How often do you view your students as intellectual equals? Even if you work in higher education, your answer might still be: never. Unfortunately, this hierarchical perspective could be seriously hurting your classroom and inhibiting your student's learning. Some of the earliest adopters of Web 2.0 tools that can be applied to the classroom are those aged 25-34.
Moreover, those aged 35 and younger are digital natives. They are intuitive learners that are heavily biased toward learning and acquiring skills in a digital format. They have never been part of a time without access to these socialized devices.
That's not to say that other age groups don't actively use connected devices, however. On average, the average adult US citizen uses three connected devices* per day.
As we transition to a more globalized and connected world - educators must prepare themselves for new strategies of both learning and teaching. Those of us teachers who are over 35 must not only learn how to use these daily devices in the classroom but--because of the collaborative nature of these devices--we must also open ourselves to the idea of learning from our students.
The "Vanity Search" Since I'm looking to expand my employment opportunities as I carry myself through graduate school (and only recently left a company at which I spent over 7 years) I decided it was time to do an in-depth look into my web presence. This meant googling my name, checking my profiles as they appear to others, and attempting to locate every account I've created linked to my personal and professional (opposed to purposely anonymous) accounts. Rather anticlimactically, when I first reported on my vanity search efforts, there wasn't much intelligible information out there directly tied to my name. I had a terrible habit of forming multiple accounts for multiple sections of my life (my Twitter, Instagram, and other social media handles didn't include any part of my name). Moreover, and rather unexpectedly, I saw a lot of people showing up when I searched my relatively "unique" name. In an order to create a positive digital footprint, I've spent the past seven weeks optimized the sites that I engage with most so that both potential employers and other faculty members see the most qualified version of my "digital self". Here, I'll give an overview of the achievements I was able to gain within this short period of time and briefly mention the steps I took to solidify my online reputation, expose myself to new business opportunities, and cultivate my digital footprint. Expanded Search Report Stephanie D'Adamo/Stephanie DAdamo: Both of these searches yielded similar results with most profiles appearing on either page 1 or 2 of Google Search Results
Facebook
UpWork (page 2 rank)
Drawception
Poetry International
Cataclysm Blog
Netvibes (page 3 rank)
Instagram
Image Search Results
Multiple images appearing at 0 Rank (Google feature slot)
Stephanie D'Adamo tamuc
Professional website
UpWork (page 1 rank)
Image Search Results
No images appearing at 0 Rank (Google feature slot)
Stephanie D'Adamo teacher
Youtube
Twitter
UpWork (page 1 rank)
Image Search Results
No images appearing at 0 Rank (Google feature slot)
For more information on the methods and platforms I used here, you can visit this page.
We all know that our world is rapidly changing. But have you ever wondered why new technological innovations seem to be appearing on a daily basis? Though typically applied to finance and mathematical theory, technology also follows the J-curve model. In the Satir Change model this would look something like:
Status quo (blue): Agricultural Society
Resistance and Chaos (red): Medieval "Dark Ages"
Integration and Practice (yellow): Renaissance
New Status Quo (green): Industrial Revolution
If we were to apply this same model to American education institutions, you might say we're currently moving through the Integration and Practice phase. In the past, many teachers have resisted using technology within the classroom because it was viewed as unreliable, inconvenient, and/or confusing. However, since the advent of social media and fiber internet cables, there are very few American teachers (and even fewer students) that are unfamiliar with digital technology.
One of the biggest questions teachers have when first beginning to learn Web 2,0 skills is how to implement personal professional development in Web 2.0 and learning. In this post, I'll be covering how to accomplish this through describing best practices for sustainability,development, and learning.
Sustainability:
When incorporating new technologies into both your personal and professional life, the biggest skill you'll need to learn will be time management. Without any checks on how long you dedicate to researching, integrating, and modifying course objects information overload can exhaust both you and your students.
Development:
The best teachers I've ever met have all accepted that they're on a lifelong developmental journey. They take interdepartmental classes, gain new/honorary degrees, and apply for various certifications. 21st century teachers must learn to expand their development even further to include not only the latest academic research, but also technological developments. One way of accomplishing this is to set up departmental guidelines, meetings, and workshops for web 2.0 applications.
Professional Learning:
Remember that J-curve we discussed earlier? Well, that model also applies to the learning process! If you or your colleagues find yourself struggling to adapt to new technologies, the most effective solution is (again) sharing and reflecting their learning challenges with other members of their department.
Looking for a real life example of how to integrate technology and information-seeking for modern-day students? Here's one example of how Australia's schools are organizing themselves:
Alright. I'll admit it. I'm more than a little bit biased toward using computers in the classroom. I've been exposed to technology in conjunction with leaning ever since I borrowed my first 4-inch floppy from the computer lab at my homeschooling center. I held that big white packet that I knew held an incredibly dust-free copy of Oregon Trail, and I was hooked.
