The Growth of Social Media…My Response

September 6, 2011 2 Comments

The Infographic pictured below is one of the many great reasons I love Twitter. So much information and knowledge being shared from a multitude of networks is simply awesome. It should come as no surprise that I am a bit of a social media nerd. I am currently focusing my dissertation on the use of social media among human service nonprofits, and as I have just finished my chapter on theory, I found this infographic especially interesting. Continue reading below:

The Growth of Social Media: An Infographic
Source: The Growth of Social Media: An Infographic

One of the theoretical perspectives that informs my dissertation is that of Rogers Diffusion of Innovations Theory. A brief primer on the theory is that it’s mainly concerned with how innovations spread through society. An innovation can be almost anything from an idea, practice, or object that is seen as new by an individual adopter. That is to say the innovation itself does not need to be new, rather it is simply new to that individual. The key elements in Diffusion Theory include innovation, communication channels, time, and a social system. Communication channels are how the innovation spreads. Time is both the rate of speed that an innovation is adopted and how much time has elapsed through the diffusion process. A social system is a set of interrelated units that are joined together in order to accomplish a common goal.

Okay, so looking at this infographic through the lens of Diffusion Theory, one can see how the various social media platforms have become so popular so quickly. The various graphs showing the rate of adoption, growth, or evolution mirrors the diffusion process. Rogers provides a graphic, in his book which I can’t necessarily reproduce here or find on the net, that illustrates an S-type curve of early adopters all the way through to late adopters. If I could overlay this curve on the infographic above it would basically tell us that most of the individuals who began using social media such as twitter or Facebook from 2004-2006 would be the early adopters. Seems to make easy enough sense right? Well what this theory tells us about those early-adopters is that some of them are critical in the diffusion process because they are what Rogers calls Opinion leaders and Change-agents. Opinion leaders and change agents influence their own networks by providing information to others. The main difference between the two is mainly in the language they speak. I don’t mean like English and Spanish, but rather that Change agents use more technical or professional language because of their training and they may usually hold university degrees, whereas Opinion leaders influence others attitudes and behavior more informally and are more accessible to others. I think the access part is a crucial element in why social media has diffused across so many networks. Anyways, these innovators help spread information through out their networks and spur on the diffusion process.

Rogers also highlights 5 dimensions that impact the diffusion process and whether or not an innovation is successful. Briefly they include:

  1. The degree to which an innovation provides a Relative Advantage.
  2. The degree to which an innovation is Compatible with the values and norms of the social system.
  3. The degree of Complexity of an innovation (whether its difficult to use).
  4. The degree of Trialability or whether the innovation can be experimented with or not.
  5. The degree of Observability or how easy it is for others to see the results of the innovation, which impacts whether they adopt it or not.
In my view, the infographic shows how twitter and Facebook have been successful innovations partly because they match these 5 dimensions fairly well. They provide an advantage over previous platforms, or at least the people using them think they do. They fit the established norms of society, or at least Facebook claims it does as the move The Social Network so eloquently illustrated Mark Zuckerberg stating he wanted to take the entire social experience of college and put it online. Much of social media is pretty easy to use, I mean think about Twitter, it’s not very hard to write 140 characters about meaningless information as people do it every day. Of course I know that Twitter is much more than that, but I just had to say 😀 Almost all social media are free to use, and I use that in a loose sense because much of the nonprofit sector is learning that the tools cost nothing but employing someone to manage them can be rather costly. However, social media is pretty much founded upon the trial use and anyone who has been on Twitter long enough can tell you a story of 1 or 2 followers who started out strong only to just fall away. Finally, there are hundreds and probably thousands of social media experts who will tout their results and expertise to try and get a consulting job with an organization. The point being that seeing how social media has impacted organizations and individuals is simple. Especially when great groups provide engaging graphics, such as the one above, to show results. It sometimes makes one think that if it works for them it can work for me.
Okay so that’s enough theorizing for one blog post, but if you want more information on Diffusion of Innovations theory click on over to Amazon and purchase <a href="Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition""“>Rogers book. I could go on to further explain how social network theory has also impacted the diffusion process but maybe another time. The fact is that as a researcher I am enthralled with this social media phenomenon and excited to be one of many to shed light and make sense of it all. Sounds somewhat boring, but I think the more we know about it the better we can use it for positive social change. This is also why I love these infographics because they help make sense but also are free to share. I’m so grateful to these folks as they have also given me permission to use this in my dissertation. Now I just have to figure out how to get it on one page 😀

