Twiddly-Diddly-Dee, Tweet-Tweet, Tweet-Tweet

While I am not a personal fan of Twitter, I can definitely see the appeal. According to Twitter, Twitter is “a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers.”

Common Craft gives an excellent video on explaining what Twitter is.

As a future educator, I am always interested in how new technology can be implemented into the classroom. Several programs have been enacted to incorporate Twitter into more and more classrooms. According to Wikipedia:

The Distance College of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, used Twitter with native Chinese students as a tool to train communicative and cultural competence. Students had to post a certain number of English tweets and react to the tweets of their fellow students. Twitter was viewed as a supplement to practice in authentic environment different aspects of the target language as it was taught in the classroom.

The University of Vienna, Austria, used Twitter as an evaluation platform for student ratings. Every student had to send a tweet after each course unit with feedback to the teacher. Twitter turned out to be "a useful tool for evaluating a course formatively. Because of Twitter's simple use and the electronic handling of data, the administrative effort remains small."

At the University of Texas at Dallas, Twitter has been incorporated into the actual classroom setting of History courses with big groups of students. This innovative approach gives more students the opportunity to express their views in class discussions. Another advantage of this approach is that the limit of characters forces them to get to the central point.

According to telegraph.co.uk, Twitter is put on the new primary school curriculum. Children should be able to "organize and adjust" speaking and writing skills depending on the technology being used, including using "emails, messaging, wikis and twitters". During the primary years, children should also be taught to speak, write and broadcast using "blogs, podcasts, websites, email [and] video".

Obviously, Twitter is taking hold to the current culture, but how far will it go. I personally don’t care what people are eating, drinking, doing… It’s pretty irrelevant to me. But obviously, not to everyone! Tweet on!

iPhones and Androids and Blackberries, oh my!

While I am fully addicted to my cell phone, I do not, however, have one of these amazing phones! After looking at all of the specs for each of them, I honestly couldn’t choose which one to have in a perfect world. Each phone has its own concept as well as pros and cons for consumers. Below I have listed some things I found out about each.

• iPhone- According to the About.com website, the iPhone is Apple's first Internet-enabled smartphone. It combines the features of a mobile phone, wireless Internet device, and iPod into one package.
  Perhaps the iPhone's most innovative feature is its 3.5-inch multitouch screen. This screen allows an interface based on touch, rather than a keyboard, mouse, or stylus, and allows items onscreen to be manipulated by two finger touches, rather than just one. The iPhone can also be viewed in landscape or portrait mode, with the screen automatically shifting based on the angle that the phone is held at.
  The iPhone runs a version of Apple's Mac OS X operating system.
  

• Android- According to the WiseGeek website, an Android phone is a cellphone that uses the Google-developed Android™ operating system and platform. Google partnered with the High Tech Computer Corporation (HTCC) to build hardware for the G1 cellphone, the first mobile phone to run the Android™ platform. In 2008, T-Mobile premiered the G1 Android™ phone to the public.
  One of the biggest differences between a phone running the Android™ platform and others is that the software Android™ uses is a complex operating system. In contrast, the majority of operational cellphones run primitive real time applications.
  In regard to its Internet capabilities, the Android™ phone uses WebKit to power the G1's Chrome Lite browser. Because WebKit also powers iPhone's Safari, the G1 is a competitor to the iPhone in terms of users' enhanced web experiences.
  
  


• Blackberry- According to Wikipedia, a BlackBerry® is a mobile communications device from the product line of the same name. They are designed to fit into a large pocket or clip into a belt holster, and most have some type of built-in QWERTY keypad. Modern BlackBerries, unlike traditional mobile phones, are considered to be both smartphones and personal digital assistants (PDAs); they have Internet connectivity, web browsing, e-mail, an address book, a calendar, a day planner, an alarm clock, games, text messaging, and mobile phone service. Options on some models include a trackball, WiFi™, Bluetooth® connectivity, speakers, GPS, a digital camera, and functionality as a media player. The line is owned by the Waterloo, Ontario-based Research In Motion Limited (RIM).
  Windows Mobile- a compact mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and designed for use in smartphones and mobile devices.
  
