In the last few months, we’ve posted articles sharing 10 Beneficial Facebook Pages For Educators To Check Out and 7 Twitter Users to Follow If You Are Interested in Education Technology, both of which were received enthusiastically. Today we bring follow this with another set of social networking resources focused on education – Linkedin Groups for educators. We examined dozens of these groups and selected a cross section of popular groups to share with readers.

Linkedin groups are a great way to connect with like-minded professionals and participate in online discussions about topics of interest. Click through and consider joining one or more of these groups (and if you’re not on Linkedin already, your failing to leverage the premier social networking site for professionals).

Thanks to Roxanne Peterson and Laura Backes for their contributions to the creation of this article.

Note: A couple of these links seem to require you to be signed in to LinkedIn but most do not.

International Association of Academic Professionals
“The International Association of Academic Professionals is a non-profit professional organization whose mission is to passionately provide the promotion, development and support needed for academic professionals to become dynamic, mobile, flexible, and entrepreneurial anywhere in the world.”

Teacher’s Lounge
“Are you a K-12 teacher who needs to network with other teachers from all around the world? Are you an expert in general education or special education? Do you have a math, reading, science, or Admin. idea that really works at your school/campus and would like to share it with others? Share it today!”

Higher Education Management
“Networking and information sharing for (20,000+) management professionals working in the higher education industry. Members are professionals in colleges, textbook publishing, educational technology, enrollment management, administration software, marketing/ recruiting firms, and fundraising.”

Online Faculty – Adjunct, Full-Time, University Administrators, and Instructional Designers
“This group is for people who are adjunct online faculty or those who wish to become adjunct online faculty. College administrators, instructional designers, and education recruiters are welcome to join also. There is also a Job Board for posting positions for online positions in Higher Education.”

Technology Integration in Education
“A professional network of teachers, educators, and business people interested in integrating technology into the education of students. Members help develop new innovative ways to develop an educational atmosphere where technology is seamlessly incorporated into the everyday learning of students.”

Higher Education Teaching and Learning
“The International Higher Education Teaching and Learning (HETL) Association is a non-profit organization and a global community of higher education professionals who are committed to advancing the scholarship and practice of teaching and learning in higher education.”

GAIN – Global Academic Innovation Network
“The Global Academic Innovation Network (GAIN) is an international technology transfer group. The goal is to make connections for universities and businesses from around the world for collaboration, commercialization and economic development. Let’s solve a world problem through GAIN, improve existing technology, and increase world trade. Let’s make a difference. “

E-Learning 2.0
“This group is dedicated to serving the online education community with the latest news, instructional design techniques and technologies of eLearning. If you are a trainer, instructional designer and/or educator, please join us and share your thoughts and experiences.”

About the Contributors:
Roxanne Peterson a social media expert as well as an expert in internet communications and technologies. She has an all round expertise in internet services including unlimited broadband. With an intense knowledge of the latest developments in the field she likes to share them with her readers through her blogs and articles regularly.

Laura Backes enjoys writing about all kinds of subjects and also topics related to internet service providers in my area.

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
10 Beneficial Facebook Pages For Educators To Check Out
7 Twitter Users to Follow If You Are Interested in Education Technology
11 Reasons Why Every College Student Needs a LinkedIn Page

A great mix of individual experts and enthusiasts and education technology professionals to follow and stay informed with.

Guest post by Maria Rainier.

Though Twitter’s contribution to the world of social media and progressive society was at one time a strongly argued point, there is no doubt today that the popular social media platform has become a valuable tool for various aspects of education. Sure, Twitter can be the perfect place to waste hours on mundane details about people’s lives or worthless celebrity gossip. But, the microblogging platform also enables us to create and participate in meaningful conversations concerning education, technology, and society.

Twitter has played a growing role in technology within the classroom and in promoting education technology to the world. These Twitter users are worth following for anyone wishing to keep abreast of, or learn more about, the ever-evolving world of education technology.

Teach Paperless
Focused specifically on teaching, Teach Paperless delivers an open conversation about how the digital revolution can and has influenced the way in which we teach and learn. While this feed is largely focused on primary education, the technology discussed throughout each and every day on this Twitter affects all forms of learning at every level. Teach Paperless provides numerous useful tips for classroom teaching and works to involve its followers in the conversation as much as possible.