Filed under Futures & Foresight, Nonprofit, Technology

Earthquake & Social Media Reports

August 24, 2011 Leave a comment

Yesterday’s 5.8 earthquake in Central Virginia was only about 40 miles from where I was at in the basement of the School of Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University or VCU. I was participating in a new PhD student Q&A as we are welcoming 10 new students this semester. I have to admit it was pretty unnerving thinking about the building, which is almost as old as Richmond itself, and the fact that I was sitting in the basement while it rattle. At about 1:51pm, a student next to me said “Is that an earthquake?” But we all thought it was just some heavy machinery as they are doing lots of construction in the area. I walked over to the window to see if I could see a truck or something, but as I leaned against the wall I felt the building shaking even more. We decided to exit out the emergency door and head outside.

Once we walked up the steps to the front of the building, many other colleagues and faculty members were outside wondering if indeed it was an earthquake. I immediately pulled out my phone to tweet about the experience and as fast as my phone could refresh, I saw people tweeting in from up and down the eastern seaboard about the rumblings. I started to tell everyone where people were as they felt the quake. This is probably one of the more interesting things for me as I am really interested in social media but I have never experienced an opportunity to use it in this kind of situation.

The fact was that I couldn’t get a call out and I know many emergency professionals and the news media say to at least text, but my text messages were not going through either. Which is probably why I never received a text from the VCU emergency alert system. Thank goodness for social media as I was able to get real-time updates via twitter as to what was happening. Once we were allowed back in the building, I still couldn’t get a call out to my wife and texts were not going anywhere. I logged onto Facebook to post an update saying I was okay and my wife instant messaged me making sure I was fine. Thankfully, she was home and there was no damage or injuries.

I have seen media reports about the benefits of using twitter and other social media during natural disasters, but I never imagined I would be using social media for such an instance. It amazes me that as the night wore on and I watched the news reports from the events of the day, how emergency officials talked about their communications going down and the inability to get calls through or having the radio jam up from to much call volume. I’m not saying we need to replace those channels with social media, but I am saying I think that social media deserves more respect than it often gets. I do see it getting more respect as new individuals see its many benefits, especially in instances such as the earthquake yesterday.

The news did report on some damage that happened out in Louisa county, like the photo shown. There were also reports about the high school having some major damage, but only minor injuries, and school is going to be closed for the rest of the week.

Other photos began circling on twitter about the massive destruction in DC.

Thankfully, no significant damage was reported and people took the days events in stride. I did hear some reports of aftershocks and saw friends posting on Facebook at 8pm about the aftershocks, but that was about it. I don’t know if we dodged a bullet or whether something bigger will come. Well we do still need to prepare for Hurricane Irene this weekend, although indications having heading more out to sea. At any rate, the past year has been an interesting one.

Oh, one more interesting thing. I didn’t get to see the news as the earthquake was unfolding or immediately after, but my wife told me it was funny to watch the news media scramble to find stuff to report on. The took most of their initial information from Twitter and Facebook as they couldn’t get a call out to any authorities for an official word. They would show images of their computers shaking and then go back to their twitter stream to see what people were saying. Incredible, this day we live in, how we can access information and communicate in so many ways.

 

 

 

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Why isn’t email considered in the Social Media landscape?

August 21, 2011 1 Comment

I just finished reading a post by Aaron Biebert @Biebert on his Blog about Web 3.0 and as I have been engaged in my research on social media, I wondered why I don’t consider or think of social media when I discuss it with individuals and organizations? Aaron explained the brief history of the Internet as follows:

Brief History of the Internet:

Web 1.0 was based on one-way communication (static websites with read only content)

Web 2.0 introduced two way communication (wikis, social media, blogs, etc.)

Web 3.0 is driven by technology that reads and understands activity on the internet and uses that data to make recommendations and perform tasks using artificial intelligence.

 

So if Web 2.0 introduced two way communication, then isn’t that essentially what email is? I know email isn’t as sexy as many of the social media sites, but do we still need to consider it as a powerful tool?  Let me know what you think via my survey below.

 

Thanks for your participation, and hopefully this starts a conversation around how we categorize social media.

