I am increasingly glad that I am using all forms of social media both personally and professionally but twitter has been growing in popularity and usefulness as far as I am concerned. Initially when I joined twitter about a year ago I couldn't really see the benefits or how useful it would be. I had a bit of a lacklustre approach and posted infrequently. I followed a few people and had a few people follow me, although I wasn't really sure why. I didn't really think about using it as a professional networking tool or as a way to support learning.
It wasn't until I had been using it for about 6 months that I started to use it more frequently and effectively. I started to explore ways I could use it professionally to support learning for my students. I started to link with other education professionals, particularly those interested in using technology and social media to support learning. Many of these are from a school, rather than Higher Education background, but the ideas they generate and the innovative ways in which they use these tools are both inspirational and innovative. Most of them could be transferred to a Higher Education context. It has made me think very clearly about ways in which I could develop my teaching, involving the students to a much greater extent.
What started me thinking about this subject this morning was an article which I received in a tweet from @NMHS_Principal on twitter.
Social media in Education: The Power of Facebook
This demonstrates 2 ways in which one school is using Facebook to very good effect. Now I have used facebook to support my students by the way of groups where students can support each other, which is moderated by myself. This article has inspired me to think about other ways in which I could use facebook to much greater effect. If anyone has any other ideas please comment. I would welcome all suggestions.
I hope that after reading this you will yourself be inspired to try something new. If my students are reading this, then I would welcome your comments in 2 ways:
1. How would you like to see social media used to support your learning?
2. Which particular social media tool would you prefer to use for the purposes of learning and why?
My final thoughts, I think that technology has great value and power when applied to learning. I am enjoying the journey of exploring this and hope you do too.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Harnessing the Power of Social Media
I read an intersting article this morning on how Teachers are Embracing Social Media in the Classroom. Before I go on to say what I feel about this it is interesting to note that I found out about this article through a tweet on twitter by @kamyousaf. I think this demonstrates one of the ways in which social media can empower new ideas and give them a platform on which they can be shared. Through Twitter I am part of a network of Teachers interested in using Technology, Web 2.0 and Social media to enhance education and teaching and learning. I have access to new ideas not just daily but numerous times in a day. Mmmh Information overload maybe? Well no. I don't have to sign in to Twitter, I can control the frequency.
Just think how this could be transferred into the student experience. Twitter and facebook can be used by students to link with others throughout the world to support each other and debate the topics from their courses. This shared knowledge would be more powerful and greater than the individual. My challenge is to enthuse my students to harness this and use it wisely.
So back to the article which can be found at:
Teachers embracing social media
I am excited that some schools are starting to embrace social media within teaching and learning. Although this article is talking about using these with children, I feel that this could be transferred to the adult learning experience. Many people are now familiar with and using social networking sites and social media and use it for informal learning. We as educators need to work out how we can harness this to support the more formal learning with which we engage. We have a responsibilty to engage with our students in every way we can, and whether we as educators like it or not, our students communicate in different ways to that which we used as undergraduates.
Or do they? I did my first degree by distance learning and communicated with my tutors and other students via email and telephone. I worked all over the world whilst I did my degree so could not attend the University for Tutorials. My work was sent out to me via the post in files. I would venture to suggest that online courses, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, You Tube and Blogger are just extensions of this. Yes, we are talking here about distance learning, rather than traditional attendance at university, but the students are no different. Embrace the new ways in which we can develop our teaching and bring the students on board. Make their educational experience more natural and more exciting. Engage them in learning in ways in which they are already familiar. Take the journey with them.
I personally am very excited about exploring ways in which we can engage our students more full in learning. I am passionate about teaching and learning, and will use every means possible to make sure my students love learning as well. I am also excited about linking with many like minded people throughout the world who want to use technology, web 2.0, and social media in their classrooms. I fully intend to embrace every possible avaenue which will support this. However, this does not mean I will go off and join every single social networking site just to engage with my students. I may be passionate, but life is too short to spend every waking minute in the digital world. Enjoy the journey, don't let it suck you in.
