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Posts from the ‘Social Media’ Category

2
Mar

Using Social Media to Collaborate and Spread Love

That title is so vague, right? Well if you’re reading, it worked. Next week is Open Education Week, and as part of the Maricopa Millions Steering team, I will be using social media to help share all the love for OER we have in Maricopa. My job is to organize the team to get our word out using the hashtag #openeducationwk. Let’s just say that is an impossible job, but I’ve got this. I have a great plan to make this work. So here’s what we want to happen. It might be similar to what you might want to happen in a class. We have 12 people on the committee. Everyone is responsible for writing at least one tweet and a blog post in one of these five areas:

  1. What is OER? 
  2. How do I find OER? 
  3. Faculty experiences developing OER,
  4. Faculty experiences with using OER, and
  5. FAQs.

We then want to tweet and post all that content using the designated hashtag. We’ll be using the same Twitter handle @MaricopaOER and posting to the same blog: https://maricopamillions.wordpress.com, but having everyone logging in using the same credentials can get quite messy, plus you risk the chance of someone just messing the whole thing up. So I set up a shared Google Doc with all five categories and the names of those responsible for each category and then left a blank spot for each to fill in their contribution. Here’s an example below:

  • Faculty experiences developing OER – Sian Proctor, Alisa Cooper
    • Tweet
    • Blog/Email:
    • Tweet:
    • Blog/Email:

TwufferEveryone knows how to work in a shared document, so this step was a breeze. The team has been adding their tweets and blog posts to the document. Next I started scheduling the tweets and blogs posts to go out in a timely manner next week because no one person has time to be tweeting and blogging all day, every day for a week, right? So we used Twuffer to schedule our tweets to go out 2-3 a day for a week at 10:00 am, noon, and 2pm. “Twuffer allows the Twitter user to compose a list of future tweets, and schedule their release.” We have 14 scheduled so far, and I had my work study student set all this up.

For the blog posts, we are using our WordPress blog, so there’s a feature in there to schedule blog posts. Just cut & paste the content from the shared doc into a blog post, add the appropriate title, tags, and categories and then choose the day and time you want it to go out. We’ll be posting blogs every day at 9:00am and noon if we get enough posts. That’s a hint if anyone from the steering team is reading.

Finally for an added bonus, WordPress gives you the opportunity to automatically tweet out your blog post every time you post. So what that means is when the blog posts go out an additional tweet gets sent too. The tweet automatically sends the Title of the post and a link for people to read it. I had to go in and add the hashtag for open ed week, so those tweets will be a part of our arsenal next week too. Below is an example of what auto tweets from a blog look like. This is from our Write6x6 blog posting to our CTLE twitter account. Our WordPress stats show that many people click through from Twitter to read our blog. That’s because of these auto tweets.

Tweet from Blog

So we’re all set for Open Ed Week next week. If you want to follow us or all the tweets about open education week, click through to Twitter by clicking the links in the previous sentence. Or maybe you can think of a way to set something up like this for your students to tweet and blog together about a special topic in your class.

24
Aug

CTLEAZ Diigo Group is Newest Edition to Our PLN

diigo PLNFor my summer project this summer, my goal was to develop a Personal Learning Network (PLN) for our campus. We already had social media on our campus: Twitter, Google+ and a WordPress blog; however, these tools were not being used effectively, not in the manner I knew they could be. So I worked on connecting some elements and creating new ways to connect and share. This Diigo group is part of my project.

So, what’s a Diigo group? First, Diigo is a social bookmarking site. Don’t worry, it’s nothing like Facebook or Twitter. Social bookmarking is a method for Internet users to organize, store, manage and search for bookmarks of resources online. It’s just like what most of us do everyday when we come across an interesting article or helpful instructions on the web. We bookmark it in our browser and save it for later. The difference with social bookmarking is that when you save something, you save it on the web, and you can then access it from anywhere and share it with others. You can also highlight, tag, comment and reshare it. I do a lot of reading on the internet. I read blogs on teaching and learning and teaching with technology; I read tweets on Twitter, posts on Google+. There is a plethora of useful information out there. Most of it I feel is relevant for other teachers like me, so I save it to Diigo, comment on it, and share it with my friends.

So I created a group on Diigo, one of the most popular social bookmarking sites, to start sharing resources with you. However, social bookmarking works much better if we have a community of readers and bookmarkers. Med Kharbach, author of Educational Technology and Mobile Learning said, “Social bookmarkers depend on the power of their community members to elaborate and expand on what they have bookmarked through commenting, tagging, highlighting, and sharing. It is a reciprocal process in which you share bookmarks with your colleagues and they interact with what you have bookmarked by, for instance adding comments…” (Social Bookmarking Explained for Teachers). If you’re intrigued, click the link (CTLEAZ Diigo Group) and take a look. If you see something interesting, read the article and make a comment. If you find the information valuable, join the group and let the bookmarks come to you. And don’t forget to reciprocate and share some great stuff with us.