But the drastic shift in *how* we use technology from then to today still leaves me a little bit concerned. I'll tell you why. Nowadays, we have a multiplicity of profiles, usernames, and logins. In fact, we have a multiplicity of SELF that we've never experienced before.
To further explain the idea of how our current tool use effects our identities, I encourage you to watch Amber Case's TED Talk entitled We Are All Cyborgs Now.
So, how do we go about not only carrying these selves--but find ways to organize them in meaningful and understandable ways? A quick check of Wikipedia will tell you that social network aggregation involves:
...collecting content from multiple social network services, such as Instagram, Tumblr, Flickr, LinkedIn, Twitch, YouTube, etc. into one unified presentation. The task is often performed by a social network aggregator (such as Hootsuite and FriendFeed), which pulls together information into a single location, or helps a user consolidate multiple social networking profiles into one profile. Various aggregation services provide tools or widgets to allow users to consolidate messages, track friends, combine bookmarks, search across multiple social networking sites, read RSS feeds for multiple social networks, see when their name is mentioned on various sites, access their profiles from a single interface, provide "lifestreams", etc.
In other words, social network aggregation sites have the power to present a more holistic picture of our digital selves. This is great news for teachers who want to connect with their students, peers, and employers in meaningful ways!
My question is this: If we use social bookmarking tools (say, Pinterest) with our students and then add those to an aggregating page--what keeps those identities separate? Certainly, Pinterest itself has privacy measures. However, I've noticed the trend for aggregate pages to disregard those privacy settings altogether. Is there a way this can be resolved? Or should teachers now start worrying that their everyday digital life will always be open and accessible to every student? Food for thought.
YouTube is new to me. I’ve used it as a guest several times, but primarily for music videos! So, I had much to learn about using this Web 2.0 Tool for instructional purposes. But if video clip length is kept reasonable for the students’ attention span, having resources and channels ready will assist with authentic learning opportunity as they arise in classrooms.
I’m exploring many beneficial functions that come with having a YouTube account. Here is an educational use rubric that I found while exploring.
YouTube LIVEis a function of theYouTube platform that allows channel hosts to live-stream their videos either publicly or privately. This feature was likely created to compete with the live-streaming serviceTwitch (see also:YouTube Gaming). Although this function can at first be difficult to implement if you do not have experience with broadcasting software, there are endless instructional videos available for review on the primary YouTube platform. From my experience, most people can learn all the skills they need to successfully host streams within less than 48hrs. YouTube reliability depends heavily on your regional internet access and speed, however, the primary site itself is always available. As far as I have experienced in the past, the only external links YouTube (YT) generates are for site monetization. However, users themselves are free to link to any external site they wish (as long as it follows YT content guidelines). In 2013,YouTube received a “technical Emmy” from the National Academy of Arts & Sciences for its video recommendation algorithms; however, the corporation has yet to receive any educational awards that I’m aware of.
As you can see in the video below, I used this format to host a trial stream on academic discussion covering topics like YouTube, Open Broadcaster SoftwareOBS), andElian for ESL learners & speakers. You can watch other examples of my work onmy channel here.
What are aggregate sites? By and large, aggregate sites are web pages designed to collect large amounts of data in small, understandable ways. These sites may use widgets or other RSS feed tools to track information/text from the moment of its publication. They are often used in website building and marketing as a form of content aggregation or means to encourage traffic/backlinking/SEO optimization in Google Analytics. However, as the author of To Make A Website says,
While there are several great ones...there are also plenty of spam content aggregating websites that you shouldn’t want any part of. --Matt Clark, 2015
This week I explored two legitimate sites for content aggregation: Netvibes and Protopage.
NO notification options integrated into Win7, Win8, Win10, Linux, or MAC but notification options can be adjusted via Chrome
public & private dashboard settings
ability to create multiple dashboards
organizational widgets
tools for site optimization and naming
Applications for Teachers:
track personal and professional data (social media sites, work & personal emails, news sources, field-related topics, personal interests, etc).
create a platform through which students can learn more about organizations or specific subjects
create to-do lists students can modify
Business Applications:
backlinking
traffic generation
SEO optimization
overall improved Google analytics scores
Overall Takeaway: For Netvibes, it is not clear what is displayed, when, and with what security/audience options in place for features like facebook, twitter, Instagram, etc. that may also be associated with the account user. For my public dashboard, I could also NOT resolve the issue that all that displayed was the loading symbol [Loading...], see image below or this live link:
Initially, I ran into a slight resistance with Protopages as the site:
appeared to be lacking aesthetically when compared to Netvibes and
was down for maintenance the first instance I attempted to access it (see image below).
However, as you can see HERE I was able to get my site up and running with a few widgets. Unfortunately, there are still a few minor bugs surrounding the "delete widget" button--but you can get around this by editing an empty widget box to reflect the RSS origin or another more viable site.