  As a Graduate student, a future educator, and as a human in general, I am very excited about what is happening and what will come within the realm of cellular phones. The hardest decision will be which one to pick!

No mumbo jumbo

As a student in Education, I don’t know much about press releases, nor do I ever see me having the need for them. However, this week’s blog is about press releases… so here we go!

The e•releases website is a very effective tool for helping writers of press releases make sure the press release is the best and most effective it can be. Below, I have gathered information the e•releases website suggests on press releases:

When writing a press release, it should be:

• Concise - editors receive hundreds of press releases a week (perhaps more) and appreciate releases that are brief and to the point.
  


• Well-written - a good way to ensure your press release ends up in the waste basket is: bad spelling, poor grammar, and illogical or unsubstantiated claims. Ask your friends and family to read your press release. Read your own press release aloud.
  


• Factual - stick to logical and substantiated claims, avoiding statements of belief: we're the best, the cheapest, etc.
  


• Honest - avoid the padded quotes by company officers; even if they are experts, they come across as biased, especially in a press release about your company. If used, stick to the facts.
  


• Timely - if your press release isn't topical, consider incorporating it with a recent news event -- but don't stretch it.
  

Questions to Consider Before You Write a Press Release:

• Who is the preferred audience of your press release?
  


• What do you want readers to take away from your press release?
  


• What does your press release provide: invaluable information or just another offer?
  


• What is the support or justification for the information in your press release?
  


• What is the tone of your press release?
  


• Are you aware of possible pitfalls or areas to avoid in your press release?
  


• What do you want to accomplish with your press release: increase business, disseminate information, or both?
  

10 Essential Tips to Press Release Success

1. Ensure your press release is newsworthy.
   


2. Give your headline a tune-up. Your headline should be concise and compelling while avoiding being cute or sensational.
   


3. Review your entire press release, then summarize it as one strong paragraph. Review if this new paragraph shouldn't become or replace your initial paragraph.
   


4. Brevity is not only allowed, it is encouraged and rewarded. It shows you respect the time of busy editors & reporters. If they require more information, they will ask.
   


5. Purchase an AP stylebook (or use a service like eReleases that takes care of this for you) and learn how to properly abbreviate words and numbers, as well as the proper way to refer to most formal names and titles.
   


6. Avoid excessive use of adjectives and fancy language.
   


7. Stick to the facts. Don't be afraid to pull statistics from respected third-parties if applicable.
   


8. Provide as much contact information as possible: name, address, phone, fax, email, website. An after-hours number or cellphone can make the difference when you have a journalist under deadline.
   


9. Identify editors and reporters who would be most interested in what you have to say.
   


10. Choose your media list carefully. If sending via e-mail, be sure the editors and reporters accept press releases via email. Also, avoid attachments and large media files unless requested
    

Does the Press Release's Lead (Opening) Address or Answer the Basic Tenets of Journalism:

• who
  


• what
  


• when
  


• where
  


• why
  


• how

Obviously, sending out a quality press release takes time and effective writing. I guess I understand better, now, why they are so important.

WhatTube?

Online video has become THE way of sharing video in today’s multimedia, social networking world. Sites such as YouTube, Revver, and College Humor all allow users to upload video content for public consumption. In a video posted on YouTube entitled “YouTube and the Evolution of Social Media,” people are asked what YouTube means to them. One of my favorite quotes from the video (4.28) is when a student, when asked what YouTube means to him, responds with, “YouTube has really flattened the world.” When he said this, I stopped. The idea that one site has caused the world to not seem so big and make everyone so inter-connected is simply phenomenal!