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Initial Impressions on Google+

July 1, 2011 1 Comment

   I spent the better part of my evening and much into the late hours of      the night last night playing around with Google+ and my initial impressions of the social networking site are really favorable. I love the circles idea, for posting content to specific groups so you don’t have to share everything with everyone. I think this has some specific utility for Nonprofit organizations and maintaining their organizational identity in the midst of a diverse constituency. Many years ago organizations would send out letters or emails with tailored messages to engage their stakeholders and donors in a way that cultivated relationships. Facebook and Twitter help with this, but it can become somewhat cumbersome trying to decide what an organization wants to say to everyone at once.

I also really like the Hangout feature. Although I don’t have many friends or family on the site yet, I like the idea of engaging in video chats and being able to integrate things like YouTube so I can share funny or interesting videos in real-time. Perhaps one of the best features is the ease with which to share videos and photos. I found the drag and drop feature to work flawlessly when uploading a profile pic and I can’t wait to use this feature some more. Maybe that’s just the Mac person within me. At any rate, the more I play with the site, the more interesting thoughts I will have about how we can use this site in the nonprofit sector and in education. Be sure to check back for more information.

Filed under Nonprofit, Technology

What’s possible in teaching Social Work education online

June 22, 2011 5 Comments

Many weeks ago I participated in an online learning institute, and I left there with several new ideas about teaching online. I also thought more about what is actually possible in teaching Social Work education online and this post is meant to pull together some resources in hopes of starting a conversation with many of you. The fact is, I believe that we can teach many aspects of social work online using an array of technologies. Whether it’s from Second Life to Blackboard, or Twitter to Skype. I am going to start by highlighting several social work courses and what tools could be used to teach those courses online. In fact, there are a number of Schools of Social Work around the United States that use many of these tools. The number one thing to remember, however, is that you should always think about your course, the content, and what you want your students to get out of it before you decide on which technologies to use.

The courses below are just some that are taught in BSW programs around the country. Each one will likely be taught a bit differently based upon the respective school. The list, therefore, is not meant to be representative. Rather it’s just to get you thinking about some of the possibilities that are out there.

Introduction to Social Work: Provides an overview of the social work profession including knowledge of the nature of social work, the fields of social work practice, target populations, and an overview of social work methods. Being that this is more of a general course, I thought I would provide some of the more general technologies that can be used here and in many other courses, often in concert with the technologies listed below. Learning management systems such as Blackboard are often the staple of online courses. Others may use Wikis or GoogleSites to be the central learning point or portal for the online course. The point is, it is important to have a central hub for your course, much like you would have a classroom as your central hub on the ground face-to-face. Additional tools that can be used here include Skype or some other form of video conferencing software to bring in outside presenters or meet with students for office hours. I should also note, that having videos, and not just lectures, but videos that demonstrate your uniqueness as a teacher to help engage the students in the course will also produce successful outcomes. This speaks somewhat to social presence online, but I will save that for another post.

Social Work Practice: Introduces students to the nature and work of the social work profession. There are many variations of this course which is also split into different courses based upon content ranging from micro to macro practice. The micro content of this course makes it somewhat controversial when moving into a digital environment because some would argue that it can be hard to assess students learning during role plays online. I’m not trying to argue one way or the other, rather just trying to highlight was possible. Several online schools use video conferencing technology to perform the traditional role play scenario. Technology such as Elluminate or AdobeConnect Pro are just some of the tools schools are using. A relatively new variation on this is using Second Life or Avatars. The USC school of social work has developed an impressive program to help students learn to work with clients who suffer from PTSD.

Nancy J. Smyth also wrote about using virtual worlds to help with PTSD on her blog, which you can read here.

For those who may not have the capabilities to develop such a program, the use of technologies like Second Life and some creative thinking can also help. Second Life is a virtual community where users can develop their own Avatars and identities in an online digital environment. Individuals have used second life in counseling practice and some schools hold online courses in Second Life as well. To be honest, I don’t know a lot about Second Life, but it sounds kind of intriguing. If you want to know more about using Games in therapy, a good resource is Mike Langlois and his blog Gamer Therapist.

Okay, I digress a bit so back to social work practice. Moving along to the macro part of social work practice and one area that seems fairly easy to use technology is advocacy. Implementing the use of Blogs and other social media like Twitter or YouTube can help students to understand how organizations and activists are using social media to advance their cause. Utilizing case examples or posting stories about how Twitter was used in Egypt and other places can really help students learn the power of advocacy. This also reaches into the realm of Policy as many in Congress actively use and monitor social media channels. Access to top ranking officials and the impacting Policy on varying levels has never been so easy.

