SocialNetworking

= = Exploring creation and maintenance of Social Networks in educational spaces.

What is a Social Network?
[|From Wikipedia]: A **social network service** focuses on the building and verifying of online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others, and which necessitates the use of software. In other words, a social network is a 'virtual' hang-out where people can communicate with friends, get in touch with old school mates, share music, photo's, and collaborate with like minded people in 'groups'. A recent survey in the U.S. indicates that the use of social networking tools can raise organisational productivity. Connecting with colleagues and counterparts outside an organisation to share resources and best practice ideas are essential activities in today's knowledge-based economy.

Over the past 10 years we have seen the birth of many social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, blogs. There is now over 190 different social media platforms. The Social Media revolution is here

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 * What the hell is Social Media?**


 * Websites to check out**
 * []
 * []
 * What is Social Networking and why should you care?
 * How Social Media has changed us

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 * Watch this movie from Common Craft;**


 * Some recent statistics:**
 * Australia has some of the highest social media usage statistics in the world. In terms of Facebook use, Australia ranks highest with almost 9 hours per month from over 9 million users.
 * 62% of people have dated someone they met online.
 * The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females.
 * Youtube is the second largest search engine in the world
 * There are over 200,000,000 blogs worldwide.

Social Media platforms are used in many different ways, from distributing information, advertising and marketing, as research tools, finding a new job or even your life partner. We have become active participants in connecting, creating and distributing information that maters to us. Social Media has given us the tools to be more engaged with friends, more literate, more connected, more open to creating new relationships and generally more interested in the world around us.

Top 20 Social Networks for Education
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 * 1)  [|Twitter] - Far and away one of the most popular social networks around. This micro-tweeting platform is used worldwide and especially in education (search hash tags; edchat or edtech). Plus, w/ the soon to come parental controls Twitter becomes a more viable option for educators everyday.
 * 2)  [|Classroom 2.0] - Created by Steve Hargadon and used by thousands of educators on a daily basis. This site alone changed the way I viewed education and ignited my passion for Web 2.0.
 * 3)  [|Facebook] -nuff said!!
 * 4)  [|Google Plus] - Is the highly publicized social network by Google. While it is still in its early release there are a lot of features that make this an attractive option for education such as: hangouts - the impressive group video chat and circles - the way to control posts w/ privacy settings.
 * 5)  [|Plurk] - A social network similar to Twitter (micro-blogging) w/ a timeline view and fun karma based platform.
 * 6)  [|Educator's PLN] - Built by Thomas Whitby, this social network is one of the fastest growing around w/ some of the top technology based innovators being found.
 * 7)  [|Sophia] - Is a new (beta) social network for education. Lots of great features can be found here such as: free lesson plans, private group (study) creation, and online tutoring.
 * 8)  [|Learn Central] - Sponsored by elluminate, Learn Central is an ideal place for educators to host/learn through Learn Central's virtual conferences.
 * 9)  [|ISTE Community] - International Society for Technology & Education is a great place for educators to come together and collaborate on technology issues.
 * 10)  [|WhoTeaches] - Is a new (beta) network designed to bring students, parents, and educators together. This is done through collaboration w/ the ability to share documents and create groups. Also, this site offers high level education for online learners looking for tutors or to study.
 * 11)  [|Edutopia] - A very popular organization created by the George Lucas foundation.
 * 12)  [|Technology Integration in Education] - Is a wonderful social network created by Greg Limperis that is similar to Classroom 2.0. There are lots of groups and discussions for users to choose from in this educational network.
 * 13)  [|The 21st Century Teacher] - Is a new social network designed for teachers that is designed to help them facilitate using technology in the classroom. There is lots to like here such as the group forum, community blog, and abundance of resources being shared.
 * 14)  [|Better Lesson] - Is a free social network that is ideal for educators. 1000's of resources can be found here as well as collaborating w/ other educators to find out what teaching strategies work best.
 * 15)  [|Diipo] - A wonderful new (beta) social network that is similar to Moodle and Gaggle. This network prides itself on being social networking for "your" class. This allows for teachers and students to not only collaborate w/ themselves online through texting and blogging but collaborate w/ others as well.
 * 16) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;"> [|Intel Education Teachers Engage Community] - A nice online community designed to facilitate online collaboration and increase teachers technology literacy.
 * 17) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;"> [|Everloop] - Is an excellent social network that is designed to teach students how to network appropriately. Also, this site is ideal for education as it is being monitored by parents and supported by such organizations such as iSafe.
 * 18) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;"> [|Edudemic] - Is an online community, magazine, and social network that has lots of information on technology, education, and integration.
 * 19) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;"> [|K12 Advantage] - A great online environment that has lots of resources for teachers such as forums and chats to bring them together.
 * 20) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;"> [|Collaborative Translation] - Created by well renowned educator James O'Reilly, CT is a great place to learn/share innovative ideas.

I'd be adding **Pinterest** in their now for sure!

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There are a number of social networks that have been created specifically for educators. Here is a good list & videos of actual sites/examples of social media use in education. This site covers a range of social media tools including a facebook example, flickr, diigo, blogs and more...


 * Need some ideas?** Check out 100 Examples of use of Social Media for learning


 * Articles on Social Media in Education**
 * Best Social Media Mash-ups in Higher Education
 * Using Social Media to boost student employability
 * How Higher Education Uses Social media
 * Social Media in education: The Power of Facebook
 * 6 terrific examples of social media policies for employees
 * 5 things you shouldn't be doing in social media
 * How to handle social media comments

Alex's 5 rules for Social Networking in Teaching and Learning
Rule #1: Engage - Rule #2: Add Value - Rule #3: Don't Believe the Hype - Rule #4: The Dark Side - Rule #5: In Beta -

=Infographics= Social Media in Business - [] Teaching and learning technology - []