Social Networking

Is it possible to join social networking with education? It is completely possible. In my classes, I have used blogs and Skype effectively for my personal learning. There are other possibilities such as twitter and Facebook as well. While social networking can have limitations and glitches that go along with the software involved, when well-planned there can be benefits involved. I have most appreciated Skype. I have found Skype to be limited with groups larger than two, but I have attended Skype lectures and had face to face time with professors. Both of these occurrences have proved extremely helpful.

On a college level, social networking for educational purposes would be much easier than using it for middle and high school. I do think it could work, but my school district would not allow that to happen. Our school does not have access to You Tube because of things that can be found there. Social networking for education would not be allowed because of potential problems that could be associated because of inappropriate use.  We have Blackboard blogging and discussion that we can use so the other would not be allowed. At another school district where I taught, they allowed Facebook interaction. There were teachers who set up class pages and communicated through that page. They would post pictures of various class activities and posted assignments also.  It worked well for them and there were no problems with inappropriate use. After putting firm ground rules in place, the teachers there found social networking a great support of education.

Learning Environments

I have participated in both asynchronous and synchronous environments during my online education experiences. Both situations have value in supporting learning, but I prefer the asynchronous environment as a student. I like to have topics given and then time to reflect. After reflection, it is much easier to form my personal opinion and share it through text on the discussion board or other means as assigned. I enjoy the time to quietly reflect when integrating new material into the context of my own education. When I am working in professional context, I prefer to have a synchronous environment. I prefer to talk with someone in real time when I am part of a committee or in a conference to problem solve something concerned with my job. I like to give and get immediate feedback so to get the job done quickly and efficiently. I had situations when I was in the textile industry as a manager that required a synchronous environment, and I worked very well under those conditions. Both have value, but I prefer each in a different situation.

Presentations

As a student, I learn better when a blend of presentation activities are part of the curriculum. Power points work well as long as the instructor is not reading to me. If the instructor is going to give some notes using power point, I learn more from the experience if it is loaded onto Black Board and I read it myself. Usually I will take the information and arrange it into meaningful notes. It is equally helpful when the power point is on Black Board with voice over. I also benefit from the power point presentation when it is used for pictures or tables and graphs to emphasize the information. It can be a powerful tool for helping me to visualize what is said during a lecture.

In addition to some small amount of direct instruction, I benefit as a learner from interactive opportunities using technology. As an undergraduate student taking chemistry I was required to complete a certain number of chemistry problems every week using the computer lab. It was an interactive program that helped me to visualize the problems being asked and required me to work the problems. I also enjoyed an interactive computer program that allowed me to perform physics labs. We could then use the program to graph the data gathered through the computer. The interactive nature that technology offers helps me to learn material and commit it to long term memory quickly.