Overall, if you're a teacher who doesn't need to have high analytics scores and/or already has a dedicated system in place for contacting students I recommend simply using a custom desktop skin to organize all of your personal, professional, and system information. Although the overall process of using widgets effectively and securely may be a steep learning curve for some, I have used Rainmeter (Windows 7 and up) in the past with a high level of success. You can create a fully custom and aesthetically astounding desktop experience that directly follows these same RSS streams as (sometimes untrustworthy) aggregate sites using this platform (if you also use Windows), GeekTool (for macOS), or Conky (for Linux). For more information, I highly recommend following r/Rainmeter on Reddit and following their tutorial tips. Happy organizing!
YouTube LIVEis a function of the YouTube platform that allows channel hosts to live-stream their videos either publicly or privately. This feature was likely created to compete with the live-streaming service Twitch (see also: YouTube Gaming). Although this function can at first be difficult to implement if you do not have experience with broadcasting software, there are endless instructional videos available for review on the primary YouTube platform. From my experience, most people can learn all the skills they need to successfully host streams within less than 48hrs. YouTube reliability depends heavily on your regional internet access and speed, however, the primary site itself is always available. As far as I have experienced in the past, the only external links YouTube (YT) generates are for site monetization. However, users themselves are free to link to any external site they wish (as long as it follows YT content guidelines). In 2013, YouTube received a “technical Emmy” from the National Academy of Arts & Sciences for its video recommendation algorithms; however, the corporation has yet to receive any educational awards that I’m aware of.
Twitter, much like Facebook (FB), is a social media platform. However, unlike other applications, it offers the ability to communicate with global users, corporations, and organizations that otherwise, a singular user may not ordinarily have contact with. Moreover, while you may only receive occasional updates from your FB profile, Twitter offers the opportunity for constant and instantaneous communication between parties in a live format.
Existing Demographics:
Despite Donald Trump’s proclivity to use Twitter, this site is surprisingly unique in that many of the most vocal users belong to minority groups (see: black twitter).
Moreover, the primary group engaging on Twitter are of the same age as high school and college attendees (12-34 yr old).
the demographics for YouTube are situated within this same age range. However, YouTube's users more closely mirror the overall online population (with 87% of users identifying as non-Hispanic Caucasians).
Classroom Application:
By using both Twitter and YouTube simultaneously, teachers can encourage cross-cultural communication between various ethnicities that may not typically expose themselves to one another. Twitter can be used not only to update students on live classroom (or lecture) streams, but continues to offer surprising new educational discussions, techniques, and communities held together largely by specific hashtags.Teachers can follow along with multiple live hashtags by using various services like TweetDeck. Here’s an example of what my personal TweetDeck looked like earlier today.
I used the YouTube format to host a trial stream on academic discussion covering topics like Youtube, Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), and Elian for ESL learners & speakers. You can watch my work on my channel here. By integrating multiple web 2.0 software strategies, it is my belief that we have the opportunity now, more than ever, to connect with our students in meaningful, intuitive, and organic ways.
Up until now, my posts have focused solely on how web technologies can positively affect your students, your classrooms, and your content. But how can web technologies help teachers and students as individuals?
Since roughly 5 years ago, I started hearing about the horrors of "googling yourself".
Today, our president wields Twitter like a weapon of the Armed Forces.
I've participated with countless digital corporations within the past few months alone. LinkedIn, Google+, UpWork, AirBnB, Tutor.com, Wordpress, Blogger,Etsy, Mechanical Turk (Amazon), YouTube, Twitch, eBay, Amazon.com: the list goes on. The list of employers who function within the rapidly growing e-commerce sector is rising exponentially. Even "stone and mason" businesses like WalMart are scrambling for a way to monetize their online presence. In this widening world of digital citizenship, every hiring manager who was once promised fame as a 90's kid is looking for a micro-celebrity. That's right. With 250 friends you can suggest a lot of products. You can become a local spokesperson. The problem is: those of us who have been employed with the same company for over 5 years, those who are just entering the workforce, and those interested in applying to prestigious schools may still be using these social media outlets for solely entertainment purposes without recognizing their level of public engagement.
The Internet Society answers "What is a Digital Footprint?"
Since I'm looking to expand my employment opportunities as I carry myself through graduate school (and only recently left a company at which I spent over 7 years) I decided it was time to do an in-depth look into my web presence. This meant googling my name, checking my profiles as they appear to others, and attempting to locate every account I've created linked to my personal and professional (opposed to purposely anonymous) accounts. Rather anticlimactically, when I egogoogled, there wasn't much to be found. And what was found was fragmented. I have a terrible habit of forming multiple accounts for multiple sections of life (i.e: facebook settings to separate coworkers, family, and friends; a separate email for personal and professional communications; etc). Moreover, and rather unexpectedly, I see more people who aren't me showing up when I search my relatively "unique" name. This does not necessarily mean that I'm producing less "content" than other people with my same name, but it does likely mean that I have not optimized the sites that I do engage on so that potential employers see the most qualified version of my "digital self". Lucky for you, over the course of the next several weeks, I will be discussing the steps I undertake to solidify my online reputation, expose myself to new business opportunities, and cultivate my digital footprint.
