Journal #3: Commercial Concerns in the Social Web

Friesen, N. (2010, December 6). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3149/2718

There are many benefits to using technology in the classroom. Technology helps keep students engaged, it appeals to a variety of individual learners and learning styles, it aids in making learning (and teaching!) fun, it is a medium that each new entering class of students is more and more comfortable with, and it is becoming even more widely accessible. Social networks, in particular, can easily be utilized as a tool for teachers to connect with students (and for students to connect with each other) for academic purposes. Parents and administrators are others who can connect in a network, creating what can be a very enriching educational community. Despite all of these positives, there are also negatives that have caused many to raise concerns against integrating technology into the classroom. One of these concerns is the aspect of commercialism in social media.

Critics of social media as an educational tool argue that social media platforms truly do not exist for the sake of the customers pleasure. Their sole function is to make the corporation behind the platform money. These websites, from Facebook, to YouTube and everything in between, make that money through bombarding users with ads, and are paid hefty sums by the companies who wish to have their ads featured. Google, for example, made over $2 billion in advertising in 2010 alone. 

http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3149/2718

The people behind these websites don't just throw any old ad at their users though. They have their advertising methods down to a science. Through the use of detailed tracking and research into the common search terms of each individual user, they can generate ads to target specific people, resulting in a higher probability that the user will click the ad, and in turn, earn the corporation more money. When one of my friends recently became engaged and changed her Facebook relationship status from "In a Relationship" to "Engaged," she noticed that the Facebook ads on her homepage began to look a lot more like: "Looking for the perfect wedding gown? Visit such-and-such bridal store!" and "Custom Elegant Wedding Cakes! Call Today!" 

What are the implications of any of this on the use of social networking sites in the educational setting? The main argument here is that while proponents of social media as a learning tool state that these websites serve to connect users in meaningful ways, the truth is, they don't. They serve to make money. When you ask your students to write a blog post, or watch a video on YouTube, you are, figuratively speaking, simultaneously handing them a homework assignment AND a magazine that contains all of their favorite topics: "Here is the video you need to watch and respond to, just try not to click on the adjacent advertisement for the free pair of custom Nikes with separate purchase." 

TWO Twix ads on an educational video prompting viewers to vote for their favorite type of Twix.
Really, what kid can resist "picking a side?" 

Can they effectively do the assignment without being distracted by? Do the positives outweigh how detrimental and counterproductive these ads are? How do you protect their privacy when the websites are constantly stripping information from any material the students post online to tailor the ads that will be shown to them? These are the sorts of questions posed by those who have concerns about social media as a learning tool.

Q1: Are there online platforms that can be used that are more effective and less intrusive and commercial-centered?

A1: I would think that some websites that are created specifically for education (like Edmodo) are not driven by ads. Otherwise, I think commercialism is just part of using the internet. I think that so long as you give the students clear guidelines and you are assigning them something meaningful and engaging, they will be less likely to want to click elsewhere to begin with. If they know what is expected of them, they will usually rise to those expectations.

Q2: After reading the issues raised in this article, where do you stand on the use of social networks as an educational tool?
A2: The article makes a good point about the unfortunate fact that internet users are just a money-making tool and as such, there are very few places in the internet that are ad-free. However, I do not think this is a big enough issue to argue against using social media in the classroom. Students are bombarded with ads when they watch television, but that doesn't mean you would stop them from watching a program on The History Channel. Magazines are filled with ads, but that doesn't mean you would stop them from reading National Geographic.

Journal #2: Affinity Groups & Digg Reader Feed

source: http://gbcimaginate.com/?page_id=24

I joined an affinity group via Facebook called "We Are Teachers." We Are Teachers currently has just under 150k members who are in various stages of the teaching spectrum (instructional aides, substitute teachers, pre-service teachers, veteran teachers, first-year teachers etc.) and grade levels k-12. The group is very interactive and group moderators post regularly (often multiple times a day.) These posts include relevant articles, links to resources, and education/teacher-based humor in the form of comics/memes. They often ask for group members to weigh in on various issues affecting education. I hope to use this affinity group as a source of professional development and educator-to-educator collaboration. We Are Teachers can be found at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreTeachers

