The Social Economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies

This is a great report detailing the potential growth and success of social technologies in business.

 

 

Effective Learning with Social Media

Colleges and universities often struggle with implementing modern marketing practices that are actionable and relevant. Using social media as a teaching tool can be a powerful learning vehicle engaging students both inside and outside of the classroom.

The top two social media sites educators use for both personal and professional use are YouTube and Facebook (Moran, Seaman, Tinti-Kane 2011, p.14).  Below are my 10 awesome ways teachers are using the web to make learning more effective.

1. Skype to facilitate connections to people outside the classroom.
2. Project based learning with digital production tools (video, audio, presentations, etc..). Quite congruent with constructive learning methodologies.
3. Digital portfolios for students. http://electronicportfolios.com/…
4. Learning communities (Facebook groups, Ning, Blackboard)
5. Professional communities for teacher education (i.e. communities of practice). For instance http://projectnml.ning.com/ http://www.classroom20.com/
6. Saving content from education conferences and posting it to students.
7. Blogging to share experiences. For instance, documenting experiments done in lab and posting them online.
8. Classroom to classroom learning projects (which help bridge geographical and cultural divides)
9. Khan academy type learning modules in video presentation form. Then the students can teach each other or watch the videos at home, allowing more time for customized in class learning.
10. Self learning (there is a TED talk about this).

Reference: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/Documents/babson-survey-research-group/teaching-learning-and-sharing.pdf

Social Media is gaining in popularity in the classroom

Take a look at this abstract detailing research done by the Babson Survey Research Group regarding higher education faculty and their greater use of social media.  I was sooo surprised to learn that nearly two-thirds of all faculty surveyed have used social media during a class session, and 30% have posted content for students to view or read outside class.  I would have thought it to be less.  Also, take note of the two most pressing concerns about faculty use of social media: privacy and integrity.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED535130&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED535130

I couldn’t insert the link directly, so you’ll have to cut and paste the link above.

10 talks on making schools great

Reblogged from TED Blog:

• 

With just over a month to go before the 2012 presidential election in the US, eyes around the world are on the contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. The election may well come down to a few key issues. So what matters most to Americans? The TED Blog read this Gallup poll from late July on issues that citizens want the next president to prioritize.

Read more… 673 more words, 1 more video

These are stimulating, thought provoking and motivating educational videos worth taking a look at; I am still going through them.

Search Engine Optimization(SEO) tips

If you want to get your blog seen, this article has some great tips on how to do this. http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2012/9049/nine-tips-for-writing-effective-seo-content?adref=nl100312

Engaging students using social media

I found this question “What are some uses of social media in education to increase student engagement?”  Go here to learn what other educators had to say.
Andre