Back in 2008, the researchers of the MacArthur Foundation-funded Digital Youth Project reported that there are two kinds of social networking: the friendship-driven kind we're all very familiar with and interest-driven. The latter kind is self-explanatory too, but worth zooming in on. Because it's not only online socializing around interests (as in a writer's community, the Harry Potter Alliance, … [Read more...] about Microsoft’s ‘So.cl’ networking for students
education technology
So what good is social media?
I hadn't seen this figure: Social media use is forbidden in 52% of US classrooms, writes writes Prof. Todd Finley at East Carolina University in Edutopia. He suggests that this prohibition is working about as well as did Britain's royal decree in 1763 that North American colonists were not to settle west of the Appalachians. Professor Finley doesn't stop with why today's containment effort is … [Read more...] about So what good is social media?
Facebook as a study tool?!
Facebook doesn't have to be just a distraction from homework, as so many parents see it. I'm not going on assumption, here; I just spoke with a number of Swiss secondary school students whose parents see it as exactly that, not to mention a lot of peers in my own country. Now there's a study-session and teacher's office hours tool for Facebook called Hoot.me, KQED's Mindshift reports. "Like other … [Read more...] about Facebook as a study tool?!
School helps its students practice social networking
Because we all learn by practicing and to get its middle schoolers ready for adult life in a digitally enhanced networked world, The School at Columbia University created The Social Network. "It’s basically the pre-kindergarten version of Facebook," Forbes reports. There's also The Tube for sharing videos and The Gallery for photos. All of it is archived at the end of the year so that – with … [Read more...] about School helps its students practice social networking
A student’s view of informal learning’s value
"My passion lies where I can be creative and have fun and be around people that can support me," says Dallas high school student Blake Copeland in a video interview at eSchoolNews.com. And Blake has definitely found people's support – or the supporters found him. In his spare time, he learned the programming language for iPhones, Objective-C, and developed an iPhone app called DateFinder that … [Read more...] about A student’s view of informal learning’s value