Inside Higher Ed
This Twitter page (though fairly impersonal) provides a wonderful snapshot of the latest trends and news concerning technology in higher education. Maintained by Steve Kolowich, the Inside Higher Ed Tech Twitter discusses things like MIT open courseware, Khan Academy, the Kindle Fire, and how these and many other technological innovations impact the world of education and academia. This feed supplies its readers with high quality content on important aspects of higher education and technology.

Audrey Watters
Writing about education technology, open education, and academia in modern society, Audrey Watters offers intelligent insights with a fresh and fun voice. Linking her tweets with her Hack Education blog, Watters uses this space to muse her thoughts on technology education and the direction of education in our increasingly more technological world. (As with most individuals’ Twitter activity, it is only natural that Ms. Watters also interacts on a more personal level here from time to time).

Wired Campus
As the Twitter feed for The Chronicle of Higher Education’s technology blog, Wired Campus examines how technology influences the world of higher education. As one of the most active ed tech blogs/Twitters in the Twittersphere, this feed is a great one to follow to stay current with new technology waves being made in academia. While Wired Campus has a focus on higher ed, much of what they cover offers insights and technological information relevant to K-12.

Scott McLeod
Filled with regular inspiring “mind dumps”, links to new and interesting digital libraries, and a slew of useful online “bookmarks” to useful tools and discussions, Scott McLeod’s Twitter provides a wonderful platform to enter the tech ed conversation. Scott McLeod runs the blog Dangerously Irrelevant, dedicated to discussing “technology, leadership, and the future of schools.” McLeod has a strong voice with tons of intelligent and thought provoking things to say about education, technology, and modern society.

eCampus News
Discussing college education and technology, the eCampus News Twitter provides information on how universities are incorporating technology into their programs to improve education. With links to articles about new gadgets and gizmos in the education world, discussions of all the latest news in higher ed, and serious explorations of important issues in academia, eCampus News is a goldmine for education technology enthusiasts.

Howard Rheingold
Howard Rheingold runs the online learning community site for Rheingold University, providing the public with live sessions and various forums on material covered within a traditional college classroom throughout a five week period. With experience as an online and classroom professor at the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University, Rheingold offers invaluable insight into technology education. This Twitter feed provides interesting quips into the world of higher education and revolutionary technologies.

Do you have any (other) Twitter users or Twitter tags that you like to follow to learn about and participate in the online dialogue about education and instructional technologies? Please comment and tell us about them.

Author Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online colleges, online degrees etc. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
4 Great Twitter Applications for Teachers Using Twitter In The Classroom
10 Beneficial Facebook Pages For Educators To Check Out
8 Great TED Talks About The Future Of Education And Teaching

A selection of Facebook Pages providing resources and dialogue focused on education and instructional technologies.

Like most Facebook users, many educators use Facebook to connect with friends new and old, but the Internet’s most popular site can also be a great learning (and teaching) tool. There are many Facebook pages that have been created as a resource to collect, share, and disseminate information about education and education technologies. Here’s 10 of our favorites.

Facebook In Education
http://www.facebook.com/education

Facebook in Education examines ways in which Facebook is being used in an educational context. Based on our search for pages focused on education, this is by far the most widely recognized page in the category, with over 350,000 “likes” (unfortunately, that level of popularity also means that many discussions are somewhat polluted with inane input). There are some interesting topics discussed here, and some worthwhile input from educators.

National Education Association
http://www.facebook.com/NEA.ORG

A popular and active page. “The National Education Association represents 3.2 million members committed to ensuring a great public education for all students. Use this page to learn more about NEA and to engage in discussion on how we can work together to improve public education.”

ISTE
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ISTE/8828374188

The ISTE is the International Society for Technology in Education and their goal is to provide “leadership and service to improve teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in education.”

NAEYC – National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.facebook.com/NAEYC

Founded in 1926, “NAEYC’s mission is to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources.” This popular Page lets users post on their wall, and there are a wide variety of topics there for consideration and discussion.

ASCD
http://www.facebook.com/ascd.org

“ASCD is a membership organization that develops programs, products, and services essential to the way educators learn, teach, and lead.” This is an active page, and we were impressed with the content and types of dialogues under way there.