As for the Digg Reader, this past week, I kept forgetting that I had it! As I have never used Digg before, it is not one of the sites I visit on a daily basis and so I did not use it everyday. However, when I did use it, the experience was enjoyable. As of this point, I am following four RSS feeds. Of these, I followed two in class the day we set up our Digg Reader, just so that I could have some stock feeds. I was not 100% interested in these, and this became evident when I tried using my Digg Reader. The stuff I just wasn't that interested in, was mixed into the stuff that genuinely did pique my interest and it was a nuisance. This enabled me to see first-hand that Digg Reader is a great tool when you filter exactly what you want to see into it. It's like a magnet that pulls in material relevant to your interests. That said, it will take me a while to get used to using it.

Question 1) How can affinity groups help with professional development?

I think affinity groups can help with professional development in multiple ways. Members can network with eachother, collaborate in brainstorming new ideas, and give eachother advice with conflicts/dilemmas they may experience. Depending on what the affinity group does, this can go even further. The affinity group I follow posts links for helpful iphone apps, fun lesson plans etc. Affinity groups can easily help one develop professionally.

Question 2) Could Digg Reader be a useful tool for students?

I think Digg Reader could be a useful tool, especially for high school students. Say you were a history teacher and wanted students to keep up with current events in a specific field. You could easily have your students use Digg Reader and give them specific feeds to follow. I don't think this would be so useful for younger children as this may go beyond their computer skills and the functionality of Digg Reader is not necessary at that age.

Journal #1: Chapters 1-3

Robbins, J. (2012). *Learning web design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Web Graphics*. (4th ed., pp. 3-45). Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, Inc.

source: http://gbcimaginate.com/?page_id=24

Summary: Web designers take on a number of roles and practice a variety of disciplines during their regular work day. These disciplines most commonly include graphic design, web document/style sheet production, content strategy, multimedia, scripting/programming and user interface/experience design. Under each of these disciplines are many sub-disciplines as well. For instance, "user interface/experience design also includes user research and testing reports, wireframe diagrams, site diagrams, storyboards and user flow charts. This is why some web designers choose to hire someone to perform one of these specific duties that for whatever reason, they do not feel suited to do themselves. Each of these disciplines falls into either "frontend" or "backend" web design. Frontend web design includes all aspects of web design that shows up on the browser (i.e graphics, html, javascript.) Backend web design encompasses the behind the scenes details that are not seen, like forms processing and database programming. Web design has its own extensive jargon (HTML, CSS, Javascript.) There is a difference between the internet, a network of connected computers, and the web, one way information can be shared over the internet, and they are not interchangeable. INTRAnets work just like the internet, but use firewalls to prevent people outside of an associated business or other entity to access them. EXTRAnets are similar, except they also allow access to users so utside the business/entity, but only to those given permission. The web is accessed from a growing number of devices which in turn creates the need for creation of smooth user-friendly web interfaces regardless of the devices being used to access it.


Q1: How might you utilize an intranet or extranet in education?
A2:Intranets and extranets could be used to give only campus staff and faculty access to confidential information. For example, emergency procedures for a school shooting are not something that you would want on a public domain, but that you WOULD want all staff and faculty to have easy access to without having to go digging through their e-mail or computer files to get it. I know that many school communities already use websites like edmodo, webgrader, and blackboard. Using an intranet or extranet could be used to add an extra layer of security. I had experience with a principal who did not allow photos to be added to their school website out of concern that pedophiles could access the student photos. Using an intranet could greatly reduce this possibility.

Q2: Is it efficient and effective to create mobile sites in addition to their desktop counterparts?
A3: This one is yes and no in my opinion. Yes, because there are several desktop websites that are frustrating and difficult to use on mobile devices. Not to mention that fact that many mobile devices do not properly display javascript or flash components if they do at all. However, many times, mobile websites leave out aspects of the desktop versions that I love. Considering the fact that creating mobile sites takes twice as much work than the desktop ones, I would say that creating mobile sites is only effective and efficient if they contain all the same parts as their desktop versions. Otherwise, what's the point?