I've noticed this week in reading the class blogs that many people are adding images and videos. So far, I have embedded links, but I have not included images in my blogs and was wondering if this was a class expectation.
Then I read this article, and was encouraged a bit.
Nation Shudders At Large Block Of Uninterrupted Text
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Messing Around and Hanging Out with Facebook
Reading Reflection by Caryn Macky
Last week I took the plunge and 'got' Facebook. Why did I wait so long? Because I was afraid an old boyfriend would find me. Why did I finally join Facebook? I found out that that old boyfriend had just died of cancer. I didn’t even know he was sick. I wish I had been able to reassure him that I had forgiven him and did not hold a grudge. I was aware of what technology could accomplish, but I allowed fear to hold me back.
So, now I’m “out there” and I’m wracking my brain to see if there are any other unresolved relationship issues from my past that will need to be addressed. Joining Facebook was a bit of a leap of faith for me – a step into the unknown.
The first day on Facebook I spent my entire lunch break tootling around, and “messing around … tinkering, exploring, and extending [my] understanding.” (Living and Learning with New Media pg. 20) After my students left for the day, I spent a couple more hours on my profile and privacy settings. Then I typed a VERY LONG email to an old friend to express my fears about 'social networking' sites, my perceived loss of privacy and anonymity, and my concern that the time I spent maintaining my online relationships would interfere with my offline?/real-time?/tangible?/in person?/f2f ? (what’s the word I’m looking for?) relationships. I chalked up 4 hours of screen-time the first day – a marathon for me.
I'm still trying to decide if I've made the right choice. Already I've had to spend minutes of my life trying to decide whether or not to accept friend requests from far-flung former classmates. These are minutes I WILL NEVER GET BACK!
Out of a whopping 160 posts in just 5 days, only two were remotely interesting and relevant to me. What have I gotten myself into? Is Facebook just a waste of time? I’m sure I have much better things to do than read about who went shopping and what they bought. Give me a break!
My husband asks why I even bother with Facebook. My reply is that I want to know what Facebook is.
He responds, "Now that you know what it is, you can ignore most of it."
Actually, I don't just want to know what it is – I’m sure Wikipedia could give me a decent definition; I want to know how it works. I want a deeper understanding. Besides learning the 'critical details' of who left the sausages on the counter overnight, I want to discover what deeper purpose Facebook serves. Facebook is a reality that I know very little about. I want to be able to make an informed opinion about its usefulness.
In Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project, the authors of the Digital Youth Project state that one of the study’s goals is “to understand how media and technology are meaningful to people in their everyday lives.” (pg. 7) That’s what I’m looking for too … MEANING.
In Shaping Tech for the Classroom, Marc Prensky states that, “these computers become extensions of the students’ personal self and brain.” That is a frightening thought. “Hello Cylons, here we come!” Is this really so? Are students’ identities so completely tied to their online profiles that their social lives suffer when, heaven forbid, Facebook is blocked by the school?
Yenning Lee writes for ISB’s High school publication, The International. It seems that the blocking of Facebook was a subject of deep concern for the students who, “use Facebook at some time” when they have access to computers in class. According to a survey conducted by Mr. Bradley, the High school principal, “Nearly 70% of students in the survey admitted that they get off-task [during class] and the number one thing they did was go on Facebook.” Mr. Harter, the High school technology and learning coordinator stated that, “if social networking is interfering with learning, then educators have to do something about it.”
Oooh Hooo! Marc Prensky would have a heyday with that quote! He would argue that the students who are on Facebook during class are merely doing an “old thing” (passing notes) in a “new way”. He would say that if we “first consult the students,” we will see that what they have LEARNED is to take “advantage of digital technology and to use it to their advantage … using their connectivity, and maximizing their hardware … to develop their skills in …” yada yada yada. Sorry, my train of thought, like Marc’s, jumped the track somewhere back there.
Now, where was I going with all this? Oh yeah, the deeper purpose of Facebook.
In Living and Learning with New Media I learned that “hanging out” isn’t what I remember it to be. It seems that the use of new media plays an integral part in facilitating socialization for today’s teens. This was confirmed by Ms. Lee’s article in The International. I was interested to learn that ‘hanging out’ often leads to ‘messing around’ (also, not what I remember it to be) as kids help one another create their profiles and share interests through and about new media. I was comforted to know that “the vast majority of teens use new media to reach out to their friends; [and that] they overwhelmingly define their friends as peers they met in school, summer camps, sports activities, and places of worship.” (pg. 19) WHEW! As a parent of a pre-teen, these savory bits of information will be filed away for use in the near future. I need to be aware that my children may consider Facebook and other new media a “necessity” in maintaining their social relationships. I also need to remember that in order to avoid violating their trust, I need to respect their privacy online as well as offline.
I still haven’t made up my mind about Facebook. I’ll give it a few months to see if it is the right tool for me as I strive to maintain my social relationships across the world. That is how I view ‘new media,’ they are new tools. With a hammer I can build a wall or tear it down. The hammer is just a tool. With Facebook, and any other new technological tool, I can build people up or tear them down. Facebook was blocked at ISB because it was being used to tear people down. For me, what it comes down to in the end, is RELATIONSHIPS. How will I choose to use the tools at my disposal to build people up and to build meaningful relationships?
Ms. Lee warns her fellow students that “Facebook, like other social networking websites should be used with caution and responsibility since after all, the internet is serious business.” I agree. (Is it ok to mention that Yenning was my student when she was in first grade? I’m so proud! She’s turned out pretty well so far and the only time we used the computer together back in first grade was to draw on Kidpix. By the way, she still smiles when she says “Hi” to me in the hallway, I think that says something about relationship, don’t you?
