35 Perspectives on Online Social Networking

Article about 35 perspectives regarding social networks.

http://www.socialcomputingmagazine.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=432

Social Networking

Online Social Networking is a website that provides a virtual community for people interested in a particular topic or just to "hang out" together. Members communicate by voice, chat, instant message, videoconference and blogs, and the service typically provides a way for members to contact friends of other members.

Friendster was the first social networking site, introduced in 2002, with Myspace starting in 2003. Facebook first went online in 2004, targeting college students, but it is now open to all. Currently there are 40 various network (according to wikipedia, see list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites).

MySpace and Facebook seem to be the most popular and well-known. Many others are just getting started and may soon gain popularity. Orkut, the newest network owned by Google, went live on January 22. It had so many hits it crashed. It is now up and running and I created a page. Its not much, I don't know anyone else who has a page, and I haven't searched for people.
http://www.orkut.com/Home.aspx?xid=402717561693593541 .

The next question is will all these sites last? Technology analyst Mitch Ratcliffe has studied social networks extensively. Here is what he says:

I don’t know if any one of these sites will be able to compete without buying and consolidating all the other network services. The problem with a social networking service is you can always go somewhere else and start another network. Most of the companies that are involved in this are going to have to do something that is open source, that allows people to share this information across networks, or no one of them are going to become a viable place for people to stay.
Retrieved from http://www.webtalkguys.com/020704.shtml

See all Google has to offer!

I'm not trying to advertise, was just surprised by all that Google offers. Check it out for yourself. I mentioned some things in a previous post, but only included Google Scholar. This links you to the main page with links to the extras.

http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

By the Way...

I didn't need to do anything to have a feed for the blog and neither do you. At the bottom of the page is
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

This is a feed through Atom, so everyone can already subscribe to our blogs.

There are two common XML-based syndication formats for feeds and other data interchange on the web: Atom and RSS. RSS has been around longer, in various versions; Atom is more recent but has more features.

Blogger and many other google services use Atom feeds.

So now I have both a RSS feed and an Atom feed.

RapidFeeds works also!

Both RSS Feeds I created work! :)

How this project has helped me...

Before this class began I was trying to decide how I could possibly talk the staff at my school into creating, at the very least, a website for each grade level. Not only have I learned that blogging is a quick and effective way to create and update a website, I also learned how to syndicate a blog. My new goal for next year is to have each grade create a blog and update it, at the very least, once a month. I will assist each team in the creation of the blog. I am planning to place a link to each team's blog on the website I am creating for the new technology department. I will syndicate not only my website, but also the team blogs using RSS feeds. Hopefully I can convince my principal to purchase a RSS feed software program. Then we will inform the parents of the website and blogs. It will provide parents with regular updates about the happenings at the school.

Google Scholar

I was on google checking email and decided to finally take a look at all the extras google offers. Besides Gmail, Reader, and Blogger, google also offers goggle docs and spreadsheets, calendar, and google scholar.

What is Google Scholar?
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research.

Features of Google Scholar

* Search diverse sources from one convenient place
* Find papers, abstracts and citations
* Locate the complete paper through your library or on the web
* Learn about key papers in any area of research

Maybe Google Scholar will help students use more valid information and resources. Check it out for yourself below.

It Worked!!

Google Reader updated my blog and sent the new post there. It took roughly two and a half for it to be sent over. So I now know that the RSS feed through Runstream works. (This is the site where I actually copied and pasted the post, not sure if this post will update or if I need to post it there also. Time will tell.)

Overall, RSS Feed is a fantastic way to keep parents, students, and the community updated. However, I recommend just purchasing the software if you plan on using it on a regular basis.

Maybe its not as easy as it sounds

The first rss feed did not seem to be working. I had to post items through that site and it appeared to be a hassle. So I am now trying a feed through RapidFeeds.com. I'll keep everyone updated.

Another RSS Feed, different site

RSS Feed: I hope it is working

I set up a RSS feed so people can subscribe to my blog. I hope it works correctly. I subscribed so hopefully that will let me know.
Most sites recommend using software to create RSS feeds. The most popular software seems to be FeedForAll. FeedforAll costs $39.95 a copy; however, so I searched for sites that help create free feeds. I used RunStream. It only took five minutes to set up. However, it did not create a RSS icon, it just gave me an address to paste onto my site. Its on the right side, above my links and archives. When I clicked it linked me to google, so I subscribed. I'll let you know if I get this blog is sent to my reader.

Here's the link to my shared items from my Google Reader account.
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/03119728955129494345

This is such a quick and easy way to keep up with news and websites. Google Reader has subscriptions so of course I subscribed to some goofy sites, but its funny and now I get a good laugh every day.
You can subscribe to YouTube, The Daily Show, The Onion, The Colbert Report, Word of the Day, and many other feeds. There are job searches, tech news, sports, really something for everyone!

RSS and Education

Now that we know what RSS is, how is it valuable in education?

