Shaping My Identity Through Social Networking

Since starting my master’s degree program in 2008, I have been utilizing social networking tools to define and shape my identity as a professional educator. New digital media allows me to be defined as an e-learner. I consistently use social networking tools, such as Moodle, an online learning environment, and Elluminate, software that allows synchronous communication, for my online course work. Social networking tools can also permit me to define myself as a “life-long learner”. In an effort to connect with other professionals and manage resources for my master’s program as well as my daytime job (2nd grade teacher), I began a Personal Learning Network (PLN) also known as a Personal Learning Environment (PLE). Right now my PLN is in a primitive stage. I am currently using iGoogle as a place to access all of the pieces that make up my PLN. I have gadgets through iGoogle for Google Reader, delicious, Twitter, Facebook, Google Docs, etc. It’s a great way to keep up with all of my important information, resources, and professional connections when time is limited. By maintaining my PLN I am constantly surrounded by an abundance of information useful for my job and graduate school. This flow of information, at times, challenges my thinking about certain topics which usually leads to a reshaping of my identity as a professional educator.

Social Networking in K-12 Education

While students in K-12 education are diving head first into the new Web 2.0, the schools in which they attend are dragging their feet in an attempt to steer clear of the countless privacy issues that seem to be coupled with the new World Wide Web. The students are going to use social networking tools whether we as educators encourage their use or not, even for things such as school assignments, homework, etc. K-12 educators need to seize this golden opportunity to reach and better teach students in their own digital environment using the tools of which they are already familiar including social networking sites, Web logs (blogs), and wikis.

Social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, can be one of the most effective Web tools used to connect administrators, teachers, parents, and students that open many different lines of communication simultaneously, yet can be utilized for asynchronous communication and/or collaboration among participants. Blogs are one of the most utilized tools in K-12 education, and since the development of web log software, creating and updating a blog is now easier than ever. Educators have been using them for years for activities such as book discussions and dialogic homework. Others have simply used web log sites such as Blogger or Edublogs (both are free and extremely user friendly) to create classroom websites. Wikis have also become a familiar tool in the classrooms of tech-savvy teachers. They are easily edited so that students can update the information on their wiki pages to reflect the refinement of their knowledge and understanding. PBWiki, WetPaint, or Wikispaces are excellent websites for getting started.

With this new Read/Write Web comes many new literacies that the students of today will need to be fluent in to compete in the job market of tomorrow. If we, as educators, do not teach our students about these new literacies and how to effectively utilize them, we have done them a huge disservice. However, so many teachers are lacking in their own knowledge of the new literacies of the Read/Write Web that they are unable to pass the information along to their students. Teachers need to ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge so that they can then share it with their students in order to prepare them for the future.

 

 

Media Ecologies

We live in a world where digital media and technology play an integral part in every facet of daily life. People have found a plethora of uses for the Internet such as purchasing airline tickets, searching and applying for jobs, paying bills, researching topics of interests, continuing their education, keeping in contact with family and friends, etc. Digital media is, in essence, revolutionizing our culture, especially for the digital natives of the younger generation who typically use digital media for informal learning, play, and social communication. It makes perfect sense that young people, as well as adults, have utilized different avenues in their effort to build an identity within these media ecologies. In Hanging Out…Horst(2009) explains three genres into which a person's activities online can fit, Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out. I can honestly say that most of my current practices fit more into the genre of Hanging Out than any other. Hanging Out simply refers to those practices used for making and maintaining connections with others such as my use of Facebook to stay connected with family and friends. Any and all other online practices that I exhibit would have to fall under Geeking Out which requires a large an intense commitment or engagement with technology. My course work at UF has lead to these Geeking Out practices. Through my many experiences with the Geeking Out process, I have managed to pick up a few Messing Around habits. This blog would be an example because it is new territory. I am obviously a novice blogger, but I feel that through time this could become part of my Geeking Out routine. Hopefully none of you are gagging now…

 

 

Real-Life and Online Identities

It is amazing to think that twenty years ago, this thing we have come to know as the Internet, did not exist. Society was able to function without email, network servers, smart phones, social networking tools, etc. People were able to develop and maintain their personal identities mainly through face to face interactions and telephone conversations. Today, individuals, and businesses alike, have become so dependent upon the Internet that if it suddenly ceased to exist, mass pandemonium would certainly ensue. People now utilize the Internet to develop real-life and online personal identities that can either be cultivated to thrive independently of each other or coerced to become completely intertwined. Those who actively utilize the Internet and all of its fabulous affordances for both personal and professional affairs have an even more entangled identity.

Do these complex identities affect our perception of ourselves and others? I think this answer depends on the people involved. The perception I have of myself has been the driving force behind the creation of my real-life and online identities. Thanks to my intertwined identities, my self-perception does not change whether I'm dealing with people online or in person. However, the parts of my identity that I choose to reveal may change in regard to the medium being utilized. When I'm interacting with close friends and family in person or through Facebook and MySpace, I tend to be more of an extrovert. I take chances and openly express my opinions for my relationships with friends and family, whether fostered online, in person, or both, are more intimate and less threatening. Yet, when interacting with colleagues, during faculty meetings or through emails, and online classmates at UF, strictly through online interaction, I am more of an introvert. I take more precautions before expressing myself and constantly edit and re-edit items that will be published for public viewing. I do not want to give off the wrong impression about my beliefs, thoughts, values, etc. just because an email gave off the wrong "tone of voice" or I failed to fully develop an idea in an online discussion post.

This same concept seems to apply when it comes to my perception of others as well. For example, when meeting someone for the first time face to face I may take awhile to warm up. A few questions may be asked, and I might offer up some information about myself, but I take a guarded approach. This lasts until I feel more comfortable with the person and they have moved from being an acquaintance to a friend. The same is true when meeting new people online, such as my UF classmates. As mentioned above, I tend to be more introverted until a friendship has been established and I can then let my guard down and begin to take more risks as I would with family and close friends. Additionally, I sometimes base my perception of the people I meet online by their writing and quality of their work, because that may be all that is available. However, this may be the cause of my fear of and reluctance to publish online. I know how much another person's work influences my perception of them, therefore it is my assumption that they would look to my works as an influence on their perception of me.

Real-life and online identities can continue to develop and weave themselves together as technologies change and become more advanced. I have made it a personal challenge to allow my intertwined identity to continue to evolve as well.