#EdChat
http://www.facebook.com/EdchatPLN

This is a different type of group – #Edchat is Twitter based. In their own words, “#Edchat is a hashtag discussion among educators from all over the world on education related topics. It happens every Tuesday at Noon EDT and 7PM EDT. To join us simply follow the #Edchat hashtag on Twitter!” The Facebook Page keeps users up on discussion topics, and provides additional resources.

Edutopia
http://www.facebook.com/edutopia

Another popular page, supporting a non-profit organization. “Edutopia is where The George Lucas Educational Foundation’s vision to highlight what works in education comes to life. Edutopia provides stories integrating creative uses of technology with effective teaching and learning. Edutopia’s audience includes educators, parents, school board members, university faculty, community-based organizations, and the business community — all groups working to create better schools for the twenty-first century.”

Education Week
http://www.facebook.com/edweek

“Education Week is American education’s newspaper of record. Our reporters, researchers, and bloggers cover local, state, and national education news and issues from preschool through the high school transition to college and career.”

Free Technology For Teachers
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Technology-for-Teachers/191553219314?ref=ts&sk=wall

The Facebook Page for Richard Byrne’s popular web site and blog, providing a constant stream of new free instructional technology resources for the classroom.

Connect A Million Minds
http://www.facebook.com/ConnectaMillionMinds

“Connect a Million Minds is Time Warner Cable’s $100 million community commitment to connect youth to ideas, people and opportunities that will inspire them to become the problem solvers of tomorrow.” These folks are doing great stuff.

[Bonus Page!] EmergingEdTech
http://www.facebook.com/EmergingEdTech

(Well you didn’t think we’d overlook our own Page did you? ) The EmergingEdTech Facebo0k Page is certainly a worthwhile resource, where we share blog posts, video blog entries, free upcoming web events, contests, and more. Be sure to stop by and check it out today!

Do you have favorite Facebook Pages that you think other educators would like to know about? Please share them in a comment. Thanks!

This blog post was written in collaboration with Daniel Offer. Daniel is the Managing Director of the Facebook software Chit Chat for Facebook.

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
Facebook in the Classroom. Seriously.
4 Great Twitter Applications for Teachers Using Twitter In The Classroom
10 Excellent iPad Applications for Teachers

There are openings for classes outside of the US and Canada to participate in this innovative project.

Many of you may remember Amy (“Miss Night”) from the post, “Inspiring Learning Outcomes with Twitter in the Kindergarten Classroom”. Amy is Project Coordinator for Kindergarten Around The World, and they are welcoming classes across the world who might wish to participate in this fun program.

Kindergarten Around The World is, “a Twitter-based virtual exchange project between kindergarten classes in different countries. It was piloted in the early spring of 2011, using 8 kindergarten classes (4 classrooms in Canada, and their partner classes in Indonesia, the Philippines, the USA, and France).”

They are hoping to expand the project for the 2011-2012 school year, so if you are interested, please click here to sign up. (Signing up does not commit you to anything – it just gets you on the list so that when the school year starts, someone can reach out and follow up on your interest and eligibility).

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
100 Ways to Teach With Twitter
Social Learning With Social Networking Tools Designed Just For Education
More than a third of Higher Education Faculty are on Twitter

KiwiCommons provides a space for young students to ease into web browsing with ‘Internet Immunity’.

Guest Post by Tim Szeto

The emergence of the digital generation means educators have had to change their teaching methods to include technology in the classroom to keep students engaged. With this emerging technology, however, we are also opening the doors to the world wide web. And those doors are wide open for students to rush through, without the right tools.

So how do we properly introduce the Internet to students, without thrusting them into a realm where distracting content and online risks reside?

Building “Internet Immunity”
The Experts from Kiwi Commons believe that helping build a child’s Internet immunity is the best way to equip them with the right skills to make good and responsible decisions online. Just like in the real world where children need to be exposed to their outside environment to build an immunity to certain germs and bacteria, children also need to build an immunity to the risks of the online world. A filtered Internet helps shelter children from these dangers, but as they grow older, they need to be eased off the sheltering, into a completely unfiltered web. The process however, is a gradual one and involves a period of time in which the child is using a partially filtered web. Without this immunity to the Internet, students are likely to fall on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Internet Immunity needs to develop over time, and because of this it is important that online learning be guided through appropriate content. A major part of building Internet Immunity is teaching young people that their online actions, no matter how minor, have a much larger audience than their actions do in the real world. The consequences can be unexpected and could potentially expose a child to risk. 