Read: 7 Things You Should Know About Social Bookmarking

25
Mar

Using Google+ for Teaching, Learning & Building Your PLN (CTLE Workshop)

Last week I did a CTLE workshop to try and share the joy of Google+. The workshop was scheduled a day after an email from Chancellor arrived in our inboxes, instructing us to stop using Google Apps. So I think many faculty may have thought that the workshop didn’t apply any longer, but that is not true. First off, G+ is not a Google App, and secondly, many of the things I shared in this workshop related to student-faculty use in the classroom (online or face-to-face). So we’re good with student use as long as you follow FERPA rules. Below is an outline of what I covered in the workshop. There are videos attached, so you can see the tool in action.

When: Wed, March 20, 12pm – 1pm

Where: GCC CTLE HT2-139 (map)

DescriptionGoogle+ is a social media tool built into our Gmail system, but why should you care about it? Come learn how you can use this new tool for teaching and learning, as well as building your Personal Learning Network (PLN). This session will highlight how G+ is used as a live online classroom tool, online office hours, video chat, blogging, content curation, joining communities, and connecting and sharing with colleagues both on a desktop and on a mobile device.

Tools Covered

  • Google Hangouts: Host face to face chat sessions, virtual online meeting, or broadcast live
    • Chat with students online about progress in class
    • Schedule office hours online in a Hangout
    • Broadcast a live class session for students not in class – Tape if for later viewing
    • Share your desktop, Google Docs, YouTube Video
    • Connect with colleagues in your field from around the world
    • Join public Hangouts on Air for topics you’re interesting in
    • Read moreRead more
24
Jan

Why You Should Care About Google Plus – Part 1

This post is the first in a series of posts about Google+ (G+). Our college is making a push to use G+ as a communication tool, but because it is so complex, many are finding it difficult to wrap their heads around. I agree. It took me a good 2-3 months to completely understand why this is valuable tool and why I should care about it. Now I want to try to convince others, especially my colleagues at GCC, why they should care about Google+ too.

Part 1 covers registering for Google+, which essentially means setting up a profile for an existing Gmail account you already have. It’s super easy. Then I walk through Google+ Communities, which is where our Gaucho Plus initiative stems from. Gaucho Plus is a profile, but it’s also a way of saying a collections of communities. That’s what’s confusing, but I try to explain that in the video. So if you’re curious, and you want to know why you should care about Google+, check it out.

23
Jan

Gaucho Plus Training – You’ll Leave Wanting More

Gaucho Plus training has finally made its presence in the CTLE at GCC. This is a good thing because there are many confused people on campus. I’ve been running an informal poll asking everyone if they know what Gaucho Plus is. So far my tally is about 29 no to 3 yes. Although all three  yeses have not signed up to use it yet. They’re not sure how. So training is needed. If you’re looking for a recommendation, I highly recommend you attend training and get signed up. It will be worth it in the end.

Screen shot 2013-01-23 at 10.05.33 PMI attended the Gaucho Plus training today, and it was pretty good, but there was surprisingly a lot not on the agenda. I think it’s difficult to train people on how to use Gaucho Plus with out really training them on how to use Google Plus or even explaining what G+ is. It’s like training faculty on how to use the Canvas messaging system, without training them how to use Canvas or even explaining what Canvas is. It didn’t really make sense, especially since every question participants asked dealt with Google Plus, but Mark, our awesome technology trainer, made it work. Read moreRead more

22
Jan

What Do Students Learn by Using Social Bookmarking Site Diigo?

Initially students don’t care too much for Diigo when I introduce it in an assignment in Week 2 of the semester. They’re still trying to get used to all the other new technology in the online course, and Diigo is almost the stone that breaks the camel’s back. But not quite. They warm up to it as the course moves on. I’ve questioned whether having students use yet another technology tool is too much for them to deal with, but the advantages of what they learn and experience by using it out weighs any reservations I may have had.

