EdTech: Bits & Bytes for November 2007

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Welcome to the first edition of EdTech: Bits & Bytes.

This new monthly newsletter from the Educational Technologist for Malaspina’s Faculty of Education, Julia Hengstler, aims to pass along educational technology news, tips and resources of note from various publications—electronic & print--that might benefit Education students & professors, as well as teachers & aspiring teachers. I hope you find something useful and/or informative. Each monthly edition will have a theme followed by a set of subject lines so you can quickly scan for topics of interest. Feedback on themes, content—or suggestions/contributions—are welcomed.  

This Month’s Theme: Social Networking Online—Impacts, Resources, & Potential

You might have been hearing a lot of buzz lately around ‘social networking’ and Web 2.0. Here are some concrete examples of how it might impact educators, a brief sample of resources, as well as potential uses for education.

Sections Include:

1) Keeping Your Digital Self Employer Friendly in the Age of MySpace, Facebook & YouTube

2) Web 2.0 Recruiting: Eportfolios Rather Than Resumes

3) Indiana’s Buddy2 Site & Link to Article for Incorporating Social Networking Software into Education

4) UK Investigator Uncovers Disturbing Side of Second Life Plus Some Links for Increasing Student Web Safety

5) ExpertVillage.com: A Social Video Site with Educational Training Videos Plus Some Useful Videos for Art, Music & PE

6) Current.com: Social News Networking & Constructivist News

Keeping Your Online Image Employer Friendly in the Age of Blogs, MySpace & Facebook

So maybe you’ve been posting material on MySpace, Facebook, or YouTube—or maybe you’ve been blogging for a while elsewhere. Maybe some of your content has been less then stellar material for the eyes of potential employers. The hiring committee from School District X may have a different type of interest in someone’s table dance pics from the local pub last weekend then the person’s roommates.  Have you published (or are you publishing) behaviour you think might be questionable for a budding professional?  Beware: increasingly employers are Googling you as part of the hiring process. While this is more prevalent in business—especially in the US, expect this trend to infiltrate education hiring practices. Among natives of what I call the “Know Me” generation, there is a propensity to publicize aspects of personal lives that previous generations may have only shared with good friends & confidants. BC educators have required criminal background checks—you think potential employers won’t Google public web documents? The article, “What’s Your Google Rep?” is worth a read for potential new hires in any field—but especially in education where the BC College of Teachers expects a certain level professionalism. The author has some suggestions about how to clean up your digital self—or at least your highest ranked hits on Google: http://www.careers.eweek.com/article/Whats+Your+Google+Rep/218527_1.aspx?kc=EWKNLCSM110607FEA

Web 2.0 Recruiting: Eportfolios Rather Than Resumes

While Deb Perelman’s “Whither the Resume?” from eWeek Careers is targeted at the business sector—it’s implications for education highlight the increasing importance of your eportfolio when looking for a position: http://blogs.eweek.com/careers/content001/job_hunting/wither_the_resume.html  The article reflects on how—when compared with a resume—an eportfolio can give employers a much more dynamic and 3 dimensional image of you as a potential employee. A posted comment to the article also provides a useful link to Dr. Helen Barrett’s site  http://electronicportfolios.org/. (Barrett is a retired Univ. of Alaska (Anchorage) professor and a current Research Associate with the Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE) at the University of Oregon’s College of Education.)

Buddy2 (www.buddyproject.org) & Link to Article on Incorporating Social Networking into Your Classroom

The Buddy site is operated by an Indiana State (US) non-profit organization and is designed for Indiana educators to share best practices supported by technology. Here’s sample of a recent piece about incorporating social networking into education: http://www.buddyproject.org/spotlght/news/myspace.asp  This article briefly highlights some attractions of the social networking phenomenon and possible ways those interests could be leveraged in a classroom environment.  While on the Buddy home page, you might want to subscribe to Buddy’s e-newsletter (http://www.buddyproject.org/etc/form.asp ).