We need to teach and reinforce core skills so that we all understand key facts about online activity, including:

• How the Internet works
• What kind of dangers exist online
• What can be done to keep personal information private

There is a wide range of tools out there to help educators teach students these online skills. Google Safe Search is a great tool for teachers to filter web content and ensures that no inappropriate content is available through search engine results. However, the one major downfall of Google Safe Search is the advertisements. The ads on the popular search engine are not filtered and many times, illicit content shows up on the automated ads.

YouTube also has it’s own filtering. Safety Mode is a great way to make use of educational media, from Montessori activities to videos from Ivy league universities. The video sharing website hosts a wide range of classroom-appropriate material that teachers can utilize without having to worry about all the distractions that tend to come with using the website.

Introducing KiwiCommons
Kiwi created its own tool in partnership with open{subnet}. The Safe Webspace Project (webspaces.kiwicommons.com) is helping to build safe areas for students to surf within, tailored to specific age groups — 8 and under, 9-13, and 14-17. These spaces can be utilized by educators in the classroom to help ensure students are not viewing inappropriate material, while also giving them the freedom to use a socially curated search engine to find their own content.

Educators can further utilize these spaces, specifically the one designed for kids aged 8 and under, along with Google’s Safe Search and YouTube’s safety mode, to introduce the Internet in the classroom at a younger grade — as young as preschool.

With the help of open{subnet}’s services — a tool that allows users to create their own webspaces, based on any interest or topic — teachers can find or create spaces that are customized to the needs of a specific class or lesson, such as Math, English, Social Studies or World History. These spaces can help keep students focused on the topic at hand, and will also help to eliminate online distractions.

To implement these spaces further, teachers can make use of Iglu, an Internet safety software that can secure classroom computers to these safe webspaces. This helps ensure kids are surfing safely, even when they are not being closely supervised.

For Internet safety resources, news and tips on how to engage your students in the classroom using relevant topics, visit http://www.kiwicommons.com/.

To learn more about the Safe Webspace Project, visit webspaces.kiwicommons.com.

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
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Fun tool for the classroom – simple Crossword Puzzle maker!

Instructional uses of social networking software can provide opportunities for learning, connecting, and engagement.

This year, I’ve written frequently about popular social media tools, and education-specific social networking apps. I’ve also noticed increasing coverage of this topic in the media recently. Maybe it’s just me paying more attention to it … or maybe it signals an increasing acceptance of these types of tools as legitimate and effective resources for the classroom.

Social networking tools aren’t going away any time soon, they appear to be here for the long term. But do these kinds of applications really belong in the classroom? I think they do, and here are a few reasons why:

7 ways in which “social learning applications” can play an impactful role in education:

Engagement: Using social media and networking tools obviously has a social aspect to it, and it requires proactive effort on the part of the user. In other words, using these tools to communicate and interact requires a student’s active engagement. Socialization also provides opportunities for emotional engagement (this article from The Chronicle discusses the importance of emotional engagement as part of the social learning process).

Social Learning: Bandura’s Social Learning Theory posits that “people learn from one another, via observation, imitation, and modeling”. Of course, the type of socialization that occurs via “social” computer tools is certainly different than face-to-face social interaction, but it still offers opportunities for social learning.

Use time outside of class better, so you can use class time better: Social learning tools also position instructors to deliver content outside of the classroom, and then “flip” the classroom – working on what would have been homework during class sometimes. (And yes, this is the same idea I loved from Salman Khan’s recent TED talk the other week).

It provides opportunities for writing and writing assessment: While tools like Twitter lend themselves to abbreviated “texting” style uses of language, there is no need for this in most other forums. Teachers can choose to include grading of writing quality as part of the rubrics they develop for grading social media based assignments and class work.

