HTS09+Web+2.0+Social+Networking+and+Personal+Learning+Tools

=Web 2.0 Social Networking and Personal Learning Tools=

Jason Neiffer, Facilitator
Welcome to Web 2.0 Social Networking and Personal Learning Tools at Helena Tech Stuff '09!



__**The Rules**__

 * This is an open environment, so I encourage you to ask questions, make comments about your own experiences or direct the conversation wherever you perceive it needs to go.
 * You are free to explore any website longer than we do as a group and use this time how you see fit. However, make every effort to not distract the group or hold side conversations out of respect of me and your colleagues.
 * Have fun. :)

__**Technologies at Work at this Workshop**__

 * I asked you to use Firefox today as the best browser for modern web browsing. Firefox was the first to utilize tab browsing, which is critical functionality for advanced, organized web browsing. I will demonstrate. :) For teachers in the room, I have begun teaching basic browsing technique to my students in classes with a lot of success. Consider implementing basic computer instruction at the start of each unit... it is a time well spent that often saves time later!
 * This workshop page is hosted on a Wiki, my preferred platform for workshop session notes. The HTS planning committee was very interested in setting this standard for district workshops as an alternative to paper handouts. They are easy to update, easy to edit, easy to create collaborative space and most importantly, [|Wikispaces] offers [|free wikis to K-12 educators] for advanced features. This wiki will be here forever and ever so you do not need to take notes about specific links, nor do you need this information on paper. It is important to me that when possible, we move away from needless paper handouts.
 * All annotated screen shots were captured and notated using the excellent software application [|Jing]. The free version allows for easy capturing and annotating of still shots or you can take videos that screen capture. It integrated very well with Wikispaces. I purchased the $14.95 upgrade to Jing pro, which is worth every penny.
 * I am using polling technology today called [|PollEverywhere], that creates polls that can be answer via the web, smartphones, text messenging and even Twitter. Some have advertised this as an alternative to classroom response systems, however, in practice, I don't find them to be practical for that.

Part I: What is social networking?

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Social networking is all the rage, but, unfortunately, it has an inconsistent reputation. For every extraordinary example of using social networking tools to connect people and increase productivity and communication satisfaction, there are stories (ranging from absolutely true to unbelievable trumped up) where social networking puts people at risk, distracts from taste or worse, archives private moments forever in the public eye.

The largest social networking sites on Earth are [|Facebook] and [|MySpace], each well over 100 million members.

Audience Poll!

For adults only: 1. media type="custom" key="4014701" media type="custom" key="4014705" 2. media type="custom" key="4014763" media type="custom" key="4014777"

For kids only: 1. media type="custom" key="4014793" media type="custom" key="4014795" 2. media type="custom" key="4014843" media type="custom" key="4014847"

=Part II: Controlled Social Networking for the Ageless Masses: Ning!=

What is Ning? Ning utilizes the same types of social networking connection tools that Facebook and MySpace use, however, you can create and administer the social network! That means you have full control of the social network as its creator and edit, censor (teach? :) ), and control access. There are over [|500,000 Nings now], making it the most popular alternative to MySpace and Facebook. There are a number of famous Nings, including...

Those related to education:
 * [|Classroom 2.0]
 * [|NECC]

Those not related to education:
 * [|Geeks]
 * [|The Ellen Show]

For our purposes, we play with the "Helena Tech Stuff 09!" sample Ning, located [|here].



=Part III: Public Social Networking for the Masses on the Go: [|Twitter]=



=Part IV: Resource Sharing for the Masses: Delicious!=


 * What is social bookmarking?**

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 * Social Bookmarking in Plain English...by Common Craft

Part I: Tag!**

Main Delicious site [|here]. The easiest way to use Delicious is using the [|browser tools]. Have I mentioned how much I love Firefox? :)

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 * How to Tag Using Browser Tools

How to Tag Using Copy and Paste media type="custom" key="4014375"

Part II. Share!

My username is "neiffer."**
 * Neiffer's Delicious bookmarks are [|here.]**


 * Part III. Receive!**