Ahhhh... Social Media!!!!

Hello to everyone out there in cyberspace!  This week we discussed social media (for the most part).  We discussed PLNs, Twitter, and social bookmarking. 

Let me start with Twitter.  This can be a great resource for educators! If you are anything like me the thought of Twitter makes you want to cry.  We must move on past our fears if we are going to be able to reach our media aged kiddos.  This is one of those resources that can be overwhelming and confusing but if used correctly could be a great communication tool for our students.  I would like to use this tool to connect students on certain assignments, as well as my classes in general.  That being said I'm going to have to follow my own advice, (I told my nephew this week, who I was trying to teach to dive, that even though it hurt the first time, practice will make it better); I've got to practice.

 



Next, I'd like to discuss PLNs; A.K.A. Personal Learning Networks.  These sites are designed to help you share resources and communicate in like-minded communities.  My favorite site that I found was Edutopia.  This PLN is organized well; it has videos, blogs, and other recourses.  I also like that, unlike other PLNs, you don't have to create a membership in order to participate in the conversation. 

The last thing I want to tell you about today was my favorite for the week; social bookmarking.  So, we all bookmark all the great websites we find right?  Well, I don't know about you but I get frustrated that when I switch browsers or computers I no longer have access to those great bookmarks.  A social bookmarking site solves those problems and has other great benefits!  The two sites I learned about were Delicious, and Diigo. 

So, besides putting all of your bookmarks online and having access to them at all times, you can organize your bookmarks.  You use tags (just words to categorize), which automatically organizes your bookmarks.  You can also put your marks into lists.  Another great thing about Diigo at least is that you can also do sticky notes on websites.  So, if you are reading and find this one thing that is really cool, you can put a sticky note and find your comment again later.  The final awesome thing about social bookmarking is that you can make your bookmarks public.  What this means is that you can share your awesome sites with all of the people out there in cyber space, or in your building. 

Well cyberspace, that's all for now.  I look forward to sharing with you again!

:)