Encourage dialogue, reach more students: It’s social! “Let’s talk”! Sometimes anything that can draw out reluctant teens and pre-teens is a good thing when the goal is to communicate. One clear advantage of socializing across the Internet is that it is seen as less intimidating that face to face contact, and can allow shy students to express themselves more comfortably.

Help students get ahead of the professional curve: One of the fundamental goals of education is to position young people for enjoyable, successful careers. Social media is becoming more important to business with each passing year. Many organizations have moved from just discussing ”social media awareness” and “social marketing” to including actually social media business planning as part of their strategic planning efforts. An increasing number of professional positions desire or require social media awareness, and it seems likely that more positions will call for this skill in the future.

Build connections: Using social networking tools to deliver social learning experiences in the classroom provides opportunities to meet other students and have access (depending on the tools being used) to other educators and professionals. Maintaining connections and communicating with these new colleagues has never been easier, thanks to these Internet based applications.

As an added bonus, there are foundations like the Jenzabar Foundation (from software company Jenzabar software) that offer a scholarship opportunity to those who are social media aware.

Of course, it’s a pain that many of these tools are also blocked on school’s networks (hopefully this list can help you make the case for unblocking some of these sites at your school!). I do also realize that these tools can be used in a distracting way, and expose kids to inappropriate content, so there must always be an appropriate level of guidance, selection of tools, and oversight.

Learning More
If you’re new to Social Learning, and are thinking about learning some more about these tools (maybe over the summer, if you’re a teacher who is off during those months), here’s a set of posts that discuss the use of mass market tools Facebook and Twitter in class work, as well various education-specific tools like Edmodo and Room21.

• Facebook in the Classroom. Seriously.
• Facebook Summit 2011, an Excellent Academic Use of the Popular Internet App
• 100 Ways to Teach With Twitter
• Inspiring Learning Outcomes with Twitter in the Kindergarten Classroom
• Social Learning With Social Networking Tools Designed Just For Education
• TakingITGlobal – Social Learning With A Global Consciousness

If you’re a regular reader (and I hope you are ), you know we love to hear comments and insights from other readers, so please click here and let us know about your experiences with social media in the classroom, your questions, or any other reasons you think social learning tools are a good idea!

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
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Come meet Aristotle Bedford, Vlad Dracul Bedfordii, and Tommy Jefferson Bedford … and the teacher and students who created them!

Canadian 9th Grade ELA Teacher Richard Cossette developed this highly engaging and fun project for his students, with Facebook playing a central role. Mr. Cossette did a wonderful job of defining and executing this, and I am delighted to be able to share his work here.

I am going to publish this post in two parts – the first part will lay out the basic concept behind the project, and the assignment. Part two (which I will publish next Sunday) will provide examples of some of the work done by students who participated in the project, and a look at the how this project met specific learning objectives met.

The Idea
The process begins with the distribution of this well designed introductory pamphlet.  Next, conversations occur regarding expectations, privacy issues, and cyber-etiquette.  These are wonderful learning moments as the students are eager to begin and highly willing to consider these issues as they think about how they will accomplish the task of “becoming” a historical person in the modern age.

The summit begins once each and every student has chosen a person, had the selection approved, and created an acceptable Facebook profile. From here on, the Summit is largely dictated by the student contributions.  Aristotle acts merely as facilitator.  The summit lasts 1-2 weeks and culminates in some sort of democratic simulation, be it election or referendum. Students must keep their identity a secret until the summit conclusion. Students are asked to reflect upon their experiences and write about these reflections as a final evaluation (more evaluation breakdown in pamphlet).

The Assignment
Below I have provided a few of the assignment specifics (from the pamphlet), to give further insights into this fun project:

Part I – Choose a leader/thinker from any time in history and design a Facebook campaign in an attempt to help them become the newly appointed World Leader.

• Research your leader, obtaining all the information required to create a Facebook profile.
• Research and identify your leader’s views on the following: worldview, political ideology, human rights, etc.
• Either locate a series of at least 10 quotes from your historical figure that summarize their views, or write a series of your own, or both.  These shall become Status Updates to be posted 2x daily during the week-long summit.

