Drape's Takes

George Siemens:

Anytime someone provides a list of steps to achieve complex tasks, my reaction is to turn and run. Lists are generally only useful for the people who make them. Situations and contexts change rapidly. What works now in one organization will likely not work in the future in another organization. But, complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty are difficult to manage. So we turn to little techniques and ploys that provide us with a pseudo-sense of what’s really happening. Consider this article: The 10 Stages of Social Media Integration in Business. This is exactly how not to implement social media…at least if you’re looking for the transformative impact the author cites early in the article. If you make lists for managing social media, you’ve misunderstood social media.

I guess the question I have - for anyone realistically capable of providing an accurate answer - is how should schools be managing social media? Even after the relatively extensive experience I've had with social media, I'll be one of the first to admit that we simply don't have all the answers.


Sure wish I hadn't misplaced that roadmap.

Image source: Flickr user Anua22a.

I just finished perusing "Seth Godin's new ebook" entitled What Matters Now. On the surface, it's an interesting read full of humor, wit, emotion, and timely advice; written by seventy-five of the most influential thinkers of our time/type. Big thinkers? YES!


Still, upon viewing the book, I'm struck by how much it feels like that stack of advertisements that comes with every edition of the Sunday paper.


Honestly, it's not that the content is bad, quite the contrary. Rather, it's that the content therein is so amazingly good that it's a shame it's been presented in such a way that each plug is so blatantly obvious. It's also as if the message they're really trying to send is that what really matters now is exposure, marketing, and my blog can beat up your blog.

First there was Web 2.0 - and now, well, there's free. Sure it's exciting; it's even liberating. But this example alone illustrates yet one more tragedy of the commons, unintentionally cloaked as a clarion reminder that nothing in life truly is free.

What Matters Now (A Description of Modern Economics):

• Cost of production: time, creativity, and the networking skills required for assembly.
• Cost of consumption: a population of readers duped into thinking the production is anything more than it really is: a professionally tailored advertisement for those whose work is featured therein.
  

Now, where did I put that Sunday paper?

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Image sources: What Matters Now and Flickr user pappalicious.

I was scolded today by one of the Media Specialists in my old district for having "too much technology" and "not enough library" in the description of the Media Technology Specialist positions that we opened today.

Yup.

That's exactly what I was talking about when I worried about bringing aboard all of our current media coordinators. Sorry, but at this point, some librarians still don't understand that:

Baby steps, one teacher at a time, and with lots and lots of love.

First and foremost, thank you – all of you – for your endorsement and kind words of encouragement in light of the professional changes I am currently experiencing. Tomorrow will be my first day with the Canyons District and I am both humbled and buoyed by the support I have been given.

Second, I had the opportunity to read another must-read book over the weekend. Roland S. Barth’s Lessons Learned (2003) is outstanding. While it may sound cliché, I feel like this book has been written for me because the timing of the reading and the topic and advice given make it feel like the stars have aligned in such a way that I’m left to exclaim, “Wow!” I devoured the book in two settings and have greatly appreciated Barth’s outlook on life and his amazing ability to apply his experiences in sailing with the workplace (and educational) environment.

In my initial thumbing through of the book, a paragraph caught my eye and has since stuck with me profoundly. Barth credits Edna St. Vincent Millay with this quote:

A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down. If it is a good book, nothing can hurt him. If it is a bad book, nothing can help him. (p. 107)

Having participated in various social media arenas throughout the last several years (blogging, social networking, and the like), I’m convinced that this quote applies to online publishing as well as print. With that in mind, I’m even further assured at how vital it is for us, as educators, to teach our students today to properly utilize the technologies they so innocently (at least initially) take for granted.

Reference:

• Barth, R. (2003). Lessons Learned. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.
  

Late to the game in promoting this, but very powerful stuff from Michael Wesch's latest blog post:


Questions:

• Have you ever been used by social media?
• How should educators approach social media in their curricula?
• Is there a level, a class, or a time when it would be best to teach students skills related to social media?
  
• If we take the stance that social media literacy should be taught throughout the curriculum - regardless of subject or grade level - what can be done to ensure that it isn't lost through the cracks?
  

I certainly have my opinions about this topic, but would love to hear what you think first.

Sources:

• Original image source: Flickr user lmoore1118.
• Quotation source: Michael Wesch.
  

Last week, Ed Bott hosted an interesting poll on his ZDNet blog regarding digital ethics. The poll, entitled "When is it OK to copy digital media," has received a fair share of attention from his readers. I thought it would be interesting to see where we (as primarily an educational technology community) stand on these issues - especially in comparison to the readers of Ed's blog. Anyway, here's my version of the poll (ten quick questions). Have at it, feel free to share, and we'll see how we stack up.

I'll reserve my take on digital media ethics until after I let you respond.

Technorati Tags: media poll education technology ethics edubloggerworld