On the Plus Side for Social Network

This morning on MPR's Future Tense, Jon Gordon discussed a University of Minnesota study on how online social network sites such as Facebook can engage youth in world events, build community, and generate real world impact. The research has been funded with a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (New Facebook Applications to Engage Youth in News).

Early findings show that these networks can have a positive impact on student engagement and learning. Dr. Christine Greenhow, lead investigator on the study, responded to Gordon's question on why educators have not incorporated more social networking into their teaching by mentioning the same things we hear in MILI--fear of the unknown, lack of training, privacy issues, and time. MILI participants will be able to put some of those fears to rest. You can listen to the segment at the Future Tense link above.

A new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project dispels some of the myths that social networking, mobile phones, and other Internet use do not lead to social isolation, as some previous research suggested. In fact, there's plenty of evidence that people who spend a lot of time online have fuller social lives. People’s use of the mobile phone and the Internet is associated with larger and more diverse discussion networks. When researchers examined people’s full personal network – their strong and weak ties – Internet use in general and use of social networking services such as Facebook in particular are associated with more diverse social networks.

Teaching with New Media

Edutopia just published a 13-page guide called Ten Top Tips for Teaching with New Media (2009-2010) Past MILI participants will recognize many of the tools and the tips for using them. Here are the tips:

1. Break the Digital Ice
2. Find Your Classroom Experts
3. Get Off to a Good Start
4. Think Globally
5. Find What You Need
6. Make Meaning from Word Clouds
7. Work Better, Together
8. Open a Back Channel
9. Make It Visual
10. Use the Buddy System

You can download the PDF which has more information and resources here. Edutopia is a program of The George Lucas Educational Foundation. You can sign up to receive their newsletter which has ore tips and information on educational technology and other education issues.

US Government Gets Social

US Government agencies can now officially use YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo, and blip.tv to interact and communicate with citizens. After nine months of negotiations with these popular social network sites, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that the government has signed agreements with these companies that will allow federal agencies to officially post content to these sites. The new agreements resolve legal concerns associated with many standard terms and conditions that pose problems for agencies, such as liability limits, endorsements and freedom of information, GSA officials said. The GSA is negotiating with MySpace and Facebook, too. GSA has already determined that Twitters Terms of Service is in line with federal requirements. Why is the federal government on YouTube?

"We need to get official information out to sites where people are already visiting and encourage them to interact with their government," said GSA Acting Administrator Paul Prouty. “The new agreements make it easier for the government to provide official information to citizens via their method of choice.”

You can read the details at articles in NextGov and Federal Computer Week, including why the GSA determined the need for the special agreements.