In one fold of the pamphlet, Cossette poses this compelling thought piece to provide additional background and capture the student’s interests and imaginations:

Will your leader have what it takes to influence the course of history?”
“We live in a time of unprecedented technological growth and political upheaval.  This is indeed the most exciting time in the history of our species.
We also live in a time of great crisis however.  Climate change, water, food shortages, energy, poverty, and the threat of nuclear devastation are but a few of the challenges we face as a globe.
Thanks to recent advancements in time travel, we can now address these issues with the help of the greatest leaders and thinkers of all time.
Welcome to Facebook Summit 2011, A one-of-a-kind event of unprecedented importance!”

Part II – Post-Summit Reflection
As the conference winds down, students are asked to write a response to the following questions:

• How do we avoid a potentially devastating global Collapse?
• What key factors must we consider?
• What role can our knowledge about the past play?
• What specific actions are required?
• How must our current worldview change?

Next Week
Please return next week as we learn about several of the engaging characters that the students have created (for a sneak peek, here’s one example), review student feedback, and learn about how the project connects to defined learning objectives from Saskatchewan’s education curriculum.

My sincere thanks to Richard Cossette for sharing this wonderful work and all this great content with us!

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
Facebook In The Classroom. Seriously.
Do you use Facebook or Twitter in the classroom (or know someone who does)?
Facebook as an Instructional Technology Tool
Inspiring Learning Outcomes with Twitter in the Kindergarten Classroom

This online community empowers students everywhere to understand and act on the world’s greatest challenges.

TakingITGlobal has been around since 1999 and is a pioneer in the use of social networking to encourage global citizenship through collaborative projects for students and educators. TakingITGlobal (TIG) has partnered with thousands of schools and organizations, from just about every country, to inspire, inform, and involve youth worldwide.     

TIG considers ‘youth’ to include people between the ages of 15 and 30, “who show some level of being globally aware and engaged as socially responsible leaders of their communities.” Their mission can be summarized as, “enabling … a collaborative learning community which provides youth with access to global opportunities, cross-cultural connections and meaningful participation in decision-making … utilizing internet technologies to cultivate youth leadership and engagement in social issues.”     

This video provides a quick overview of TakingItGlobal:     

The following excerpts of TIG “Impact Stories” provide insight into the way that TakingITGlobal is effecting young lives across the world:

Joel from Vanuatu
“Reading about all the projects, events, and member profiles on TakingITGlobal actually propelled me to think, “Well, what can I do?” I got to thinking about how, in my community, even though there are many young people, not much is being done to address youth issues or to enable young people to actively participate and be engaged in their community. There is especially a lack of space for youth. So I’ve been working on establishing a local youth drop-in centre, where young people can come together to learn about and discuss the issues that are important to them. Together, we can motivate and support each other. I have found about 10 other youth who are really keen and interested in launching this project with me, but it’s hard to get everyone together. However, I always say, “Come on guys, let’s do this!” and I’m starting to feel that this is my main call in life. I’ve been reading the personal stories and experiences of TIG members and how they’re taking action, and this has been a good way to learn about best practices and help me develop an action plan. In this sense, TakingITGlobal motivates and inspires me to continue and to get this youth centre established.”     

Laura from Mexico
“Through TIG, I … became more conscious and knowledgeable about global issues like the environment, poverty and the MDGs, different cultures and religions, and how I could personally make a difference … TIG has helped me to realize that we can still make a difference no matter where we are in life …I always incorporate and promote global issues into my articles.     

On top of my writing, I also work as a professional speaker, and almost all of my speeches are for youth. One of my speeches focuses on the Millennium Development Goals. Talking about issues like eradicating poverty and promoting universal education really inspires the high school and university students who listen to my speeches: they get really passionate and want to take action to change the world. So, at the end of my presentation, I always give them a few websites and Mexican associations with which they can get involved, and TIG is always on that list. I always tell them, “Okay guys, if you want to participate, if you want to get involved, go visit TakingITGlobal,” because I know that on TIG, they can find other youth who are also working passionately on global issues; they can find projects; they can learn; they can find opportunities.”     