UK Investigator Uncovers Disturbing Side of Second Life & Some Links for Increasing Student Web Safety

Second Life is a 3-D virtual constructivist world created by the users where people live virtual lives as “avatars”, interact with other people, go to school, go shopping, build homes and stores, etc. There has been lot of press about users’ innovative activities in Second Life and a slate of universities, colleges, schools, national organizations, libraries and museums have set up shop in the virtual environment ranging from MIT & Harvard University to  BC’s own Centre for Digital Media (Vancouver) & Sprott Shaw College.  But despite all the hype, even a virtual world has its social ills. November 2007, CTV ran a story on the undercover work of Jim Gamble, head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the UK (“Virtual Pedophila in Second Life Causes Concern” http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071104/second_life_071104/20071104 ). Gamble discovered some seriously disturbing Second Life areas like the hidden space behind a mall serving up virtual children to pedophiles and the high school basement area dedicated to virtual rape and torture of young women. The concern is that these virtual areas either attract pedophiles and sexual agressors or might trigger real-world activity in individuals inclined to such behaviour.  As a result of the investigation, “the British government is beginning a public consultation to examine virtual child abuse”. It will be interesting to see if Canadian officials follow the UK lead. As with all online activity, we should always caution ourselves and our students to practice safe surfing. While not addressing Second Life safety per se, the RCMP’s recently launched (Feb, 2007) Internet Safety site called Internet 101 (http://www.internet101.ca/) is one tool educators and parents can use to help build safe Web skills. Another tools is the printable from Web Wise Kids with 8 things kids can do to stay safe online: http://www.wiredwithwisdom.org/internet-safety-tips-kids.pdf .

ExpertVillage.com: A Social Video Site with Educational Training Videos Plus Some Useful Videos for Art,  Music & PE

This social site for expert training videos was recently mentioned by Readers’ Digest. Expertvillage.com was launched April 2006 with about 1,300 made-for-the-web videos and now claims more than 17,000.  Expert Village currently specializes in providing training videos in 6 general areas--home & gardening, health & beauty, money & finance, sports, hobbies, & travel—but the site’s new owners, Demand Media, are keen to broaden its scope. The level of “expertise” varies but each video set includes a brief bio on the “expert”.  You can find a topic, sign-on to become a filmmaker, or become an expert yourself. There is a small payment for filmmakers—and this might be a neat project for yourself or students in your classroom. You may have to dig for useful videos now, but it’s a site worth watching as it develops. Here are a few clips that might be of interest for educators:

>>For Art:

How to make a flip-book (animation) http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/flip-book.htm

How to make a pi?ata http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/pinata-making.htm

Easy arts & crafts projects for kids http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/crafts-young-kids.htm

>>For Music:

How to make musical instruments for kids http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/homemade-instruments.htm

Homemade instruments for kids http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/making-instruments.htm

How to audition for a musical http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/musical-theater-audition.htm

>>For PE:

How to exercise with free-weights http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/free-weight-exercises.htm

Judo for kids http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/judo-kids.htm

Easy skateboarding tricks http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/skateboard-beginner.htm

How to play basketball http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/basketball-shots.htm 

Current.com: Constructivist News

Current.com (www.current.com) is a social news network site that meshes with a cable/satellite news channel, Current TV (US, UK & Ireland). This site allows users to create their own news content. Current.com is the result of a 2006 partnership between Current TV (founded by Al Gore) and Yahoo. Some content is generated by professional staff, while other content is generated directly by site users—referred to as vc2—or “viewer-created content”. People from around the world can create content—take “assignments”, upload their own content, or respond to content on the site. Similar to Expert Village, some contributions can be worth money—especially when they’re selected for broadcasting on the satellite channel, Current TV. This site is interesting on many levels--from the possible variety of  story perspectives, interactivity via feedback/commentary from users—as well as the ability to make the content yourself. This would make for interesting projects at a range of educational levels from elementary to post-secondary—especially if there are ever some Canadian “channels”.

Thank You: 

Thank you for reading EdTech Bits & Bytes. If you’ve enjoyed it, forward it on. Should you incorporate any of this material into your work and like to share your ideas with others, please send your experiences to the email below (Brevity in descriptions appreciated.). Also, if you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, please contact the author, Julia Hengstler.  

 Julia Hengstler,

Educational Technologist

Faculty of Education, Malaspina University-College

Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

Email: hengstlej@mala.bc.ca

Phone: 250-753-3245 extension 2630

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