The Importance of Social Media ~ Haiti

Tweet About a month ago I was at a Christmas Open House with a group of teachers. The conversation turned to Twitter and Facebook. Someone mentioned that I was the one who knew all about it. One of the retired teachers wanted to know what the big deal was. She just didn't get it.

I tried to explain, but it was difficult. First, I don't know all about it; I'm still learning. Second, I love Twitter and Facebook, but to try to explain its appeal is a challenge. I said that I had been able to contact friends and relatives on Facebook that I hadn't talked to for years. I also explained that by being a fan of news networks on Facebook and following the news channels on Twitter, I was able to keep up with all the news in real time.

She still didn't get it. I finally told her that she needed to experience it for herself.

Well, tonight, maybe those people who don't "get it," will. The horrible earthquake in Haiti demonstrates just how important the new technology is. The only connection to the outside world seems to be satellite Internet. The only communications are coming from Skype, Twitter, and Facebook. The news programs are relying on social media to get their information.

And the news is devastating. Eighty percent of Haiti's population is below the poverty level. People survive on $2.00 a day. The vegetation has been stripped by people trying to survive which has caused mudslides and blocked roads. There were four tropical storms in 2008. There are millions of people living in a space that should house only thousands. And now buildings have collapsed, thousands of people are assumed trapped and probably dead. There is chaos.

Relief efforts are already underway, many organized on Twitter and Facebook.

It's time for schools to realize the immense importance of social media in today's world. This should be tomorrow's social studies lesson.

Using YouTube in School - Part 2

Tweet Yesterday I wrote about the advantages of being able to use YouTube at school. Unfortunately, many schools block YouTube because of the inappropriate content that can be found there. In yesterday's post, I included a video that shows an easy way to use YouTube videos despite your school's firewall. Let me go into a little more detail as to that process. The following directions come from the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg8T7V8PPZE .

First, find the video on YouTube that you would like to use in your classroom (you'll probably have to do this from home) and copy the URL associated with that video. (You don't need the http:// part.) For instance, let's say I want to include "Lattice Multiplication" in a presentation. I would find an appropriate video that explains this and I would copy its URL; in this case it's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8M5ynAuu9Y , which I shorten to www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8M5ynAuu9Y .

Next, go to the website http://www.zamzar.com/ . This site is free with no sign up required if your file is less than 100MB. In Step 1, click "URL." The http:// will come up on its own. Then paste in the URL for the video you want to convert. Step 2 will give you a selection as to which type of file you would like. For instance, "mov" will convert your video to a file that can be used with Quicktime, while "wmv" will convert it to a Windows Media Video. In Step 3, type in the address where you would like the file emailed after it's converted. In Step 4, click "convert." The process may take a little while.

While you're waiting you can read the Terms of Service. Remember that many of the videos on YouTube may be copyrighted. You will need to give credit to the creator of the video or you may need to get permission to use it. If you're just presenting it to a group of students as part of a lesson, there is probably no problem, but you'll want to check.

Once you receive a notice on the Zamzar website that your file has been converted and uploaded, check your email; you should have received a message from Zamzar Conversions. Open that email and download the file.

Now that the file is downloaded, it's ready to be used. You can just show it to students using the appropriate player or you can put it into PowerPoint or other presentation software such as ActivStudio.

I might mention there are other sites that allow for easy use of YouTube's content. Some will sell you software that enables you to safely and securely use the videos. Others provide their own media content for a subscription fee. The nice thing about Zamzar is that it's easy to use and free for smaller files. TeacherTube also provides content similar to YouTube's, but may not be blocked by your school's firewall. Find it at http://www.teachertube.com/ .

Thanks to Jan Geronimo for the suggestion to include these directions.

Using YouTube in School

Tweet I remember putting a story problem on the board a couple of years ago. It was one of those complicated Algebra problems dealing with manufacturing a product. You know the kind...linear programming! I had used an example on the board dealing with glass blowing. A glass blower could make one kind of vase in 15 minutes and a second kind of vase in 20 minutes, but he could only make a certain number of both kinds of vases in one day. He sold the first type of vase for $12 each and the second kind for $18 each. The problem asks you to find the number of vases he should make of each type each day in order to maximize his profit.