Mohammed from Iraq
“The general atmosphere of TIG is one of understanding, activism and change. That makes you want to take action, to be a part of this community and to step up and change things. My first attempts at taking action in my community didn’t work out well: I tried to initiate a few projects, but due to the security levels and bureaucracy, they didn’t work out. But I think ultimately, if one just keeps trying, then things will work out. That’s what happened with me: after joining an online project on TIG called Student Voices, I learned a lot about new educational methods and integrating ICTs in education. From that, I am now working on a project with a local school to provide them with ICTs.     

The old-fashioned educational system, the terrible security levels, and the red lines in society concerning religion and politics all play factors in discouraging youth from getting involved and taking action. There are Iraqi youth who are really passionate about certain issues, but they haven’t been taking action because they don’t know how. What Iraqi youth need is to be exposed to youth-led projects and examples of stories where youth made a change and took action, and this is where TakingITGlobal can have the most impact in our country.”     

There is another section of the site that contains more reflections from members, in a more structured format. The “Member Stories” section includes feedback from educators about the issues that matter to them and how TIG has helped them pursue their goals and make a difference. 

TakingITGlobal is a wonderful example of how social networking technologies can be leveraged to make a real impact and inspire people everywhere to take action and make a difference. I encourage readers to stop by the TIG website to learn more, and consider signing up and getting involved!

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
Announcing ShoutLearning, where students can take environmental action while learning
Social Learning With Social Networking Tools Designed Just For Education
Inspiring Learning Outcomes with Twitter in the Kindergarten Classroom

This teacher’s work with Twitter is building connections across the globe, and inspiring learning here at home.

I first learned about Amy Night’s use of Twitter in her kindergarten classroom when she submitted the following comment in response to the post, “Do you use Facebook or Twitter in the classroom (or know someone who does)?” back in February:

“I am a kindergarten teacher, using Twitter in my classroom as a tool to connect my students to a larger, international community, of kindergarteners. I blogged about it here: http://missnightmutters.blogspot.com/. Just recently the entire kindergarten team (4 teachers) at my school created twitter accounts for their classes, and we are using them as part of a “Kindergarten Around the World” virtual exchange project.”

Naturally I stopped by her blog and started reading. I loved her story, and decided right then and there I wanted to write about it here. When I recently sat down and started reviewing her work to try and put together an article, I found her March post, “I heard them say, love is the way”, and it occurred to me that I really couldn’t add anything to this, and that I really wanted to share it here. I asked Miss Night if I could republish her story here, and she kindly granted me permission. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I HEARD THEM SAY, LOVE IS THE WAY 
(originally published on http://missnightmutters.blogspot.com/)

A few weeks ago, we started a new project in my classroom: Kindergarten Around the World. I will spare you the minute details (hit me in the comments if you want to know more), but it is, basically, a virtual exchange between our class, and a partner class overseas. For my 20 Canadian munchkins, we found a partner group in East Borneo, Indonesia. Both classes have created an imaginary friend, who attends our partner school. (For the curious, our imaginary friend is a little girl named Ella. She is 6 years old, she has blond hair, brown eyes, and brown skin. Her gender and name were decided by vote. Her age and appearance were drawn at random.) We use Twitter to ask research questions of our partners, and the answers allow us to write stories documenting our imaginary friend’s experience in another country. Each child has a journal for the project, where they record things they have learned. It being kindergarten, the recording mostly takes the form of drawings. The children dictate text to go with their drawings, and then copy that text onto their pages. We are working on a Prezi presentation to share our learning with parents and other classes. We have made a video to teach our “Indonesia friends” about snow and how to get dressed for recess when it is very cold.

When my team conceived of this project, I knew it was going to be cool. As mentioned in my previous post about Twitter in kindergarten, I love love LOVE that my students are building real connections with other children their own age. This project brought it to another level, by pushing them to imagine themselves in a completely different setting. (As we graph the often FIFTY degree difference in our daily temperatures, I often imagine MYSELF in a completely different setting, too!) I knew that this project was going to take us in unexpected directions, and there is no doubt that it has. In the 3 weeks since it started, we have learned:

Every single time we log in, we learn.

Are you using one of these education-specific Social Learning applications?

Last week’s article, “Facebook in the Classroom. Seriously”, was the first in a series focused on the use of social networking tools in the classroom. I am writing this series of articles as part of my preparation for a presentation on the subject at this year’s Campus Technology 2011 conference. In addition to looking at popular tools like Facebook and Twitter, I also want to be able to recommend a number of worthwhile education-specific platforms.