1. RSS can be used with many of the online collaboration tools. You can feed your blogs, podcasts, and wikis so all readers can be notified of changes.
2. Remote Education/Professional Development: It all depends on what you subscribe to: keep up on the latest techniques, trends and information, Watch/Listen to podcast lectures
3. Keep up on grants/scholarships/funding opportunities.
4. School News-keep parents and teachers informed about happenings and schedules

RSS Feed

In reading about Web 2.0 technologies, RSS feeds kept coming up. I had no idea what an rss feed was and finally decided to find out. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. The name fits. Rather than having to go out and search websites for news, movies, and new blogs, an rss feed sends the information to you. You no longer spend time going to your favorite sites to find whats new, it all in one central location for you.
RSS content is read using a "feed reader" The person subscribes to a feed and then the reader checks the subscribed feeds for new content and downloads any updates. Many websites now contain a RSS subscription icon . Simply click, it asks through what feed reader and you are done.

RSS icon

As stated above RSS feeds require a "feed reader" (also known as an aggregator). Many are available. Google Reader, NewzCrawler, FeedDemon, Omea Reader, Bloglines, NewsGator Online Services, Awasu Personal Edition, Blog Navigator, and Sharp Reader are a few examples.
I went ahead a started through Google Reader. It is extremely nice to get all the feeds in one place. Goggle Reader has bundles to help start the feeds. Users can then go back and add/remove whatever they want. News, Sports, Technology, Fun, Celebrities, and Food are some of they bundles they have.

Video: RSS in Plain English

My very own wiki :)

I created a free wiki through wikispaces. I am hoping to use it with my students next year but I do not yet know all the content I will be teaching, I only have my technology curriculum so I just wrote basic information on the wiki. Wikispaces allows educators to create private wikis for free!
https://fres-tech.wikispaces.com/

Telling the New Story

A first Grade teacher shares how she uses blogs, wikis, and podcasts in her classroom. She even states she does not use technology any other time or place. Includes a Parent's Perspective and a Its Not Easy clip.

The Difference between a Wiki and a Blog

The Difference between a Wiki and a Blog (from a chat with Adam F. of wikispaces at Tappedin.org )

The simple answer is that a blog is like a journal. It's great if you want to have an ongoing dialogue or discussion. Say, if the kids are keeping a daily diary about their homework, or about any topic.
A wiki, however, is less about new content every day, and more about evolving the same content over time.
So for example, on a wiki, you could have a student post an essay, and then another student can make some additions and corrections, and another, and another, and over time the essay improves and becomes the work of the whole class.
Blogs are about communicating, wikis are about getting work done, or working together.

Retrieved from http://mhmsmedia.wikispaces.com/Teacher_Technology

Wikis in Education

I view Wikis as an enhancement to group projects and student collaboration. Wikis empower students and allow for more collaboration. Students can complete a class project or a detailed research project. Wikis provide a common place for the collection of information and allow all members of the group to access the same information at the same time. All members are able to edit and modify the project/assignment at any time.

Teachers can also uses wikis to share information. In looking through county information and school websites I found Murray Hill Middle School's Teacher Tech Wiki. The Wiki is a professional development wiki.
http://mhmsmedia.wikispaces.com/

Wikis in Plain English

A wiki is a website that multiple users can edit. Users often have a common vocabulary and consider themselves a "Wiki" community. One person starts the wiki. Next, a new person read the wiki and decides to edit/add to or in some way modify the wiki. This can occur numerous times, until finally, the "wiki" community is content with the content, or the person who began the wiki changes who can modify the wiki.

Side Note: Wiki-wiki is the Hawaiian word for quick. (http://www.answers.com/topic/wiki?cat=technology)

If you are like me, visuals are always helpful, which is why I posted a video that shows everything I just wrote :)

What is a Wiki?

The simplest online database that could possibly work.

Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.

Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself.

Like many simple concepts, "open editing" has some profound and subtle effects on Wiki usage. Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that it encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content composition by non-technical users.

"What is Wiki." http://www.wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki. 27 June 2002. July 19, 2007.

Educational Uses of Blogs

Remember that I am an elementary teacher so my ideas for educational uses may not be that advanced.
Blogs can be used for many educational purposes. Teachers can work collaboratively and share ideas and reflect on new methods and ideas. Teachers can use blogs as classroom websites. They can post assignments/homework, classroom discussions, rules, expectations, and suggested reading. Blogs make creating and maintaining class sites much simpler. Blogs can be used to publish work examples, showcase work, post photos of classroom activities, and communicate with parents and families.

Students can hold discussions, write journals and reflections, and share resources. They can participate in online book clubs, online writing prompts, and work on group projects.

Here are links to examples of blogs used for educational purposes.
http://mhms-media.blogspot.com Murray Hill Middle School's Media Center

http://traits-talk.blogspot.com Teachers holding discussions and sharing ideas on 6+1 writing traits

http://dowell.typepad.com/harriet_tubman/ Created by students to share their learning

Marc Canter: What is a blog?

More on blogs...article from Wall Street Journal

"Happy Blogiversary!"--an article from the WSJ on July 14. Blogs have been around, according to the author, 10 years and the WSJ got twelve commentors to...well, comment on what blogs mean to them.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118436667045766268.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Welcome! What is a blog?

Welcome to the world of Web 2.0! Let's begin our journey through Web 2.0 technologies with blogs.

What is a blog?

A blog is a web application that contains posts on a common webpage. Blogs can range from a simple individual online diary to political campaign forum. Blog entries are date and time-stamped, allowing readers to see exactly when a blog or comment was posted. The posts are in reverse chronological order, so the latest is on top. Many blogs allow readers/users to leave comments and feedback related to the blog. Many also allow the blog to be rated.