I went through the whole problem with the class. We used the information in the problem to write a system of inequalities. We graphed them and looked for points of intersection. We analyzed the points of intersection to find maximum profit. The students were feverishly taking notes and making an effort to understand it all.

When I finished the example, I asked, "Are there any questions?" One student in the middle of the room quietly raised his hand. I was expecting a question about defining the variables or writing the system of inequalities or graphing the system or writing the function that represents the profit. Yes, he quietly raised his hand and asked, "What's a glass blower?"

I realized he had no idea what I had been talking about for the past hour. And I had no idea how many students were in the same boat. Of course, right then, the bell rang and class was over.

The next day, we were going to go through another example, but I wanted to show them what a glass blower was. We gathered around the one computer in my room, I typed in http://www.youtube.com/ and ... nothing! YouTube was blocked in my school. I had never tried to access it from school before and after several tries, finally had to tell the students to search for it on their own computers when they got home. I briefly explained what a glass blower was and we went on to the next example.

This is one time when YouTube could have been quite valuable in the classroom. In other subject areas, YouTube could be amazing. I do understand why it was blocked. There are so many, many videos that are inappropriate, but there are also those that have redeeming value for the classroom. That redeeming value could be used by teachers and students. Teachers can include videos that relate to classroom topics. These videos can be put into presentation software or embedded into blogs. Students can be given assignments to create their own videos to post on YouTube or into their own blogs. The ideas are endless.

Below is a YouTube information video. It gives directions for using videos from YouTube when your school blocks the website. I wish I had known about this a couple of years ago. I might mention that there is another website called TeacherTube that includes video, photos, documents, and audio. (http://www.teachertube.com/)

Using Facebook in School

Tweet Let me start by saying that teachers and students must be careful about using Facebook. They must decide if they really want to be friends with each other and how much they're going to allow the other person to know about their personal lives. One suggestion by Jesse Dwyer http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=137948147130 is to not be friends with students until they graduate. That's a great idea unless you want to do some type of class project. In this case, the same author suggests putting all students into a list and using privacy settings to block the people in that list from seeing personal information. That sounds like a much better idea.

Another way for teachers to keep things private is to create three profiles as suggested in the document at http://org.elon.edu/CATL/conference/documents/FacebookEducation.pdf . One profile is for your real self with your real friends. The second is the one you use with your current students. The third is the one you use with your former students. Students also create a limited profile for you to see. Again, use lists for your classes so you can message them all at once. Groups can also come in handy here. As students join your group, you can post copies of their work or class photos. The authors here suggest you get parent permission before tagging any students in photos.

Status updates can be used as friendly reminders to students. They can also be used to give homework help and hints. Direct messages can be send to students who are absent from class or need that extra dose of encouragement. These status updates are very similar to tweets used in Twitter. http://www.smartschools.ph/SmartSchools/SmartTools/FacebookClassroom.htm

Applications in Facebook can also be used as classroom tools. A site that list 25 Facebook Apps that can be used in education is: http://www.collegedegree.com/library/college-life/15-facebook-apps-perfect-for-online-education

I am not yet familiar with a lot of the applications in Facebook. However, there is one called Farm Town where I see a lot of potential for use in the classroom. You have to save up coins in order to buy things. Once you've bought seeds, for instance, you can plant them, but it costs to plow, plant, and harvest. Fortunately, you make more selling your crops than you spend, if you're a wise consumer. This could lead to lessons in budgeting, consumer mathematics, and even topics in agriculture.

After you've played for a while, you are able to purchase a wider variety of seeds. I, myself, was wondering which crop would give me the better profit. I thought, "What a wonderful math problem for students." Which of these would yield the greater profit:
1. Purchase sunflowers for 115 coins that can be harvested in 3 days and sold for 277 coins.
2. Purchase wheat for 80 coins that can be harvested in 2 days and sold for 180 coins
3. Purchase strawberries for 30 coins that can be harvested in 1 day and sold for 85 coins.

I'm sure this and many of the other applications offer further opportunities for classroom assignments and projects.

All in all, I see Facebook having great potential in the education. However, it must be done with care and concern for the privacy of students and teachers.

