Part 2: Joining a Social Network
By alex miller • Oct 14th, 2007 • Category: How To's, Social NetworkingWhich Social Network should I join?
So, now you know what Social Networking is, and you want to get in on the action, but there are so many Social Networking sites and so many ways to network with people online, so which do I think are the best, or most appropriate?
Let’s start by looking at questions below.
- How should I network?
- Why am I joining this network? Is it to collaborate with colleagues or students?
- What are my students using and why?
- What do I have to contribute, can I add value to this network?
- Do I have time to contribute?
- Am I ready to have a go at this?
Here are some of my thoughts;
- I want to connect with students in their space – myspace
- I want to connect with students and colleagues in a structured manner – facebook
- I am time poor but want to connect with people via image sharing – flickr
- I am time poor but want to connect with people visually by videos – YouTube
- I am time poor but want to share presentations – slideshare
- I am time poor and want to keep in touch, in the loop and determine my own involvement – Twitter
- I want to collaborate and contribute to my community – Ning, edubloggers
If you are thinking about joining a Social Network to collaborate with colleagues, then perhaps an edu specific space like EduBloggerWorld could be appropriate. If you are in DET, you might already use Edna. Many educators in my Social Networks have a presence in at least one and usually up to six or seven networks.
If it’s students you want to engage and connect with, then I think it’s a good idea to use one of the spaces they are already in, like myspace or Facebook. The Del.icio.us online bookmarking is a good tool for sharing links and you can join networks or groups already in these spaces.
Facebook is could be good for both because you can specify what some readers/ friends you add see, you can allow students to see your ‘limited profile’ for example. Facebook was created for college students. There are also lots of educational groups in Facebook. Here are some of the groups I’m in;
- Library 2.0 Interest Group
- Edubloggers Worldwide
- Social Networking Tools Enhance Learning!
- Using Wiki in Education
- E-Learning
- jokaydia Group
- Networked Learning
As at today, there are 409 ‘categorised’ educational applications to use on your Facebook profile.
If you just want to network by sharing something of yours or favourite things, things you are interested in, like photo’s or video’s, then consider YouTube or Flickr.
Word of warning; these networks can demand quite a bit of your time, so before you commit to one, consider if you have time to check in once or twice a week to read and contribute.
Educational Social Networks
There are a number of social networks that have been created specifically for educators.
Ning based communities
Readers, please comment…
This is a call to all educational readers of this blog and in my networks to post a comment and share what you think, where you network, or suggest a good space you have found that has been beneficial. What have been the advantages of becoming a member of an educational network? What have been some of the challenges?
Let me know here.
alex miller is currently innovating in education for North Coast Institute, TAFE NSW. For more information, check the 'about' page.
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[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIf you just want to network by sharing something of yours or favourite things, things you are interested in, like photo’s or video’s, then consider YouTube or Flickr. Word of warning; these networks can demand quite a bit of your time, … [...]
[...] Kuldar wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWhich Social Network should I join? So, now you know what Social Networking is, and you want to get in on the action, but there are so many Social Networking sites and so many ways to network with people online, so which do I think are … [...]
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Hi Alex
Like many others, I’m enjoying Facebook. Apart from the obvious immediacy of the thing, for me the worth is developing networks with current students, graduates out there in the biz, and developing industry links. I tend to be a bit impatient at times with vampire stuff, ice-creams, and ‘play scrabulous with me’ requests, but then you have to socialise sometime don’t you?
I’ve not hooked up into any formal educational social networks yet. Perhaps I should. The looser, informal communities of practice that have developed out of the structured ‘31 Days’ challenge have worked for me. I thought the trickle-down from that exercise was terrific. Sort of flushed out the keen ones, and solidified alliances of interest … we tend now to visit and comment on one another’s work.
Oh dear it may need to be a list of what I don’t use (ROFL). In simple terms social networking is important for my own personal learning — which as I learn new skills can transfer into my practice with students.
I gain different information and connections from my different networks. Belong to quite a few I know that I am not using them all as effectively as maybe I could be. Also I think which social networks you are attracted to can be quite personal — we each tend to have our own personal favourites. Generally I am more willing to try out a network if several people whose opinion I respect are using it.
It does take time ‘to get’ some social networking tools — and you have to accept that it will be a certain length of time from using it to being able to use it effectively with students. Also social networks are only as good as the quality of your friends.
Some of my networks include:
Twitter – incredible instantaneous for giving and receiving advice — for finding out great information on tools that are of benefit
Facebook – sorry not fussed..just use it as another way to connect
Ning – obviously I have to promote etools and tips for educators community as I did set it up for VET practitioners
You don’t have to choose one of the networks mentioned.
Even if you are time poor, you can simply use 8hands which aggregates your profiles and allows you to manage more than on network from the desktop so it’s not as time consuming.
8hands looks really interesting and I’d like to try, but there’s no mac version yet??
As a teacher, social networking has become my professional development. I have never felt so globally connected to other educators in my whole teaching career! I have learned so much information about education & technology in such a short period of time, that the graduate level degree that I’m currently participating in (for educational technology), only seems to be touching the surface of what I’m learning online from my teacher friends. That is a scary thought! But I’ll get by with a little help from my friends.
Interesting article – http://ericturner.wordpress.com/2007/11/03/technology-in-the-classroom/
[...] easier for them by inviting them to comment within our blog post. As I have done at the bottom of this post (but I don’t do it enough!), this tip came via the 31 day blog challenge I participated in [...]