Just think how this could be transferred into the student experience. Twitter and facebook can be used by students to link with others throughout the world to support each other and debate the topics from their courses. This shared knowledge would be more powerful and greater than the individual. My challenge is to enthuse my students to harness this and use it wisely.
So back to the article which can be found at:
Teachers embracing social media
I am excited that some schools are starting to embrace social media within teaching and learning. Although this article is talking about using these with children, I feel that this could be transferred to the adult learning experience. Many people are now familiar with and using social networking sites and social media and use it for informal learning. We as educators need to work out how we can harness this to support the more formal learning with which we engage. We have a responsibilty to engage with our students in every way we can, and whether we as educators like it or not, our students communicate in different ways to that which we used as undergraduates.
Or do they? I did my first degree by distance learning and communicated with my tutors and other students via email and telephone. I worked all over the world whilst I did my degree so could not attend the University for Tutorials. My work was sent out to me via the post in files. I would venture to suggest that online courses, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, You Tube and Blogger are just extensions of this. Yes, we are talking here about distance learning, rather than traditional attendance at university, but the students are no different. Embrace the new ways in which we can develop our teaching and bring the students on board. Make their educational experience more natural and more exciting. Engage them in learning in ways in which they are already familiar. Take the journey with them.
I personally am very excited about exploring ways in which we can engage our students more full in learning. I am passionate about teaching and learning, and will use every means possible to make sure my students love learning as well. I am also excited about linking with many like minded people throughout the world who want to use technology, web 2.0, and social media in their classrooms. I fully intend to embrace every possible avaenue which will support this. However, this does not mean I will go off and join every single social networking site just to engage with my students. I may be passionate, but life is too short to spend every waking minute in the digital world. Enjoy the journey, don't let it suck you in.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Technology, Education and Learning
As I have been on this journey of exploring all the different ways in which technology can support learning I have been reflecting on why this subject is so important to me. Is it just my passion for technology which is driving me or do I genuinely believe that Technology can enhance the learning experience. Well if I am truthful, it is a bit of both. Yes I am passionate about Technology, the Internet and Web 2.0, but I am also passionate about teaching and learning. Over the years I have seen how my learning and the learning experience have been improved by the use of these tools. Education and Learning is too important and exciting to minimize the experience. We should use all the tools available to help us on this journey.
Over the last few days I have been following Steve Wheeler's Blog and his tweets from the OER conference in Namibia. You can read his summary of the conference at
http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2010/05/open-all-oers.html
This has been both extremely interesting and has demonstrated to me another way in which Web 2.0 can be used in Education. Although I have to admit I have spent a lot of time on twitter during this time. This has led to me thinking of innovative ways of using twitter in my lessons. One way could be allowing students to ask questions via twitter, and posting answers as well as developing them in the classroom. Students love mobile phones so why not put them to good use letting them access Twitter. It is much quicker and easier than spending inordinate amounts of time arguing about phones being switched off. Using technology appropriately,and blending it in to the learning experience is my goal. I am going to leave the blog here and think of other innovative ways of using technology in education and learning.
Over the last few days I have been following Steve Wheeler's Blog and his tweets from the OER conference in Namibia. You can read his summary of the conference at
http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2010/05/open-all-oers.html
This has been both extremely interesting and has demonstrated to me another way in which Web 2.0 can be used in Education. Although I have to admit I have spent a lot of time on twitter during this time. This has led to me thinking of innovative ways of using twitter in my lessons. One way could be allowing students to ask questions via twitter, and posting answers as well as developing them in the classroom. Students love mobile phones so why not put them to good use letting them access Twitter. It is much quicker and easier than spending inordinate amounts of time arguing about phones being switched off. Using technology appropriately,and blending it in to the learning experience is my goal. I am going to leave the blog here and think of other innovative ways of using technology in education and learning.
Monday, 3 May 2010
Blogging, Tweeting, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr et al
Have spent a very pleasant day today working my way through a book called 500 Internet Hints, Tips and Techniques by Dan Oliver. This deceptively simple book has enhanced my experience of using several social networking sites such as Twitter, Blogger, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. Despite the fact that I would consider myself to be fairly competent at using many of the above sites this book has helped me in 2 ways. Firstly, it has given me a lot of new ideas and expanded my horizons in using the sites with which I am already familiar. Secondly it has made me look at sites such as Flickr and YouTube in more depth and has encouraged me to create acounts at both of these sites in order to upload my own photos and videos. I am becoming more daring in my approach.