Revver has taken the bull by the horns and attempted to capitalize on the online video explosion. Users can have advertisements added to their videos by Revver and get paid for their efforts. While users of the larger College Humor and YouTube sites are simply uploading their content for the sheer enjoyment of the art, Revver users (in theory) get the best of both sides.

Online video is an extremely effective tool in the classroom. Of all of the social media, I would have to say that online video would have to be my favorite, as a teacher, for the classroom. While there are the funny and stupid videos, there are, believe it or not, the educational and informative. I can definitely see using online video in my future classroom, but it would have to be from a trusted source with applicable and appropriate content.

iPod + broadcast = podcast

While the word "podcast" may seem extremely fun and exciting, I have found them to be annoying and simply (so far), a waste of time. Nearly every podcast I've listened to just seem to be bored people who sit in front of their computer and talk into a microphone about anything they so choose. Well, good for them. I have three projects, a midterm, and a 40 page paper to write, thank you. Any podcasts on that?

According to the Podcasting Tools website, a podcast is, "online audio content that is delivered via an RSS feed. Many people liken podcasting to radio on demand. However, in reality, podcasting gives far more options in terms of content and programming than radio does. In addition, with Podcasting, listeners can determine the time and the place, meaning they decide what programming they want to receive and when they want to listen to it." The site goes on to say that podcasts can be used primarily for five reasons:

1. Self-Guided Walking Tours - Informational content.
2. Music - Band promotional clips and interviews.
3. Talk Shows - Industry or organizational news, investor news, sportscasts, news coverage and commentaries.
4. Training - Instructional informational materials.
5. Story - Story telling for children or the visually-impaired.

While I can see using these (possibly) for personal use for entertainment, I think I would have to search far and wide to find podcasts that could relate and be appropriate for my Secondary English classroom. It would be interesting, however, to have a someone with a British accent read a British poem or listen to an author talk about why he/she wrote something a particular way. On top of everything else in a school day, looking up podcasts might not be high up on my priority list. Oh well.

An example of a podcast on blog:

The Overnight Escape Podcast

fohr-uhm

When I first heard of forums, I was immediately taken back to middle school when everyone I knew used chat rooms to keep up with one another. Since I don't know much about forums, I researched them and every site I found compared them to chat rooms. Grassroots.org explains forums are, "a public meeting place open for discussion on various topics. An online forum is sometimes called a bulletin board or discussion area.There are many different kinds of forums and the main idea of a forum is to provide a place where people can go, interact, and discuss specific topics. Each forum states a topic and tries to keep the discussion on that topic."

I also found that there are apparently rules to forums. Most of the bigger forum sites generally contain the same overall rules:

• Posts must be relevant to the forum.
• Posts should be respectful of others.
• Posts should not contain SPAM.

I think it's good that forums establish rules so the followers and contributors of the forums can not only find relevant material, but also post on the appropriate forum.

As I have shockingly found, there are forums about anything from how to laundry to the every changing weather. While I do not personally follow any forums, I can see how they could be useful in a classroom. Having a classroom forum within in a classroom website or having a class follow an education-related forum would both be ways of incorporating new information, in an innovative and fun way. However, the one big obstacle I can't seem to get over is that all of the posts on most forums are pure opinion. While some statements may be fact, unless they explicitly list their source, there is no way of know which statements are fact and which ones are pure fiction.

While I do not see forums as apart of my immediate technology use, I do possibly see them on my educational horizon in my classroom. I would, however, have to find a trustworthy forum with valid and true information for my students.

Social Butterflies

Social networks. Are they sources for information or sources for entertainment? I must admit, I am a member of several social networking sites (Facebook and MySpace, to name a few), and it never ceases to amaze me what people will use social networks for. Personally, I use mine to interact with friends and classmates and to keep up and communicate with my brother in Iraq.

But what's the point of these sites? Take Facebook, for example. You can do everything on Facebook from uploading pictures to buying a dog to harvesting a blue cow. Is all of that necessary? How social do we really need to be on a social networking site? Honestly, if I see one more album about a woman giving birth, I just might delete my account... or at least pretend to.