Social Work Research: Provides an overview of the research process, including problem formulation, sampling, design, measurement, data collection, data analysis and dissemination of findings. The use of a learning management system like Blackboard, as mentioned above, or others will also aid in an online social work research course. However, I understand that not many social work students are interested in research. I know, shocking right, but it’s somewhat true. To make this course more exciting, try using some online tools to help demonstrate how to collect and analyze data. Google Forms or Poll Everywhere provide ways to create and share surveys. Once data has been collected, a Google spreadsheet can even perform some very basic statistical analysis. Using Poll Everywhere, survey respondents can either submit their responses via Twitter, text message, or on the web. If you use this in class, face-to-face, it is actually pretty exciting to see the poll update in real time. My students got pretty excited when I did this in class.

Field Instruction: I generally do not believe that a student can engage in their field practicum online. However, there are several technological tools that can help facilitate or supplement the student’s learning. Skype, Blackboard for ePortfolios and Seminar, and from an administrative perspective, I have seen several technological tools that help to manage field. One of the tools was develop at the VCU School of Social Work, and contains a matching component within the system to help make the work of placing students much easier. More information on the SInC: Student Intern Connect can be found here.

Okay, so there is just a smattering of the technologies that are out there and how they can be used. I will continue to post new ideas on technology in social work education, both online and face-to-face, as they come to me. Yet, I am really interested in hearing what you have to say. What tools have you used? What success stories or challenges do you have to share? Comments and questions are always welcome.

Filed under Education, Futures & Foresight, Technology

Why Your Organization needs Facebook. Even if you DON’T think it does!

June 6, 2011 1 Comment

Lately I have been talking with a few individuals about social media in the nonprofit sector. It seems that every conversation I have about social media always defaults to a discussion about Facebook, with Twitter being a close second. I myself am not a huge Fan (no pun intended) of Facebook, but I understand why organizations need to have their own profile page. The simple answer is:

IT’S WHERE EVERYONE IS!

I know, blue right. But seriously, the popular social media site has over 500 million users (according to Facebook itself), although other indications put it at over 600 million. Furthermore, from Facebook:

  • 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
  • Average user has 130 friends
  • People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
  • That’s huge and I don’t think organizations can neglect that kind of popularity.

So why am I not a huge fan. Well I am a user myself, but the main reason comes down to how people use the site, or any social media site. Now I want to put in my asterisk* here because this is ultimately an individual decision that can be fairly value laden. That being said, Facebook to me is a place for friends and family, not so much so for professional associations. I don’t have a ton of friends on Facebook and I don’t do a whole lot with it. For me, Twitter or LinkedIn are sites where I go to do the things I might not do with Facebook and vice versa. Now I also don’t take myself too seriously on this note because I will occasional post something political, for example, on my Facebook profile which can cause some De-Friending or other interesting conversations. On the other social media sites I welcome that conversation, but Facebook is more of a place for my family members to catch up with what I’m doing. “But isn’t that what a blog is for?” Yes! But it’s easier for my family to view things on Facebook because that is where they go.

BINGO!!!

That is to say, the same reason why nonprofit organizations need to have a Facebook page even if they feel it’s not worth it, Because that is where users go! This also extends into the larger discussion about any social media site, but organizations also need to be strategic in choosing which sites to use that align with their mission focus. The fact is that Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn are not going away anytime soon, and they offer incredible potential for organizations to implement creative and innovative ideas to further their work.

But I still wonder what you think? Should organizations be thinking about what these sites mean for building community before they begin using them? Where should an organization begin with social media? Are these questions even relevant or are we already past this type of discussion because of the vast adoption of social media within the nonprofit sector? Leave a comment and as always, thanks for stopping by.

Filed under Nonprofit, Technology

Developing a Philosophy of Teaching

June 1, 2011 2 Comments

Some of you know that I have been engaged in an online learning institute this week, which is why I have not been blogging very much. I know I had said I hope to share many of my insights from this institute, but frankly I just haven’t had time to sit and write them down. It’s finally finished and now I am thinking about many things when it comes to learning in an online environment. Most of all I have actually been thinking about my own Philosophy of Teaching.

What does that mean?

I believe a Philosophy of teaching is a statement on your beliefs about how teaching should be done. It resembles your own values and beliefs about what it means to learn, what knowledge is, and why it is important.