So in what ways has it changed the way in which I use these sites. Some, as I say are deceptively simple, for example, despite updating my facebook via text message, I did not realise you could do this with Twitter, so have now set this up. This means I can now update without going on to the web. So what, I hear you saying, Well, this stops me using up endless amounts of data through my network provider, and also stops me getting distracted with all the twitter feeds if I just need to update quickly.
This is just one very simple example of the ways in which I have changed my use of these sites. The book gave me very clear steps to follow in all cases and I have managed to do most things so far. A couple of ideas could not be carried through as the links in the site no longer existed. In all fairness to the author this is not his fault, as things change fast in the world of technology. After today I would now consider myself a more advanced user of most of these sites. I will keep you posted as to how Flickr and YouTube go, as I am excited about using these more fully.
So in what ways has it changed the way in which I use these sites. Some, as I say are deceptively simple, for example, despite updating my facebook via text message, I did not realise you could do this with Twitter, so have now set this up. This means I can now update without going on to the web. So what, I hear you saying, Well, this stops me using up endless amounts of data through my network provider, and also stops me getting distracted with all the twitter feeds if I just need to update quickly.
This is just one very simple example of the ways in which I have changed my use of these sites. The book gave me very clear steps to follow in all cases and I have managed to do most things so far. A couple of ideas could not be carried through as the links in the site no longer existed. In all fairness to the author this is not his fault, as things change fast in the world of technology. After today I would now consider myself a more advanced user of most of these sites. I will keep you posted as to how Flickr and YouTube go, as I am excited about using these more fully.
Friday, 30 April 2010
And Now for Something Completely Different
Today I am moving on to something completely different from technology. As well as being passionate about technology my other passion is books. I don't always recommend books as they are a very individual thing, however, I believe these books deserve a mention.
The Ultimate Study Skills Handbook by Sarah Moore, Colin Neville, Maura Murphy and Cornelia Connelly
The Study Skills Handbook by Stella Cottrell
The Buzan Study Skills Handbook by Tony Buzan
I have recommended three different books as , as I say, books and the style you prefer are individual. These are all excellent in their own way. The first book has only been published this year so is completely up to date. You can browse through them and buy them at amazon.co.uk if you click on the link to the right of this post.
However, all is not lost on the technology front either. I have also been exploring my IPod touch and the apps which can support learning. A quick search for Aatomy, Health, Philosophy and Business found many apps some of which are free and others cost a small amount. Of the ones I looked at the most expensive was £2.99. I am reliably informed via the Smartphone Essentials magazine that there are also many educational apps available for the Blackberry. In fact they say that there are more apps aimed at the adult market and less at children, so for those of you with a Blackberry it is worth a look. I will be blogging about the use of Blackberry to support learning in a future blog when I upgrade to a Blackberry Storm 2 in June. Watch this space.
The Ultimate Study Skills Handbook by Sarah Moore, Colin Neville, Maura Murphy and Cornelia Connelly
The Study Skills Handbook by Stella Cottrell
The Buzan Study Skills Handbook by Tony Buzan
I have recommended three different books as , as I say, books and the style you prefer are individual. These are all excellent in their own way. The first book has only been published this year so is completely up to date. You can browse through them and buy them at amazon.co.uk if you click on the link to the right of this post.