Obviously, social networking sites have their positives and negatives, but they also have their risks and dangers. Take for instance the 13 year old girl who goes across the country to meet "the love of her life" she met on MySpace, only to find out he's a 48 year old lonely father of 4 with a thing for the illegal. Really? Social networking has given people a false sense of trust. Just because their profile says one thing, doesn't mean it has to be the truth.

As a 23 year old, I've been on social networks since middle school. I love the ability to sign on, find out within 5 minutes what my friends are up to, what events might be happening in town, and who I need to tell Happy Birthday to. It's the easiest way to feel like I actually have friendships with all 1,184 friends in my Facebook account, when honestly, I probably would have to seriously think how I actually even know two-thirds of them.

Personally, I think with a responsible, positive approach to social networking, it can be a fun, rewarding experience. It's turning everyone into social butterflies!

RSS'n

Though I do not consider myself overly technologically savvy, I do, however, find RSS (Really Simple Syndication) interesting, but not yet useful for me. I do appreciate the way that RSS can cut down on scanning through dozens of websites just to find the information you need, and only to find it might not even be there at all. As a civilization of people who need technology at the touch of a button and the patience of a two year old in church, it makes sense to have some type of application that gives you the information when it's posted; not you looking for it when it's not.

At the moment, I simply have no need for RSS. Because my brother is currently stationed in Iraq with the US Army, I do not watch, read, or listen to the news. They either tell you too much or too little, and neither is what I, with a family member on the front lines, need to hear. However, as a soon-to-be educator, I can see the usefulness of RSS within the classroom. If my class is doing a project on a particular subject and we find helpful websites or blogs that go along with that project, it would be nice to have the websites' or blogs' latest version or information to help my students.

Feed For All: RSS Feed Creation Tool website lists pros and cons to using RSS. I've listed my personal top three, as found on the website.

Pros
1. Saves Time-RSS feeds save time. RSS subscribers can quickly scan RSS feeds, without having to visit each and every website. Subscribers can then click on any items they are interested in, to get additional information.
2. Opt-In- The RSS subscriber chooses what they want to see, and what information they wish to receive. Knowing they have full control, and that they do not have to provide any personal information to subscribe, they will be more likely to opt-in.
3. Timely- RSS feeds are timely. RSS feeds will automatically update themselves any time new information is posted, so the information your subscribers receive via their RSS reader or news aggregator is timely.

Cons
1. Not Widely Adopted Yet- Outside of technical circles, RSS has not yet been widely adopted. While it is becoming more and more popular, it is still far from being a mainstream technology.
2. Content Can Easily Be Copied- Content contained in an RSS feed can easily be copied and replicated, regardless of whether you want it to be or not. Few aggregators respect the copyrights of content contained in an RSS feed.
3. Tracking Subscribers Is Difficult- It is very difficult to accurately track the number of subscribers who read an RSS feed or the items contained in an RSS feed. This is due in part to the fact that at its heart, RSS is all about achieving the widest syndication possible.

With all new technologies, there will be those that work well and the users who love it and worship it (i.e. the iPhone) and there are those technologies that consumers just can't find a use for and it soon falls out of use (i.e. the iPad). While I don't personally have a need for an RSS account yet, maybe one day soon I'll jump on the bandwagon and RSS everything from Wolf Blitzer to Perez Hilton.

Blogging to Blog

What is a blog? What’s the point of putting interesting or needless things on the Web for anyone who cares or stumbles upon it? Personally, I’ve never liked blogs or blogging, nor have I ever understood why people write them or read them. To me, trustworthy information I am interested in is better found on sites with authority- not on a blog that also lists the writer’s favorite cat names. However, throughout my many years of study at Auburn University, I have had several classes that have held a requirement of a blog. Though I don’t like them, I do enjoy getting good grades; ergo: I blog.

