Monday, December 12, 2011

EC&1 831, My Original....


So for those of you reading this blog, sorry this post is so late. I watched/listened to the lecture Social Media, Networked Learning and Digital Identity (EC&1 381) more than a month ago. I wrote a whole wonderful response about it and even commented on my fellow classmates blogs about it. Apparently this particular post did not make it to my blog. I am both angry and sad because I cannot find my original response ANYWHERE!!!! I have checked all the computers/devices I may have written it on and it is nowhere to be found. So I have created a new one instead and will continue to search for the original (I really needed the cloud a few months ago!) Anyways….

Our assignment was to watch/listen to one of the lectures for a technology class very similar to ours. The neat thing about this class is that it is all-virtual. I have taken many online classes, I’m actually in one this semester, and I have to say none are as cool as this class. I love that it really is like an actual lecture but from the comfort of your own home. Many online classes that I have taken tend to be a post that you read and follow the directions than move on the next week. This class is interesting because it is live and provides the slides as well as the professor. It also has the interactive content of being in a normal classroom setting. I ended up choosing the lecture about social media and digital learning. I had decided to choose this lecture because I realized how important social media has become and I wanted to see how it relates to learning. It is no surprise that I tend to not enjoy social media so I wanted to see if this class had other ideas of how to use it. The teacher, Dr. Alec Couros really discussed the idea of social media. I think one thing that I really took away from this lecture is that social media doesn’t necessarily mean just Facebook and Twitter. Dr. Couros pointed out the idea that Google is the new business card. This means that part of being successful is having a positive image/presence on the web. I think this is the next most important thing to take away from this lecture: what you put out there stays out there! It’s funny because you hear it so often that once something is online it is next to impossible to make it disappear. It’s important that we really make sure we take this to heart. The Internet can do wonderful things for our lives but it can also do bad things. I think as an educator you really have to be cautious of what you put on the Internet. In the lecture Dr. Couros discusses a teacher who was suspended from teaching because of a picture of her drinking wine, ON VACTION! As an educator it is important to be sure you are always putting your best foot forward. I think the other very interesting thing that I took away from this lecture was the idea of learning/college.  Within the lecture it is discussed how universities are almost obsolete. The Internet has basically become the way to learn. People used to attend a college for content, degrees, social life, and support. Let's face it the only thing that an actual university has the that Internet doesn't is a degree, and pretty soon that will be gone! The Internet has change not only the business world but the educational world as well. By being an active part of the Internet we can be more successful in life. According to this lecture it is important to be a part of this digital community but just make sure you are only putting positive content out there! I'm still iffy about the whole social media idea. I understand the benefits and why it is useful but part of me feels that it is very invasive and time consuming. So many things are turning digital but I don't want to give up my life to feel like I need to belong to an online one. I will take what I learned from this lecture and remember what was said. 

Stay posted, I will be posting my other reactions/ideas to the other EC&I classes that I have watched!

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