Extra Resources:
Have Fun Teaching is a Facebook fan site where teachers can have discussions and get resources. http://www.facebook.com/havefunteaching

Using Twitter in School

Tweet Let me start by saying that I do not advocate students using Twitter to send messages during class. My goodness ... what a disaster that would be. There would be all kinds of tweets, including, I'm sure, answers to test questions, harassing or bullying remarks about classmates, and insults about the teacher. I'm afraid there would be very little learning taking place. So that is not what today's message is about.

Instead, I've been thinking about how Twitter could be used in education. First, there would have to be some training for those involved. Whether teachers or students or parents, everyone would have to set up an account, learn how to tweet, learn about RT and @ and hashtags, and learn the proper etiquette. After that, anything is possible. Use it for posting assignments, giving helpful hints, communicating with the teacher next door, or just getting the latest news from around the world.

One of the first ideas I thought of was having a sort of "homework hotline," similar to what we used to do over the telephone twenty-five years ago. Today, if a group of teachers would be willing to use Twitter for a couple of hours each night (taking turns during the week), students could post messages using an agreed upon hashtag or twibe. Teachers could search those hashtags and reply to the messages @username. That hashtag could also help others on Twitter find their responses. Because the tweets have to be short, a teacher could only guide the student; the student would then have to solve the problem or answer the question for themselves. And that's the way it should be. Too often, I believe, teachers and parents, do too much for students. Twitter would put a definite limit on that.

I also researched online what other teachers were doing and found an amazing number of activities and tons of information. Some teachers are using Twitter to have students write stories ("twittories") where each student uses their 140 characters to contribute a part of the whole story. One has the students read a story, assume the role of one of the characters, and write tweets as that character. One teacher tweets a problem of the day. Another has students research current events or historical figures. Still another has used it for foreign language practice. This is an excellent idea because there are people using Twitter from all over the world and many of them tweet in their own languages.

I believe there are as many uses for Twitter in school as there are teachers and students. A few links to websites with more information are listed below. Most of these contain additional links to additional information. Have fun tweeting!

1. http://onceateacher.wordpress.com/2009/02/18/a-teachers-guide-to-twitter/

2. http://www.astd.org/LC/2009/0409_galagan.htm

3. http://mrslwalker.com/index.php/2009/03/29/nine-great-reasons-why-teachers-should-use-twitter/

4. http://www.techlearning.com/article/20896

5. http://www.emergingedtech.com/2009/06/6-examples-of-using-twitter-in-the-classroom/

6.http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_one_teacher_uses_twitter_in_the_classroom.php

7. http://onlinecollegedegree.org/2009/03/19/100-tips-apps-and-resources-for-teachers-on-twitter/

8. http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/08/10/25-twitter-projects-for-the-college-classroom/

The Discovery of Social Media

Tweet I retired from teaching two years ago. I thought I had kept up on all the latest trends. We used lots of computer technology. We had grading programs that automatically fed updated scores to the registrar. Emails were used to keep in touch with parents. Software that matched our textbooks allowed us to print tests, quizzes, and worksheets quickly. Personal websites gave us a place to post grades, assignments, notes, and links for students and parents.

We used calculators with amazing capabilities. Type in an equation and get a graph. Put the graph on the computer and poof...into a worksheet it went.

This last summer I discovered Twitter. At first I just used it to post notes to a few friends. Then I discovered I could follow newspapers, celebrities, and people from all over the world. I asked my sister-in-law if she used Twitter. She said that she didn't, but was on Facebook. It helped her keep in touch with her kids. I had heard of MySpace and Facebook, but didn't think it was for me...until I heard she was on it. I signed up and immediately discovered most of my friends, former co-workers, and high school classmates were already there. What fun!

From there I discovered blogs. I started reading everyone else's blog. My step sister writes a blog about music. A classmate writes a blog about South Africa. I found blogs about every subject I'm interested in.

About this time my mother and I saw the movie "Julie and Julia." "Julie" wrote a blog about making recipes from Julia Child's book. I thought, "I can do that." But I wasn't sure what I would write about. The only thing I really knew a lot about was teaching, so I did some research to find out how to set up a blog and post to it. I started using Twitter to encourage people to read my blog. I'm having some mild success and hopefully, with time, more people will be interested in it.

Now I've been thinking about all the social media websites and how they could be used by teachers, students, and parents. For the next few days I plan to research and write about a few of the social media sites and how they can be used in education. Below is a chart of many of those sites.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredcavazza/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0