So, what exactly are the advantages of having students use this social bookmarking tool? First, they are in the exploratory phase of their research projects. They’re still trying to figure out what good topics are, so in order to not have them wondering alone in this process, I have them sharing ideas. Diigo allows for students to share bookmarks with each other in a group area. All of the sites saved in the group show up for all to see. Screen shot 2013-01-22 at 10.59.01 PM

As shown in the image above, I teach students about taxonomy. Taxonomy is a way to group things together using tags. It makes it easier for students to find common topics within the group posts. Students are supposed to use the class theme tag: “personal+freedoms” along with 5 of their own tags based on the subject of the site bookmarked. Diigo then creates a tag list (right below) for the group so students can look at the most popular topics that emerge during the search process. Rights, laws, health and the constitution are all popular with students. Read moreRead more

22
Jan

Social Bookmarking in the Freshman Composition Research Class

I can still remember when Delicious was all the rage. Remember when you had to remember where all the periods went – del.icio.us. I’m not sure I got it right, but those were the days. Then Delicious got bought by Yahoo! and was shelved. Then Yahoo! sold it to the current owners who have, to their credit, tried to regain the hold on the social bookmarking space. But that is all for not, as Diigo took the opportunity to step in when Delicious struggled and created a more education centric service that still thrives today.

I’ve used Diigo in my Freshman Composition ENG102 courses now for about 5-6 years. It’s a research class, so I like to get students started in the research process with something easy – Googling and sharing what they find with each other. I set up the assignment to get students to explore the course theme: personal freedoms to help narrow the focus of their individual research topics. I’ve posted the meat of the assignment below.

Setting Up & Using Diigo

We will use Diigo throughout the semester to keep track of the websites we find during the research process. When you save a webpage, it’s called bookmarking. Diigo is a social bookmarking site. It’s social because it allows for all of us to share our bookmarks with each other. It’s like a big researching party!

Watch this screencast: Setting Up & Using Diigo to learn how to set-up and use Diigo.

Assignment Steps Read moreRead more

15
Jan

Is Anyone Else Confused by Google+ Gaucho Plus at GCC

gauchoplusConfused may not be the appropriate word, but I’m still trying to figure out . It’s strange. I’m following with my personal Gmail account on G+, but I get a digest of posts to my work Gmail account which doesn’t have G+ turned on. When I click the links in the digest, I get to Groups with no group because it’s my personal Gmail and not work. So it seems like it’s really just a Google Group and not G+ at all.

In addition, I hate digests in email. I have to deal with this with my Google Reader RSS feeds. The G+ digest only gives you a headline of the post and not the whole post, so I have to click through, which by the time I actually get to the news, I’m over it. I click the headline (1 click) and it scoots me down the page in the email where I get one sentence that says “So in So shared a post with you” and a More link. I click the More link (2nd click), and the post opens in a Google Groups window, but only after I go through the trouble of switching from personal Gmail Groups to work Gmail Groups. But that’s my problem for having a personal account. At the end of the post in Groups there is a pretty View Post button, so finally I’m going to get to G+, which is what I thought the point was. Read moreRead more

5
Jan

Google+ Communities – Public or Private for the Classroom?

g+When Google first opened up the Google+ Communities option, I thought it was a great idea, especially for classes. But then I started thinking about how that would work with a class, and now I’m not so sure it will work for my purposes. Don’t get me wrong. Google+ Communities are a great addition to the social network. It’s just not going to work with how I want to use Google+.

I posted yesterday about how I’ve used it, but essentially I wanted it to be a place for my students to blog about what they are reading, writing and researching. The topic, food waste/sustainability is a hot topic right now, and the whole purpose of having students study this topic is to make more people aware of the problems we have. So why not get students blogging and sharing information about this issue and problem. However, because it is a class, I want to give students the option to keep their work private if they choose. Moving my current set up to a Google+ Community may not allow me to do both. Read moreRead more

4
Jan

Playing with Google+ in my Hybrid Class

gplusLast year I taught two semesters in a hybrid learning community with my colleague and friend Cindy Ortega. We met one day a week for 2 1/2 hours. The other 2 1/2 hours was spent online. I taught ENG102 Freshman Composition and she taught CRE101 Critical Reading. Both classes when you look at the competencies are very similar, focusing on critical reading, writing and thinking. And of course we both teach research because we have to have something to read, write and think about. Our theme for the course was Food Waste and Sustainability, so we had students read the book American Wasteland and watch several movies about sustainability. This semester we watch Lester Brown’s Plan B movie and in the fall we watched No Impact Man. All of our content revolved around the ideas from the book and movie.

So with such an important topic, we thought it would be great to encourage students to be transparent in their work in the course, as what they were discussing and writing about would be relevant to all. With that in mind, I suggested we use Google+ as a blogging platform for students not just share their journals posts with us, but with the world. We did it for two semesters and students loved it. I’ll try to explain how it all worked out. Read moreRead more