For this particular blog in this class (COMM7970, Social Media), I am asked to blog about blogs. No really. Though a pessimist when it comes to the craft of blogging, I would like to know about them (and so would Dr. Waters in this blog).According to Word Press, almost every blog can roughly be categorized into nine types of blogs:
1. Personal
2. Business
3. Schools
4. Non-Profits
5. Politics
6. Military
7. Private
8. Sports
9. How-to, tips and reviews

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in English and am currently working on my Master’s in Secondary English/Language Arts Education, yet oddly enough, I must push myself to find anything about blogs to list under my “pros” category. Though I do see the benefit in writing and expressing one’s thoughts and opinions, there is no authority behind it. While someone may have the most passion and devotion, for example, for sports, who are they to give me any information on the subject? Do they play a professional sport? Probably not. Do they work for a sports museum? Probably not, again. Odds are, they happen to simply love the particular sport and want more people to know about it. So what makes them an authority on the subject and that I should trust the information? Next to nothing.

Blogs, however, can be a great way to express opinions and feelings… with anyone on the globe with an Internet connection. I, personally, don’t really have anything I really need to say to that many people, except for maybe: WAR EAGLE!!

For maybe a different, more optimistic view on blogs, check out some of my classmates’ blogs:
Ben: The Most Popular Guy You've Never Heard Of
Kate: Awesome Thoughts
Shanna: Practically Creative

The Family Business

People become educators for a myriad of different reasons. Some people are forever changed by an amazing educator they once had; others yearn for the opportunity to make a difference in someone's life. While I, too, have had amazing educators and also wish to make a difference in the world, one could also say that I am in the family business. I am a third generation College of Education graduate from Auburn University. My grandfather, mother, two uncles, two aunts, and cousin all have Education degrees from Auburn. Not only do we love Auburn, but also believe in the power and privilege of a good, meaningful education. Because I have grown up seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly of being an educator, I feel it has better prepared me to go into my own classroom. I know better than to expect perfect students with perfect attitudes; no one is perfect, not even me. I have learned through this unique upbringing to not take my education for granted and to, therefore, strive at every instance to make myself a better individual and educator.

On Christmas Eve 2008, my younger and only brother, Kyle, decided to deviate from the family mold and enlist in the United States Army. After basic training in Ft. Benning, Georgia, he would then be stationed in Ft. Lewis, Washington, with the 4th Stryker Combat Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. Kyle and his division would deploy on September 13th, 2009, to Iraq where they are currently serving our country. Not only was Kyle's life forever changed by this impressive decision, but so, too, was my own. After some coaxing from him to look into teaching on US military bases, I realized it was something I desperately want to do. US service men and women are stationed all over the globe, but what I think a great deal of people forget about is that their family is usually with them, too. While it is the parent that signed a military contract, the child did not. The children of these brave men and women did not ask to be taken away from their friends and live in a strange, new environment. I decided that if I could share my passion for education and a love of teaching with these students, maybe their time outside of the United States might not be so bad.

As an educator, I hope to impart on my students the same quality of education I feel I received throughout school. Every child has the right to be educated; it is my job as an educator to make sure that education is the best one he or she can receive. My family have been invaluable to me as an educator, but none more so than my grandfather, Carey W. Philpott. My grandfather was born and raised in a poor, rural town in Randolph County, Alabama, where he then paid his own way through three degrees at Auburn, all while supporting and raising his family. Why? Because my grandfather knew the value and power of a quality education. He instilled that passion into ever member of our family and because of that, he has not only made me a better educator, but also a better person.

Not long from now, I will enter my very own classroom with my very own students. The type of educator I am will be reflected in the type of students I teach. Therefore, I will strive to give my students my very best because that is nothing less than what they deserve. Former Auburn Professor George Petrie wrote in 1945 in a portion of Auburn's Creed:

I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on
what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.
I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.

I hold these words with me every time I walk into a classroom as student, as well as an educator. To be a successful educator it will take work, hard work, but I know that with my education and my passion for learning, anything is possible.