Using applications that are intended solely for education eliminates concerns about exposing students to the inappropriate types of content found on popular mass market social networking tools.

One challenge in examining these types of tools is that of definition – what makes a tool a “social networking” application? One simple way to define a social networking platform might be, “a tool that lets students, parents, and educators collaborate online”. I would also want to add the requirement that the application allow educators to make pages and forums that are course-specific and not wide open to everyone using the application.

There is a lot of categorical over-lap with online social tools for education. For example, while looking for the best free online Course Management Systems in this recent series of posts, there were sites I came across that marketed themselves as CMS tools, but the functionality they offered seemed to be more focused on providing social networking utility. Another big area for crossover functionality is the Student Information System. There are apps out there that mix elements of online collaboration with elements of traditional CMS and/or SIS software, and even Portal functionality. While specifically categorizing every tool out there is not essential, it does help when discussing which sites do what, and how well each of them provides for these different types of utility.

Below, I take a shot at introducing a handful of tools that I think are best categorized as “Social Learning” tools (a phrase that I think reflects a main goal of using social networking functionality in the education setting). These are all designed for use by educational institutions.

Room 21
Room 21 is a recently launched “21st Century Social Learning Platform”. John Zoccola from Superstar Learning (Room 21′s parent company), recently wrote to me explaining that educators, ”are using a new social learning and achievement platform called Room21. It is a Facebook-like environment designed for peer collaboration and to create Learning Communities online.” The site allows all members of the learning community - students, parents, teachers, and administrators, to become engaged in the process. Room 21 is free to use.

Edmodo
Edmodo is a popular free tool that provides an array of workgroup and social learning functionality to educators. The folks at Edmodo have done a great job of introducing ”Social Learning” and their application in their great introductory video. Unfortunately, the way the video is delivered on their site, I can’t provide a direct link to it - you have to click on the video link in the upper right hand corner of their home page. (It would be a good idea for these folks to make this video available on YouTube to help spread the word, and to enable bloggers like myself to help spread it for them!).

ePals LearningSpace
An interesting looking robust application environment for schools. Among the functionality offered:

• Structured Community: Every school or district can create multiple online groups for individual classrooms, projects, extracurricular activities, and more.
• Digital Lockers: Online storage area to store and share personal school files including documents, photos, video, and audio.
• Full Web 2.0 Toolkit: School-safe email, blogs, wikis, forums, and media galleries embedded into every group.
• Classroom Connect: Enables group owners to invite other groups to connect and form a new collaboration space to work on educational projects.

LearningSpace is one of several offerings from ePals, and it is not free. Unfortunately, the only reference I could find to costs is their section on E-rate Funding (LearningSpace is 95% eligible for E-Rate funding).

TheSchoolsUnited
Their banner exclaims, “Free Online Networking For Schools”. TheSchoolsUnited website’s About Page explains that it, “is the first networking site dedicated solely to the education community worldwide. It provides schools and staff with the free facility to share educational resources and experiences”. The site lets you share video, audio and photos. Users can create communities, and educators with a common interest, “can share resources, opinions and experiences relating to that subject with other schools and staff worldwide. The aim is to keep everyone and everything as up-to-date as possible – a live arena for all your educational interests”. Browsing their list of schools, they appear to have hundreds of client schools.

Edutopia
Edutopia’s Core Strategies page shows rather elegantly via this interactive graphic that their approach combines Social & Emotional Learning, Project Learning, Integrated Studies, and more, to deliver a well rounded online environment for education. Edutopia is a widely used, free, robust learning community.

Do you use one of these social networking platforms, or another one, in your school or classroom?
The ultimate goal of this post is to seek feedback from readers like you, about your experiences with tools like these. This feedback helps to determine which sites are most worthy of recommendation, and we often learn about other applications through reader comments. Please don’t hesitate to share your experiences, insights, or questions. Thanks.

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
Do you use Facebook or Twitter in the classroom (or know someone who does)?
Facebook In The Classroom. Seriously.
Collaboration & Brainstorming Tools (Part 3 – Edmodo)
Exploring the Classroom2.0 Website