Using Wikis in Education...

1. The first online resource I found regarding using Wikis in Education is the PBworks Educator Community.  Since two of my current Education classes exclusively use PBworks as their Wiki engine, it seemed like a good place to start, and I was rewarded with a wealth of information, from Educators themselves.
   
   The community has Discussions, Real Examples, Best Practices and even a Campus Edition, which shows you how to introduce PBworks to your own school and other teachers.  I can actually see just using this site as enough for me to go on.
   
   
2. Education Wikis at Wikispaces.com has a page filled with lots of articles talking about the topic.  Some of the articles are a little dated, but the page is useful as a resource.
   
   
3. Finally, in a slight step up from Wikispaces, but not quite as professional-looking as PBworks, is Wikis in Education from Wetpaint.com.  The site has nearly 8000 registered members (presumably all Educators) and their General Discussion Forum seems pretty lively with some good information being exchanged.  I could see myself using that.
   
   Furthermore, each year, Wetpaint spotlights the Best Educational Wikis, helping to spread ideas and innovation, and which I will continue to take a look at as I run my own classroom
   
   

Summary of an Informal poll about Facebook...

First of all, I recognize that my poll is very unscientific.  It's biased by both the questions I chose (those that interested me), the wording I chose, my use of mostly multiple choice, who I sent the poll to, and, of course, those who responded.


I think that the questions that revealed the most about my respondents were the question about how their Facebook use has changed and the final series of questions designed to gauge both their knowledge and use of other social networking sites.


The majority of them are both cautious with what they put on Facebook and know most of their friends there, and while many are aware of other sites like Twitter, MySpace and Windows Live Spaces, few are members of them and virtually none of them are active elsewhere.



Summary

How do you usually use Facebook?

Directly, on the site, using a PC 7 70% Directly, on the site, using a phone 1 10% Indirectly, using email 0 0% Indirectly, using an app on a mobile device 2 20% Indirectly, using text messaging 0 0% When did you start using Facebook? Middle School (or aged 11-14) 0 0% High School (or aged 14-18) 0 0% College (18-25) 3 30% Post-Graduate (26-34) 4 40% Professional (35+) 3 30% What is your age group now? Middle School (or aged 11-14) 0 0% High School (or aged 14-18) 0 0% College (18-25) 0 0% Post-Graduate (26-34) 5 50% Professional (35+) 5 50% How has your Facebook use changed since you first started? Overall, I use it more often. 5 50% Overall, I use it less often. 3 30% I comment less on items. 3 30% I comment more on items. 2 20% I only use it to connect with family. 0 0% I am more cautious about what information I make public. 7 70% I still directly interact with most if not all of my Facebook friends. 2 20% I know most if not all of my Facebook friends. 7 70% I have actively eliminated some Facebook friends. 6 60% Other 0 0% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%. How many Facebook friends do you have? Less than 75 0 0% Between 75-200 4 40% Between 200-500 4 40% Between 500-1000 2 20% More than 1000 0 0% Do you think you will delete your Facebook? Yes 0 0% No 1 10% Probably someday 2 20% Only if something changes 5 50% I never really thought about it 2 20% Are you friends with either or both of your parents on Facebook? Yes 5 50% No 2 20% My parents are not on Facebook, but I'd rather not 1 10% My parents are not on Facebook, but I probably would be 0 0% Other 2 20% Have you heard of any of the following Social Media Networks? Twitter 10 100% Windows Live Spaces 3 30% Myspace 10 100% LinkedIn 10 100% Bebo 3 30% Quora 0 0% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%. Are you a member of any of the following Social Media Networks? Twitter 0 0% Windows Live Spaces 0 0% Myspace 1 33% LinkedIn 3 100% Bebo 0 0% Quora 0 0% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%. Do you use any of the following Social Media Networks OFTEN? Twitter 0 0% Windows Live Spaces 0 0% Myspace 0 0% LinkedIn 1 100% Bebo 0 0% Quora 0 0% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%

Internet Research Findings (from January 2007) & My Tech User Rating...

The Pew Internet Research findings Social Networking and Teens has data that takes a snapshot of the phenomenon over 4 years ago (the study itself was conducted in Fall 2006).  Notably, at that time, only 55% of teens reported using social networking, and when thinking back to the trends of the time, MySpace was a much more important player in the conversation.


Imagining only 17% of teens reporting using social networking sites to flirt seems inconceivable, but perhaps when you consider that this information was all self-reported, the number isn't as outrageous.


A more recent survey by Pew, conducted in Fall 2009, shows significant differences, first and foremost an increase in overall use to 73%, in the 2010 Social Media and Young Adults.

Lesson Plan One Reflection...

• What I learned from designing this first lesson plan for class was...
  Updating a Unit Plan into a single lesson plan isn't as easy as I'd assumed.  THe nuance of actually figuring out what I'm going to present to my students versus the IDEA of what I want to present to them are entirely different things. My assumptions for how to do a lesson plan were challenged.
   
• What I want to know more about is...
  How to use Bubbl.us, and figure out why I'm falling into a pattern of misunderstanding Dr. Sessums assignments so terribly.  I'd like to be able to more accurately and efficiently do what is being asked of me in the class.