Social networking. . .are you hip to it? Are you someone who got in early on the MySpace craze, did you just start Facebooking, Tweeting. . . are you LinkedIn? It seems like everyone is doing it. . . Moms, Dads, grandparents, kids. . . everyone is staying "connected" using some form of social networking.
It has worked great for me for both personal and professional reasons. It has reconnected me with friends from years ago, it keeps me connected with my current friends and family members, it connects me with people who have similar interests, it allows me to make announcements regarding new projects, properties and advances we have made at Nightstand Creations, and it has even reconnected me with a legion of "new" friends, who were a major part of my life some 15 years ago - who make me feel both proud and a little bit old. That legion is made up of former students of mine, who have now grown and become adults. . . parents. . . active contributors to society. =) I love this reconnection and enjoy their energy. It is great knowing where they came from and seeing how they have evolved.
One former student is really embracing this social media . . "craze?" kind of old to be a craze still, it is kind of now its own thing.
He asked the question in his blog about the idea of social media becoming a curriculum.
The Internet in schools is approximately 15 years old, and schools are just adopting policies that require teachers to maintain regularly updated websites. Social networking is 5 years old. Technology is more readily used by teachers, so I will give the benefit of the doubt to my former colleagues and say that it won't take 15 years to adopt the new technology, this time it will take them only 10. =)
Then again, it won't be "new" any longer, which still falls into the mold of the beauracracy-driven education industry will be last to the game, instead of first or second. . . . which our children and nation deserves.
Very intuitive post, Randy. I, for one, am very grateful for the reconnections I have made through the use of social media platforms. I always found it very interesting to see how former classmates, teachers, and even relatives I have lost touch with are doing. I as well am very proud of how far they all have come, what they have grown to be, and what they intend to do. It is almost like a "rebirth" for some. And the great thing is it seems to be getting much cooler and much better.
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis on when you predict social media might fully integrate into a curriculum. I can imagine the notion being a bit scary for teachers whose pride keeps their classrooms closed. But I have always felt strongly that no amount of learning outside the classroom, at least from a digital perspective, will ever stand up to the emotion and exuberance that a teacher in an actual classroom has to offer. Through experience and memory and pure personal opinion, learning in a classroom will never come secondary to what is offered online.