What is it?
I am still working on my own philosophy of teaching statement but it is essentially based in student-centered learning. This is the idea that learning and knowledge really begin with where the student is. It can be incredibly difficult to test a student on a given set of skills that they have never been taught or had the chance to fully develop. Starting where the student is also means understanding what capabilities they may have and how those capabilities can be leveraged for their own benefit.

Where does it stem from?
This is inherently personal for every individual in my opinion, and mine mostly stems from my work as a mental health counselor. Part of my theoretical approach was based in the work of Carl Rogers and his client-centered approach. For more information on that click here. It also stems from my own experiences in teaching, but mostly in learning from many years sitting behind a desk as a student. Let’s face it, we have all had many teachers that we would like to emulate and many others we would rather just forget about.

Now as I begin to focus on teaching online, I am caught up in a series of discussions and my own thoughts about what this philosophy of teaching means in a digital environment. I think that much of my budding philosophy will easily transcend both environments, but I also know that just because something works in one area does not mean that it will work in another. I plan to come back to this post in the future as I more fully develop the concepts and ability to articulate my philosophy in a way that people can understand. I would definitely appreciate any input on the matter, so feel free to leave a comment.

Filed under Education, Futures & Foresight, Technology

The Myths of Online Learning

May 28, 2011 2 Comments

This past week I spent everyday immersed in an online learning institute, and I have come away from it with some great ideas for my own teaching and a new appreciation for what it means to be a teacher. I am however, still concerned about the myths of online learning and how many people disregard this area as an acceptable and even effective medium for obtaining quality education. The myths continue to abound online and in many other places, see this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education for more. I understand the trepidation among many of the naysayers because ultimately it has to do with fear or change from the status quo.

Empirical evidence is beginning to emerge that supports online learning in the literature and from personal experiences. I know there is also just as much support saying the opposite as there will always be. I guess the one thing that still boggles my mind is the notion that face to face classrooms are seen as better than online learning classrooms. I think the problem when people say that certain courses can’t be taught online is basically that they just don’t understand what technology is available to teach those courses online. The other thing is thinking about course development and design. Many of these individuals don’t know how to design a course for the online environment, partly because they don’t know about the technology that exits. There is so much in the way of Web 2.0 tools and resources available at institutions of higher education that make it much easier to teach online.

The more I sit and write about this the more I think this post is not about the myths of online learning, clearly because I haven’t hardly discussed any, but it’s about the individual belief of what’s possible. It’s also about the core values one has about teaching and those values being so rigid that they are unwilling to recognize that certain courses can be taught effectively online. Now don’t get me wrong, I still want my surgeon to have learned heart surgery in the classroom rather than completely online. But, many students don’t really learn their most effective skills in the classroom anyways. In social work, because again that’s where I am coming from, the signature pedagogy is Field education. Students don’t learn or master their social work skills in a few classroom sessions by role-playing them out with one another. Certainly they do get something from it, but ultimately their best experience and learning comes from being in a quality internship.

Okay, one last caveat for me 😀 What I am really hoping to get at here is the notion of how online learning is viewed. I feel that pretty much it is looked down upon, and there are many reasons for that. Yet, I also feel that when teachers/faculty hope to teach online, that there is this resistance and somewhat negative attitude from others who believe that it can’t or shouldn’t be done. Why is this happening? Why can’t others just allow the innovation and creativity to emerge without the hidden hostility, or maybe it’s not so hidden…

I don’t know, I mean I don’t only what to teach online because I fully enjoy interacting with students in the classroom. However, I know that I can also interact with them in an online class very similarly. How or what would that look like. Well that could be a completely different post so I will have to come back to that to say what’s possible in teaching social work education online. Wow what a great title!!!

What do you think, since I know many social workers are now stumbling upon this site, I welcome your opinion whether you believe or don’t believe in online social work education. The only thing I would say when commenting is to keep it civil, keep it clean, and be respectful. Thank you for your input.

Filed under Education, Futures & Foresight, Technology

Learning Online pt.1

May 17, 2011 Leave a comment

Next week I am participating in a online course development initiative at VCU. I am really excited to learn about the various tools that can be use to support online learning because it combines two of my interests, technology and learning. It is going to be a pretty intensive week but I hope to share some of my insights here. I hope you will check back to see what I have learned and perhaps share some of your own insights or reactions.

