Reflection 1.1 Instructions
Think back to the definition you gave for social media in the prior learning survey. (If you didn't do the prior learning survey, think back to your prior notions of social media.) How has the course content (material I post in the module), the readings and resources provided extended, challenged, or deepened your initial understanding? (Cite references as appropriate.) What about educational applications of social media--has the course content (material I post in the module), the readings and resources provided extended, challenged, or deepened your initial ideas?
Reflection 1.1
Friday September 6, 2013
Jane Jacek
The course material so far has validated and deepened my understanding of social media.
When I wrote my first definition of social media, “Web tools that allow people to create and share content, and communicate with others throughout the world.” I had in mind Twitter, Facebook and Google+ Communities. Added to this list now are also Pintrest, Delicious and Linkedin (Hengstler,2013b). I am sure there are many more that I will learn about as the course progresses.
In relation to the use of social media it appears, as evidenced by what we have seen this past year in the media, sadly the most prominent being the Amanda Todd story, that many people still do not realize that who we are and what we are involved in can be garnered and shared with others. This was brought closer to home for me when we had Darren Laur known on Facebook as the “White Hatter” come do a presentation at our school on social media safety. Check out his blog The Digital Sheepdog. I have shared often with my own children the need to think about what they are posting and/or communicating with others and they have taken heed, but I am surprised still by some of the photos and comment other young adults I know post. I have shared with them my understanding of how employers now often check-up both on perspective employees and present employees by accessing their postings on social media. They do not seem to understand or care about the digital footprint being left behind. Try Goggling a person you know and you will be surprised. I easily accessed information both in Twitter and Pintrest. We as teachers and parents need to start at a young age teaching children about the appropriate use of social media and the implications its use can have. In developing digital citizenship I strongly agree with the analogy Hengstler ( 2013a) used in relation to children’s learning to use social media.
I’m guessing you wouldn’t stick your kid on a two wheeled bike with pedals and no
training wheels before s/he was ready. So don’t give them free range with social
media and digital communications until they can show you they can act
responsibly with them.
Further in relation to personal information being accessed through social media, I commented to my husband a while back that the ads on my Facebook newsfeed often matched areas that I was interested in. He
shared with me that through Facebook information from my computer is retrieved and then the ads on my site are created to match these interests. This was validated by Hengstler (2013a). What is truly troubling is that my information is actually sold to advertisers.
There are people somewhere writing code for those websites and services, running
servers where all the information is stored, using up electricity water, space, etc. All
those things must be paid for–and they are paid for when the service provider is
able to take the information we provide and sell it to advertisers or other 3rd parties.
Once again this points out the importance of knowing the implications of the use of a specific social media tool before using it. This information can be found as outlined by Hengstler (2013a).
You can usually figure this out by which sites have been in the news for privacy
issues, or just read it in the fine print of the site/service’s Terms of
Service or End User License Agreements. If they lay claim to everything you
post–with the rights to sell it at will to others, use it for advertising, etc.–keep
your eyes open and be careful what you post there.
With this in mind I will be looking closely at the social media tools I am introduced to and which I choose to use both personally and when looking to integrate their use in to my classroom.
References:
Hengstler,J.(2013a). What parents should know part 1: basic understanding of social media &
digital communication
http://jhengstler.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/what parents-should-know-part-1-basic-understanding-of-
social-media-digital-communications/
Hengstler, J. (2013b). Welcome to the Social Web. Social Media Overview 2013.pdf
Think back to the definition you gave for social media in the prior learning survey. (If you didn't do the prior learning survey, think back to your prior notions of social media.) How has the course content (material I post in the module), the readings and resources provided extended, challenged, or deepened your initial understanding? (Cite references as appropriate.) What about educational applications of social media--has the course content (material I post in the module), the readings and resources provided extended, challenged, or deepened your initial ideas?
Reflection 1.1
Friday September 6, 2013
Jane Jacek
The course material so far has validated and deepened my understanding of social media.
When I wrote my first definition of social media, “Web tools that allow people to create and share content, and communicate with others throughout the world.” I had in mind Twitter, Facebook and Google+ Communities. Added to this list now are also Pintrest, Delicious and Linkedin (Hengstler,2013b). I am sure there are many more that I will learn about as the course progresses.
In relation to the use of social media it appears, as evidenced by what we have seen this past year in the media, sadly the most prominent being the Amanda Todd story, that many people still do not realize that who we are and what we are involved in can be garnered and shared with others. This was brought closer to home for me when we had Darren Laur known on Facebook as the “White Hatter” come do a presentation at our school on social media safety. Check out his blog The Digital Sheepdog. I have shared often with my own children the need to think about what they are posting and/or communicating with others and they have taken heed, but I am surprised still by some of the photos and comment other young adults I know post. I have shared with them my understanding of how employers now often check-up both on perspective employees and present employees by accessing their postings on social media. They do not seem to understand or care about the digital footprint being left behind. Try Goggling a person you know and you will be surprised. I easily accessed information both in Twitter and Pintrest. We as teachers and parents need to start at a young age teaching children about the appropriate use of social media and the implications its use can have. In developing digital citizenship I strongly agree with the analogy Hengstler ( 2013a) used in relation to children’s learning to use social media.
I’m guessing you wouldn’t stick your kid on a two wheeled bike with pedals and no
training wheels before s/he was ready. So don’t give them free range with social
media and digital communications until they can show you they can act
responsibly with them.
Further in relation to personal information being accessed through social media, I commented to my husband a while back that the ads on my Facebook newsfeed often matched areas that I was interested in. He
shared with me that through Facebook information from my computer is retrieved and then the ads on my site are created to match these interests. This was validated by Hengstler (2013a). What is truly troubling is that my information is actually sold to advertisers.
There are people somewhere writing code for those websites and services, running
servers where all the information is stored, using up electricity water, space, etc. All
those things must be paid for–and they are paid for when the service provider is
able to take the information we provide and sell it to advertisers or other 3rd parties.
Once again this points out the importance of knowing the implications of the use of a specific social media tool before using it. This information can be found as outlined by Hengstler (2013a).
You can usually figure this out by which sites have been in the news for privacy
issues, or just read it in the fine print of the site/service’s Terms of
Service or End User License Agreements. If they lay claim to everything you
post–with the rights to sell it at will to others, use it for advertising, etc.–keep
your eyes open and be careful what you post there.
With this in mind I will be looking closely at the social media tools I am introduced to and which I choose to use both personally and when looking to integrate their use in to my classroom.
References:
Hengstler,J.(2013a). What parents should know part 1: basic understanding of social media &
digital communication
http://jhengstler.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/what parents-should-know-part-1-basic-understanding-of-
social-media-digital-communications/
Hengstler, J. (2013b). Welcome to the Social Web. Social Media Overview 2013.pdf