Introduction to Social Media Dr. Charlotte Holland Condensed Version

Wiki A Wiki is a website or digital document that anyone can edit Wikipedia is the most famous and most widely used Wiki Wiki pages make extensive use of Hyperlinks. Wikis foster collaboration, knowledge sharing and peer to peer communications Wiki knowledge communities are a force for public good Popular Wiki platforms include WikiSpaces, PBworks, Peanut Butter and Jotspot  Click on link below to watch the Common Craft video (3.62 mins) that explains Wikis in Plain English  dnL00TdmLY dnL00TdmLY

Blogging A blog is a personal or professional web page containing comments and reflections updated regularly Blogs link to other bloggers and websites and contain text, video, audio and RSS feeds Blog software can be free or subscription based Most common software packages are Bloggger, Typepad, WordPress and Moveable Type  Click on link below to watch the Common Craft video (3mins) that explains Blogs in Plain English  1pWXjXI 1pWXjXI

Video Blogging (VLogging) A video Blog is like a conventional blog except it uses video to communicate Video blogs are updated regularly and include personal commentary and opinion The self publishing trend of blogging is extended and improved using video Educationalists can use Video blogging in a variety of ways Click here to hear more about Video Blogging:  X-vfors X-vfors

Micro-Blogging (Twitter) Twitter is an example of a micro- blog. It is used to send short messages about a topic or activity. The user is limited to sending messages of 140 characters or less. You can follow people on Twitter. Click on link below to watch the Common Craft video (2.25 mins) that explains Micro-blogging (Twitter) in Plain English  =ddO9idmax0o =ddO9idmax0o

Social Networking Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups or communities. Those engaging in social networking share common interests in hobbies, politics, alternative lifestyles or may have a common focus (such as finding employment). Social networking can be used in personal contexts (using social websites like Facebook at hrrp:// or in professional contexts (using social sites like LinkedIN at Once you are granted access to a social networking website you can begin to socialise. This socialisation may include posting personal information about your personal life or your professional qualifications. It will also involving reading the profile pages of other members and possibly even contacting them. Click on link below to watch the Common Craft video (2mins) that explains Social Networking in Plain English 

Social Bookmarking, Tagging, Annotating Social bookmarking is the practice of saving bookmarks to a public website and tagging them with keywords. It is also known as annotating. Tagging is a form of taxonomy known as ‘Folksomony’ Tagging can also be used with multimedia and photos Popular social bookmarking sites include del.icio.us, Digg (news website) and Diigo  Click on link below to watch the Common Craft video (3.23 mins) that explains Social Bookmarking in Plain English  ab0 ab0

Podcasting Podcasts are amateur or professional radio programs – many now video… Podcasts can be played on any MP3 player or website that offers podcasts Creating a podcast is easy and cheap – all you need is a mike, mp3 recordings software and something to say Podcasts can be used to enhance teaching and learning. Click on this link to access podcasts of Irish radio programmes for example.  Click on link below to watch the Common Craft video (2mins) that explains Podcasts in Plain English  5SuZ3w 5SuZ3w

Sharing of Images, Videos, Documents There are many websites that allow you to share your images, videos or documents.  Flickr ( ) is a commonly used website for sharing photos.  Youtube ( ) is a commonly used website for sharing Videoshttp://  Googledocs ( ) is a commonly used website for sharing documentshttp://

Chat Chat is a form of synchronous communication conducted in real time mainly with text Chat facilitates communication with people from all over the world Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and Instant Messenger (IM) most popular chat forms Chat as a form of ‘backchannel’ is now challenging the traditional norms and practices of learning – access to chat- rooms are proving to be a form of distraction to learners within the learning environment. Live video conversations can be facilitated individually or in groups through software like Skype ( Virtual classrooms can be set-up to facilitate real-time chat (with video, audio and text) with open source (free) software like Google’s Openmeetings

Digital Storytelling A digital story is a short movie based on personal experiences The absence of professional mediation sets the digital story apart Digital storytelling combines the ancient art of oral storytelling with modern day multimedia technology using tools such as MovieMaker and Photostory Digital stories are a natural fit for student e-portfolios Click on this link to see some examples of digital stories. 

Mashup A mashup is a web application that combines data from more than one source into a single website Mashups are commonly used in music, when two distinct genres of music (such as Hip-hop and Rock) may be combined to provide a unique sound. Mashups reuse and repurpose content and functions in new and interesting ways A mashup creates a new and distinct web service not provided by the original web provider. Combining Google Maps with an SMS service is a form of mashup The use of mashups in education is still in its infancy Click on links below to view two examples of mashup websites.  

Crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing is a process that involves asking a distributed group of people to help solve a problem or complete a task. This process can occur both online and offline. The difference between crowdsourcing and ordinary outsourcing is that a task or problem is outsourced to an undefined public (anyone who wants to help) rather than a specific body, such as a group of students within an institution. One example is Google Tipjar, which asks people to submit moneysaving tips. Click here to read more: 6/e=b6a 6/e=b6a

RSS (Real Site Syndication) RSS delivers dynamic content from websites automatically An RSS document or ‘feed’ contains either a summary or full website content RSS is supported by many blogs and media organisations use RSS extensively Popluar RSS readers include Google Reader, Bloglines and Newsgator RSS can be a powerful educational tool and many innovative teachers use it  Click on link below to watch the Common Craft video (3mins) that explains RSS in Plain English  LsSxGsU LsSxGsU