21st). Lance Ulanoff, aptly describes the experience of watching this video.

“Watching people dance to almost any song is usually a happy experience. Watching those living with Down syndrome dance to the snappy beats of Pharrell’s soon-to-be-played-out “Happy” is something approaching joy” (Source).

Managing Online Identities

Keeping up with the state of technology is not easy. New social media services such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Diigo, YouTube , Tumblr, Instagram, and AudioBoo continue to emerge and users sign-up and setup profiles without considering the full ramifications of sharing personal information. Practical tips for helping you and your students thoughtfully setup and maintain your online identities will be shared.

Below are my slides for this session. All the workshop materials and resources are available on my wiki, Learning Telecollaboratively.

Life Before the Internet: What We Used to Do

Enjoy this stroll down memory lane as we re-visit the ways that we communicated, accessed news, conducted research, and shared photos prior to the Internet and social media.

For educators, the implications are fascinating. Consider how much has changed in the past 20 years.

  • Have our classrooms, curricula, and instructional practices kept up with the changes?
  • Should education worry with keeping up with these changes?
  • What are the implications on teaching and learning if education does/does not strive to react to these changes?
  • What is the future of learning?

Event Tags: FOL2013, hgsepzfol

Before the Internet

Screenshot Source: We Did Amazing Things Before The Internet

Related articles

Managing Online Identities Session at #MSMECA13

Keeping up with the state of technology is not easy. New social media services such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Diigo, YouTube , Tumblr, Instagram, and AudioBoo continue to emerge and users sign-up and setup profiles without considering the full ramifications of sharing personal information. Practical tips for helping you and your students thoughtfully setup and maintain your online identities will be shared.

Below are my slides for this session. All the workshop materials and resources are available on my wiki, Learning Telecollaboratively.

 

View more presentations from Clif Mims

Blubbr: Play & Create Video Trivia

Blubbr is a free website that makes it possible for you to create and play trivia games with embedded videos. Blubbr calls the games trivs. You can play trivs in different categories, from celebs and music to sport and education. Click on the image below to play a sample triv now.

blubbr-600

I setup my Blubbr account (I’d be glad for you to connect with me) and gave it a test drive. It seems that at its core, Blubbr is about making interesting things into fun games. I see many potential educational connections and personal uses.

Educational Connections

Here are a few ideas that might be useful to teachers and students.

  1. You and your students can create trivs focused on the unit you’re currently studying.
  2. Students can develop a triv focused on personal interests and then extend that into research, writing, journaling, etc.
  3. It can be a useful strategy for pre-testing, review and as a study guide.
  4. Trivs can be an engaging alternative strategy for book reports, science presentations, social studies reports, and more.
  5. Allowing students to design quizzes puts them in the role of the teacher. This technique can encourage higher-order thinking.
  6. You and your students can create trivs to introduce yourselves at the beginning of the year.
  7. Developing trivs can be a fun way for students to reflect on a novel, science unit, historical event, poetry, or the highlights of their school year.

You can challenge your students and their families by sharing trivs on your website, via email, through social networks, or by sharing the links in your print-based newsletter.

Personal Uses

In addition to it’s many educational uses, Blubbr can also be used for fun with family and friends. Here are a few ideas that I considered.

  • Develop a triv about your parents and share it with your family to celebrate your parents’ 50th wedding anniversary.
  • Prepare for the sights you’ll be visiting during vacation by sharing a triv with your travel companions.
  • Show your support for your favorite team or athlete with a triv about them.
  • Challenge your family to a scavenger hunt with a series of trivs that will lead them to a surprise.

You can challenge your family and friends to complete trivs by sharing them on your blog, through Google+, Facebook, and Twitter, or via email.

Your Turn

Blubbr is simple and fun. With well-designed activities it can make significant educational contributions. So what are you waiting for? Go triv something…and share your trivs in this post’s comments so that we can play, too.

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Remembering Dr. King

I’ve visited the National Civil Rights Museum several times throughout recent years. I think it’s one of the must-do experiences here in Memphis. Standing near the place where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated never ceases to move me. Although many will spotlight Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech (which I’ve also done in the past) this MLK Day, I have decided to spotlight his final speech referred to as I’ve Been to the Mountaintop (View full text). It was actually given at the Mason Temple here in Memphis the night before his death. I created the below Wordle of this speech to present the major topics from this passionate dream of a new day.

Suggested Resources

Biography from Nobel Prize

MLK Online

Videos and Slide Shows available at YouTube, TeacherTube, and SlideShare

More about Civil Rights

Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0 – Online Graduate Course

Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0I’m teaching a special topics seminar in the spring for graduate students (3 hours graduate credit). The topic will be Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0 Technologies. While we’ll consider common trends and issues and survey many of the popular tools and services related to Web 2.0, the heart of the course will be learning to effectively integrate Web 2.0 technologies and principles with teaching and learning. The focus will be on K-12 education but accommodations can be made for individuals from other fields (healthcare, corporate, military, higher education, etc.).

I’m very excited about this class. I taught the course in Summers 2008 and 2009 and we learned a lot and had a blast! You can view the ebook (authored by the graduate students) and other course materials that emerged from these sections to get an idea of what this class will be like.

In keeping with the principles of Web 2.0 I encourage the participation of everyone with an interest or expertise in this topic. You may contribute to the discussion and fun by using the following tag/keyword: idt7078. Be on the lookout for ways (Ustream, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Hangouts, etc.) to informally participate with us.

You can learn more about registration at the University of Memphis website.