Hi, Everybody,



Over the past month I've been working with several ESL/EFL teachers in other parts of the world to put together some kind of "sister class" relationship using social network tools.  I've written about the different applications we've been exploring, and thought people might find those posts useful prior to this discussion:



http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?s=student+social+networks

Larry Ferlazzo


-----Original Message-----
From: Mariann Fedele <MariannF at lacnyc.org>
To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List <technology at nifl.gov>
Sent: Wed, 6 Feb 2008 7:46 am
Subject: [Technology 1487] social networking sites





Hello Tech list colleagues,

In advance of our discussion on social networking sites which begins Monday, I wanted to provide some touch stones and background information. These are some of the basics of a social network service, sites, technology and uses. I’m sure many of you are already amply familiar with this type of technology and may use it yourself socially and/or professionally. Some of the most popular social networking sites are Myspace, Friendster, Facebook, Classmates.com, and LinkedIn. Part of the “Web 2.0” revolution which aims to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing between users, social networking sites have been in existence since the mid-nineties. 

If you have a resource that you think would be valuable to the group in advance of our discussion please send it to the list!

A Wikipedia definition of this technology reads, “A social network service focuses on the building and verifying of online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others, and which necessitates the use of software. Most services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, and so on…Users can upload a picture of themselves and can often be "friends" with other users. In most social networking services, both users must confirm that they are friends before they are linked. For example, if Alice lists Bob as a friend, then Bob would have to approve Alice's friend request before they are listed as friends…Social networks usually have privacy controls that allows the user to choose who can view their profile or contact them, etc.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service

An excellent resource to begin to focus on the current use and trends of social networking sites in education is found in the 2007 Horizon Report (a research oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within higher education) by the New Media Consortium:  http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2007_Horizon_Report.pdf

Although the focus is on post-secondary students there is much that can be gleaned about the potential value of this type of technology for our adult and young adult students.  The report says of social networking sites, “Increasingly, this is the reason students log on. The websites that draw people back again and again are those that connect them with friends, colleagues, or even total strangers who have a shared interest. Social networking may represent a key way to increase student access to and participation in course activities. It is more than just a friends list; truly engaging social networking offers an opportunity to contribute, share, communicate, and collaborate.” 

 

And lastly, from the Classroom 2.0 (a social networking site for those interested in the use of collaborative technologies in education) this video submitted by a member on how he is using social networking technology with his students:

http://www.classroom20.com/video/video/show?id=649749%3AVideo%3A32073

All the best,

Mariann

 

Mariann Fedele

Director,

NYC Regional Adult Education Network

Literacy Assistance Center

Moderator,
NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List
32 Broadway 10th Floor
New York, New York 10004
212-803-3325
mariannf at lacnyc.org
www.lacnyc.org

 




----------------------------------------------------
ational Institute for Literacy
echnology and Literacy mailing list
echnology at nifl.gov
o unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
ttp://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/technology
mail delivered to laferlazzo at aol.com


________________________________________________________________________
More new features than ever.  Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://webmail.aol.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/technology/attachments/20080206/f150feea/attachment.html