Thursday, October 28, 2010

TwitterArchive: "The Social Network" (2010)

TwitterArchive: "The Social Network" (2010) (from 28-October-2010):

#MovieReview: "The Social Network" (2010) [3.5/4] College life. Elitism/$. Real "education". Some great/funny dialog. 3D characters. #movies


After watching "The Social Network," I have more sympathy for Mark Zuckerberg (couldn't stand him b4) &yet even less desire 2 use @Facebook.


"The Social Network" portrays @Facebook as what I ultimately think it is: An unhealthy tool 4 social status competition. #Facebook #college


The rapid growth of @Facebook as depicted in "The Social Network" reminds me of the rapid spread of an infectious virus ("viral"). #Facebook


By opening up @Facebook to virtually everyone, it is no longer the "exclusive" club it's portrayed as in "The Social Network". #Facebook #FB

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

TwitterArchive: Charter Parenting & Charter Family (Parody)

TwitterArchive: Charter Parenting & Charter Family (Parody) (from 19-October-2010):

#EdChat Friends: Act now & get in on the latest wave of the "charter" mvmnt - Charter Parenting - by opening your own CharterFamily! #parody


Manage a dynamic Charter Parenting operation & implement innovative - not band-aid - solutions (except for w/real booboos)! #edchat #parody


Develop your CharterFam manifesto, hire your team, assert your dominance thru fear,& be on your way to Excellence & Success! #edchat #parody


CharterFamily CEO starting salary: $200k+ | Act NOW to get in on the latest wave of the "charter" mvmnt - Charter Parenting! #edchat #parody

Sunday, October 17, 2010

TwitterArchive: EdReform, Bill Gates, & NBC's School Pride

TwitterArchive: EdReform, Bill Gates, & NBC's School Pride (from 16-October-2010):

I'm a little disturbed by the premise of this @NBCSchoolPride TV show -- "Extreme Makeover" meets "Waiting for Superman"? #edchat #education

In re @NBCSchoolPride: School "makeovers" lead to "a renewed sense of school pride & an increase in student achievement scores"? #edchat

Am I missing something, or is this @NBCSchoolPride show trying to make some TV ad revenue off of the #EdReform circus? #edchat #education

Let's follow the money trail 2the sponsors of the @NBCSchoolPride show: Walmart & - wait for it - Microsoft! #edchat #ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmm

Let's be real: I don't know anything abt @BillGates' bio,but was he bullied in school? Would that explain his meddling in #EdReform? #edchat

Seriously, if @BillGates was bullied in school, that could provide motivation for him 2want to "fix" things now that he has $/power. #edchat

I'm not trying to be mean to @BillGates; trying to understand his motivation & why he can't just donate $$ w/o strings attached. #edchat

Saturday, October 16, 2010

TwitterArchive: The Sources of EdReform

TwitterArchive: The Sources of EdReform (from 15 October 2010):

Are #EdReform -ers (adults) trying to make their name in #education & forgetting that it is about the young people, not the adults? #edchat

Are so-called #EdReform -ers (Gates,Oprah...) remaking #education to serve adult needs,instead of its real purpose of serving kids? #edchat

In regards to all of the #EdReform initiatives: Did it ever occur to anyone to *ask kids* what they think would improve their educ.? #edchat

In re #EdReform: If non-educator business ppl can be #education experts, then why not also the *kids* who are being educated?! #edchat

#EdReform: If business ppl can B #education experts by nature of their bank accounts,why not students by nature of their experience? #edchat

#EdReform: Are the rich & powerful COLONIZING authentic #education & learning for their own benefit (profit?)? #edchat /cc @DianeRavitch

We need post-"colonization" approaches to #EdReform to take back the issue frm the rich&famous(Gates et al.). Step 1: Student input. #edchat

TwitterArchive: Olaudah Equiano & Slavery

TwitterArchive: Olaudah Equiano & Slavery (from 15 October 2010):

#Reading autobiography of 18th C. African slave Olaudah Equiano ( http://goo.gl/xlgu ), & his vivid descriptions of the horrors of slavery.

Olaudah Equiano on slavery: Slaves "toil for [the] luxury and lust of gain" of their masters. (Full text: http://goo.gl/pp5F ) #p2 #NoAgenda

Olaudah Equiano on slavery: Slaves' "every tender feeling" are "sacrificed to [their masters'] avarice".( http://goo.gl/pp5F ) #p2 #NoAgenda

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

School Teachers, Morality, and Social Networking: A Reflection on “Moral Spaces in MySpace”


School Teachers, Morality, and Social Networking: A Reflection on “Moral Spaces in MySpace”

In response to:
Foulger et al. (2009). Moral spaces in MySpace: Preservice teaches’ perspectives about ethical issues in social networking. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(1), 1-28.

The topic discussed in this journal article is particularly relevant in terms of the confluence of ethical issues, new social media, and professional expectations. This is an issue that I have a strong opinion about, and my opinion is rooted in the perspective that a teacher (especially a public school teacher) is a professional and therefore subject to a somewhat higher set of expectations than might be in place for the general public.

As an initial comment on the research design of this article, I am a little bit concerned about the sample ratio of female:male – 44:6 – (p. 7). While indeed it is a general trend in higher education in the US to have a majority female student population, the ratio of the sample in this study seems a little too one-sided. As such, it may be more realistic to confine the results of this discussion to the (primarily) 18-25 female undergraduate demographic.

In regards to the general issue of teacher-professional's (pre-service or otherwise) use of social media and the issue of privacy, it needs to be noted that traditional understandings of privacy do not apply in a digital world designed around an architecture that by its very nature is intended to support the wide distribution of information (text, images, video, etc.). Also, as we are all aware of from stories of media piracy over the Internet, within the digital realm, nothing “stays put”. The basic ability to make perfect 1-for-1 copies of any digital information (text, images, video, etc.) means that once someone places something “out there” in the digital realm, it is practically impossible to know who will create their own copy of it, where they will place that copy, and what other things they might do with it. [If you're not convinced, log into your Facebook account and find the most embarrassing photo of a friend that you can locate. Then Right-click and “Save-As” that image. It is now yours and you can do with it as you wish.]

The notion of teacher-as-professional is a broader issue than cannot be fully discussed here, but if one accepts that a teacher is a professional and therefore subject to a different, stricter set of standards (including moral standards), then the preceding paragraph should offer a substantial body of reasoning for why teacher-professionals should be especially careful in the digital realm (including, but not limited to, social networking services).

As for myself, I recently abandoned and deactivated my personal Facebook account. Although – given what has been said above – I was always very careful as to what I posted, it eventually became more trouble than it was worth, and I decided to walk away from it. I do, however, use Twitter as a primarily professional (and partially personal) tool to communicate and interact with others. The difference with Twitter, from my perspective, is that whereas with Facebook and MySpace there is a sense of privacy (false, in my opinion), with Twitter, everything is available publicly to anyone, even those who do not have a Twitter account.