Last week I took the plunge and 'got' Facebook. Why did I wait so long? Because I was afraid an old boyfriend would find me. Why did I finally join Facebook? I found out that that old boyfriend had just died of cancer. I didn’t even know he was sick. I wish I had been able to reassure him that I had forgiven him and did not hold a grudge. I was aware of what technology could accomplish, but I allowed fear to hold me back.
So, now I’m “out there” and I’m wracking my brain to see if there are any other unresolved relationship issues from my past that will need to be addressed. Joining Facebook was a bit of a leap of faith for me – a step into the unknown.
The first day on Facebook I spent my entire lunch break tootling around, and “messing around … tinkering, exploring, and extending [my] understanding.” (Living and Learning with New Media pg. 20) After my students left for the day, I spent a couple more hours on my profile and privacy settings. Then I typed a VERY LONG email to an old friend to express my fears about 'social networking' sites, my perceived loss of privacy and anonymity, and my concern that the time I spent maintaining my online relationships would interfere with my offline?/real-time?/tangible?/in person?/f2f ? (what’s the word I’m looking for?) relationships. I chalked up 4 hours of screen-time the first day – a marathon for me.
I'm still trying to decide if I've made the right choice. Already I've had to spend minutes of my life trying to decide whether or not to accept friend requests from far-flung former classmates. These are minutes I WILL NEVER GET BACK!
Out of a whopping 160 posts in just 5 days, only two were remotely interesting and relevant to me. What have I gotten myself into? Is Facebook just a waste of time? I’m sure I have much better things to do than read about who went shopping and what they bought. Give me a break!
My husband asks why I even bother with Facebook. My reply is that I want to know what Facebook is.
He responds, "Now that you know what it is, you can ignore most of it."
Actually, I don't just want to know what it is – I’m sure Wikipedia could give me a decent definition; I want to know how it works. I want a deeper understanding. Besides learning the 'critical details' of who left the sausages on the counter overnight, I want to discover what deeper purpose Facebook serves. Facebook is a reality that I know very little about. I want to be able to make an informed opinion about its usefulness.
In Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project, the authors of the Digital Youth Project state that one of the study’s goals is “to understand how media and technology are meaningful to people in their everyday lives.” (pg. 7) That’s what I’m looking for too … MEANING.
In Shaping Tech for the Classroom, Marc Prensky states that, “these computers become extensions of the students’ personal self and brain.” That is a frightening thought. “Hello Cylons, here we come!” Is this really so? Are students’ identities so completely tied to their online profiles that their social lives suffer when, heaven forbid, Facebook is blocked by the school?
Yenning Lee writes for ISB’s High school publication, The International. It seems that the blocking of Facebook was a subject of deep concern for the students who, “use Facebook at some time” when they have access to computers in class. According to a survey conducted by Mr. Bradley, the High school principal, “Nearly 70% of students in the survey admitted that they get off-task [during class] and the number one thing they did was go on Facebook.” Mr. Harter, the High school technology and learning coordinator stated that, “if social networking is interfering with learning, then educators have to do something about it.”
Oooh Hooo! Marc Prensky would have a heyday with that quote! He would argue that the students who are on Facebook during class are merely doing an “old thing” (passing notes) in a “new way”. He would say that if we “first consult the students,” we will see that what they have LEARNED is to take “advantage of digital technology and to use it to their advantage … using their connectivity, and maximizing their hardware … to develop their skills in …” yada yada yada. Sorry, my train of thought, like Marc’s, jumped the track somewhere back there.
Now, where was I going with all this? Oh yeah, the deeper purpose of Facebook.
In Living and Learning with New Media I learned that “hanging out” isn’t what I remember it to be. It seems that the use of new media plays an integral part in facilitating socialization for today’s teens. This was confirmed by Ms. Lee’s article in The International. I was interested to learn that ‘hanging out’ often leads to ‘messing around’ (also, not what I remember it to be) as kids help one another create their profiles and share interests through and about new media. I was comforted to know that “the vast majority of teens use new media to reach out to their friends; [and that] they overwhelmingly define their friends as peers they met in school, summer camps, sports activities, and places of worship.” (pg. 19) WHEW! As a parent of a pre-teen, these savory bits of information will be filed away for use in the near future. I need to be aware that my children may consider Facebook and other new media a “necessity” in maintaining their social relationships. I also need to remember that in order to avoid violating their trust, I need to respect their privacy online as well as offline.
I still haven’t made up my mind about Facebook. I’ll give it a few months to see if it is the right tool for me as I strive to maintain my social relationships across the world. That is how I view ‘new media,’ they are new tools. With a hammer I can build a wall or tear it down. The hammer is just a tool. With Facebook, and any other new technological tool, I can build people up or tear them down. Facebook was blocked at ISB because it was being used to tear people down. For me, what it comes down to in the end, is RELATIONSHIPS. How will I choose to use the tools at my disposal to build people up and to build meaningful relationships?
Ms. Lee warns her fellow students that “Facebook, like other social networking websites should be used with caution and responsibility since after all, the internet is serious business.” I agree. (Is it ok to mention that Yenning was my student when she was in first grade? I’m so proud! She’s turned out pretty well so far and the only time we used the computer together back in first grade was to draw on Kidpix. By the way, she still smiles when she says “Hi” to me in the hallway, I think that says something about relationship, don’t you?
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