Filed under Education, Technology

Creating Knowledge-Able Students

April 25, 2011 Leave a comment

A recent post by Nancy Smyth on Life skills for the digital age really got me thinking about technology and education. Although her post was partly on technology and one’s own life, as soon as I read it I couldn’t help but think about some of my students and mine own experiences in social work education. If you haven’t read Nancy’s post, go read it and leave a comment, it’s a great post. Bare with me for the rest of this post as I have thought about it for a week now and finally decide to just let it go. Thanks in advance for reading 🙂

In regards to learning new digital skills I agree it is critically important to remember to Disconnect. I personally have found it refreshing to take walks and enjoy nature as a way of generating inspiration and overcoming bloggers block. Nancy also points to Mindfulness and how it is important to observe and learn about how choices and habits affect individuals. In the digital realm I think that Social Presence Theory offers some insight here. Social Presence Theory was develop long ago, but it is very relevant in today’s computer mediated world. Social presence is the amount of awareness involved in an interaction, where face-to-face interaction has the most social presence. Because of the variety of technology available today, social presence online has dramatically increased. However, I think that Mindfulness still comes into play here because we need to be cognizant of our presence online. To often people take the anonymity that comes along from sitting behind their keyboard as a medium for hurtful comments, see YouTube if you don’t believe me 🙂 I also believe you could look at the effects of Cyber Bullying the impact it has on individuals. The point here is that as technology advances, our interaction online also advances and we need to be aware of what we Tweet, Upload, or post.

The question posted by Nancy was ultimately begins to address what skills we need to teach our Children. This is a very valid question, especially since I think about the implications of watching YouTube videos with my daughter and the effect the Internet is going to have on her life. I never had any discussions about Internet appropriateness from my parents, grant it they didn’t really understand the whole Internet other than telling me not to look at any Adult websites. Programs, policies, and the like are being developed everyday that focus on some of these issues so I am going to move onto something that’s closer to me and where I initially thought this post was going before I got side tracked by the Theory side of things 🙂

Technology in social work education. That is what I wanted to blog about since reading Nancy’s post, and I decided to finally finish this post today since after visiting with some of my Field Students and having a bit of a conversation on this topic it is at the forefront of my mind. The views expressed here are of my own (incase I haven’t included this elsewhere). My experience with technology is social work education is not unlike what my students have been telling me today. Basically that they are not getting some basic and necessary skills that will make them an effective practitioner. Their gripe was that they have not had any courses on using Excel for example, and that many have to learn it on their own. I understand that in some ways other courses will offer this type of learning but I wonder if social work education could offer it in a way that will help students to see the relevance of knowing technology? I know for instance that many nonprofit organizations would greatly benefit from knowledge on how to use Excel, and other technologies, to advance their mission. I also think that social work educators could incorporate more technology into their curriculum in a way that address some of these basic needs. Now what about social technologies: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc? How can we used these tools to advance social work education? For me it begins with what Dr. Wesch from Kansas State University calls creating Knowledge-Able students.

Dr. Wesch uses social media technologies in a way that encourages collaboration and motivates students to learn. His methods are rather attractive and I must say I struggle to do half of what he demonstrates in the video below. If you have some time it’s definitely worth watching. In the video, Dr. Wesch challenges some of the basic assumptions of learning by utilizing social media in the classroom and encouraging participation online. I don’t want to re-hash the entire video as I am sure that if you watch it, you will take away your own insights that are meaningful for you.

The biggest thing that I take away from this is that collaboration is more possible now than it was before, or perhaps I should say it is easier now than it was before. The other thing that is exciting is seeing students become motivated to learn and share in a way that enhances the overall experience. Participation and dialogue is what makes learning fun, at least it does for me, and it seems that more and more students are craving this type of learning. I wont say that this is easy, but I think that it can be worth it. I will blog more about my experience as I am trying to implement more of this style into my summer course. Wish me Luck 🙂

Okay, well this is getting a bit long, but to wrap it up I think that identifying and learning digital life skills will be extremely important and likely to be done earlier in one’s education. However, I also think that in social work education it is ripe for implementation into the curriculum. Instead of simply dismissing the notion by saying it can’t/shouldn’t be done, I think that we should ask our students about it or even how to do it. That’s my plan for the first day of summer school anyways. By utilizing technology in this way I think it creates opportunities for discussion around mindfulness and social presence online as well as offline. I think that through these experiences we can do just as Dr. Wesch states, “Create knowledge-Able students.
Let me know what you think and leave a comment.

Filed under Education, Futures & Foresight, Technology

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