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Should I Have Quit Facebook? Something to think about...

A few years ago, I quit Facebook and never really started Twitter.  I found myself after hours and hours of "research" realizing that I had been lost in cyberspace, reading a lot and learning about absolutely nothing that would help me be a better citizen of the world.  I would look at pages of people I knew, which led me to pages with people I sort of knew, which led me to pages of people I did in fact know but didn't realize they knew the other person I knew.  Then I began my sleuth missions, looking to see why some people were connected to others or why they weren't. Waste. Of. Time.

I realize now that I can quit Facebook and Twitter as personal relationship social media, but it is irreplaceable for the professional connections and collaborations that can be created.  It is our job is to be stewards of educational technology. To do that well, we must be connected in ways that are immediate, relevant, and allow us to collaborate globally.  These two platforms can absolutely do that and itt takes a village as they say. 

Fryer discusses an important point that I've grappled with in the past.  Should we be censors and censored with the information we view and portray?  He argues in favor of this when discussing group action changing behavior. Twitter, Facebook, and many other outlets are phenomenal ways to accomplish the goal of information sharing and collaboration, but it seems government regulations would help with some of the issues we are seeing.

Couros also made me consider where I am in my use of Twitter currently (and Facebook for that matter).  I ebb and flow throw each of these five stages at any given moment.  Currently, I'm a bit obsessed.  It's exciting to see people that you respect responding to a Tweet.  Even retweeting with a comment!  I also have gained several resources that I've already used in my classroom.  Engagement is high in Mrs. Levine's informational unit right now!  AR/VR and other great resources that I've gained through these collaboration tools have changed my classroom for this week, and beyond!
Stages of Twitter



~Ashley

Comments

  1. SO true; social media is an important part of what we do in this profession. We need to make these connections and, like it or not, social media has helped to brake down silos and the proverbial classroom walls. Using Facebook and Twitter to explore content, pedagogy, and other resources is invaluable, and it encourages educators to make connections locally and globally.

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