However, all is not lost on the technology front either. I have also been exploring my IPod touch and the apps which can support learning. A quick search for Aatomy, Health, Philosophy and Business found many apps some of which are free and others cost a small amount. Of the ones I looked at the most expensive was £2.99. I am reliably informed via the Smartphone Essentials magazine that there are also many educational apps available for the Blackberry. In fact they say that there are more apps aimed at the adult market and less at children, so for those of you with a Blackberry it is worth a look. I will be blogging about the use of Blackberry to support learning in a future blog when I upgrade to a Blackberry Storm 2 in June. Watch this space.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Cloud Computing
My last post leads me neatly on to this one which is all about computing in the clouds. The reason my mind and brain are focusing in this direction is that I have recently signed up to use mobile me. Mobile me is Apple's cloud computing application which allows me to back up and store information off my computer. This has the advantage of allowing me to access it from anywhere that I have Internet access. I have to admit I have had a somewhat rocky start with this and have spent many a "pleasant" hour chatting to technical help online. However, they have always managed to help me with my problem and I am now aware of how to overcome any minor issues which occur. One such issue was that of my calendar entries on my IPod touch not appearing on my online calendar. The easiest way is to delete this and re-enter they usually appear within seconds. This happens rarely and is not such a problem that it would put me off using mobile me. Also it took a little while to work out how to open documents from mobile me, but this is now a simple and quick process. One word of warning to all those PC users, of which I am one. If you talk to the technical people at Apple they keep asking you to install outlook. This is a bit difficult if you have Windows Vista as it does not support outlook. So this may be one reason why anyone with windows vista may want to consider using another application rather than mobile me.
However, Cloud computing has uses other than personal. It allows multiple users to access documents online and therefore work on them together. This is very useful if people from different companies, or educational establishments are collaborating on a document. Taking it in to the educational realm, it would also allow students to collaborate on projects. I can also give others access to my photograph gallery, again useful whether you want to share photos with friends or collaborate on projects. It could be argued that Flickr does a similar thing, but this keeps everything in one place and easily accessible.
So what other alternatives are there. You can use google in a similar way, and this is free. I went for mobile me as I am using my Ipod as my diary and this was the best way of backing up the data for my calendar. overall, I am impressed with mobile me. I like the way I can store all my photos and look at them on my IPod, I like the space on Idisk, and overall the calendar is good. Mobile me might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I am certainly finding it useful. My advice is to find one that works for you and use that one. This is as individual as all other computer applications, and should exist to make your own life easier
However, Cloud computing has uses other than personal. It allows multiple users to access documents online and therefore work on them together. This is very useful if people from different companies, or educational establishments are collaborating on a document. Taking it in to the educational realm, it would also allow students to collaborate on projects. I can also give others access to my photograph gallery, again useful whether you want to share photos with friends or collaborate on projects. It could be argued that Flickr does a similar thing, but this keeps everything in one place and easily accessible.
So what other alternatives are there. You can use google in a similar way, and this is free. I went for mobile me as I am using my Ipod as my diary and this was the best way of backing up the data for my calendar. overall, I am impressed with mobile me. I like the way I can store all my photos and look at them on my IPod, I like the space on Idisk, and overall the calendar is good. Mobile me might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I am certainly finding it useful. My advice is to find one that works for you and use that one. This is as individual as all other computer applications, and should exist to make your own life easier
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Mobile Blogging
In the spirit of learning all things new to me about blogging I am trying out mobile blogging. This has been a somewhat frustrating experience so far as my attempts to use sms or mms have failed. So not being one to give up I am now trying via email on my mobile. I have to say if this works I am quite excited about being able to blog on the move. Mind you could this lead to blog overload and some measure of boredom for my readers. I guess it depends on the circumstances or situation as I said in a previous post. Anyway onwards ever onwards into the deep space exploration of all things technological and their impact on learning.
As an update to this post I sent the above paragraph from my mobile and it appeared immediately as a post in my blog. Pretty impressive and very useful for all those times I am away from my desk. I think this would have been very useful during the SITE conference to update on the sessions as they happen. This would give a real time feel to the blog and let others know what was happening in the world of technology and learning. I will certainly be using this in the future, but as I say will be careful that I am not just blogging for bloggings sake.
As an update to this post I sent the above paragraph from my mobile and it appeared immediately as a post in my blog. Pretty impressive and very useful for all those times I am away from my desk. I think this would have been very useful during the SITE conference to update on the sessions as they happen. This would give a real time feel to the blog and let others know what was happening in the world of technology and learning. I will certainly be using this in the future, but as I say will be careful that I am not just blogging for bloggings sake.
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