1. Cathy Clarke, Digital Media Specialist Simon Ting, Instructional Developer

2. Why Social Networking?

3.  2008 Technology Symposium presentation ◦ Cathy Clarke & Simon Ting  Demonstrated multimedia tools and services on the web  Discussed potential classroom uses  Now we are experimenting with ways to integrate these tools with IdeaTools ◦ IdeaTools: Course management system with included suite of multimedia applications

4.  A community of people  Often with a shared interest or background  Social Networking on the web is a group connecting online ◦ Status, actions and notifications ◦ One person does something  others in the group know about it

5.  Two perspectives ◦ Passing trend, something to do for fun ◦ Communications channel—a way to connect  Can this be used in the classroom? ◦ Being explored by developers and educators

6.  Typical online course: static materials ◦ Collection of handouts, articles, schedules, etc.  Social networking: interactive communication   Adding a layer of interactivity

7.  Users can discuss, subscribe, and author ◦ Building knowledge and content together  Getting users interested in the site, get them to return frequently

8.  Demonstration of what is possible  No solid proof that these tools improve classroom/student experience

9. Informal messages and interaction in a course

10.  Similar to Facebook or Twitter updates  Instructors and students post short messages ◦ Text ◦ Video ◦ Images ◦ Links

11.  Unique to each course  Any course member who is logged in can post  Users can comment on other posts  Instructor can delete/disable any post

12.  Brief introductions  Students post their favorite artist, website, book, etc.  Course announcements  Links to relevant articles, videos, etc.  Students who want to contact other students

13.  Benefits ◦ Encourage informal interaction and discussion ◦ Very easy to use ◦ Secure, Private  Limited to the course instructor and members  Disadvantages ◦ Discussions can get off-topic ◦ Little control over what gets posted  Instructor can delete messages, but only after they’ve been posted for members to see

14.  ideatools.rit.edu/demos/writing ideatools.rit.edu/demos/writing

15. Blogging within a course

16.  Open-source blogging platform  Authors post text, pictures, videos  Readers can comment on posts

17.  Installed on our server  Linked to a course  no duplicate logins  Instructor decides how to use it ◦ Allow students to comment ◦ Allow students to author posts ◦ Create posts from within the course structure or link to the blog as a separate environment

18.  Arts of Expression blog ◦ Students post and get feedback on drafts of their memoirs ◦ Students post journal entries link

19.  Co-op Students ◦ Share their co-op experiences with students while they are away from campus link

20.  Benefits ◦ Encourage interaction ◦ Students are authors ◦ Plugins, widgets and games  Add entertainment value ◦ Secure, private  Limited to the course instructor and members ◦ RSS, e-mail notifications  Get notified of new posts, comments  Disadvantages ◦ Permanence  Future of plugins, widgets, etc.? ◦ Getting used to new process  Posting to the correct category for better organization

21.  ideatools.rit.edu/demos/writing ideatools.rit.edu/demos/writing

22. Final thoughts

23.  Students are already using social media  We like adding it to an online course because: ◦ Engage user interest ◦ Connect with users and share resources ◦ Encourage interaction outside of the classroom  Caveats ◦ Some schools block access to web ◦ Not everyone is interested in experimenting with social media

24.  We are happy with these applications, hoping to see more instructors experimenting with them  We think users are more willing to try something when it’s integrated into their online course  What are your ideas or experiences?  Any questions?

25.  Our Next Presentation: ◦ Video Communications Processes in Online Courses  Tomorrow, 11am  LBJ-2590

26. Quick overview

27.  Microblogging ◦ Twitter ◦ Yammer  Video sharing ◦ YouTube ◦ Vimeo  Photo sharing ◦ Flickr ◦ Picassa