Social Networking

Social Networking Research Topic:

Facebook

How to Sign up for a Facebook Account:

First get onto your computer and go to the web address www.facebook.com

From there the home page will pop up asking you to sign in as a current member or to become a new member.

You will fill in your name, e-mail account, your gender, birth date and finally create a password for your Facebook account.

Then hit sign up! Congratulations you are a member of Facebook!

Once you hit submit Facebook will have you find a few people to friend request, fill out your profile, and add a profile picture.

To fill out your profile you can pick which things to include and which to exclude. You can choose to enter which high school/ college you attended or are attending, your employer, and home town.

Then you will set your profile picture, you do this by uploading a picture of yourself saved to your computer or you can upload a picture of your favorite band, animal, etc.

Once you have completed these steps you can share your thoughts with your virtual community. There will be a box at the top of the page that says “update status” where you type what you want to share and then you hit enter on your keyboard.

The icon of a head above means you have a friend request, you can either confirm or deny the friend request that was sent to you. The next icon above is the message icon meaning someone has sent you a message. You click on the message box above to view your message and send a reply. The globe icon means you have a notification, this means that one of your friends have requested that you play a game, commented on your status, or like a picture or status that you posted to your Facebook page.

Under every status or picture posted there is a “Like” button that you can click if you like someone’s status or picture. There is a “home feed” where you can view everything your friends have posted on Facebook.

Classroom Uses for Facebook:

 Students can have group discussions that the teacher can view and see that everyone is equally participating.

Teachers can use Facebook to get acquainted with their students and for students to learn about one another.  Students can view their classmate’s profiles to learn something about them. When students learn something new they will post to their wall about what they learned. This also teaches students to use social media in a responsible manner.

Resources:

How to use Facebook - Guided Tour & Introduction Video

Facebook Basics - How to Use Facebook Video 

                                                                          Pinterest

You can start using Pinterest once you have a Facebook or an e-mail address. To join Pinterest go to https://www.pinterest.com/join/‎. Once you have entered your e-mail address or signed on to Pinterest using your Facebook account you will create a password, hit submit, and presto you have a Pinterest account!

There will be pictures of anything and everything. To “Pin” something you like you will put your curser over the image and a “Pin It” button will pop up for you to click. Once you click “Pin It” a box will pop up that says “Pick a Board.”  If it is your first pin you will need to create a board. You do this simply by typing a title for the image you selected. For example if I were to pin the “Eat Well Travel Often” image I might title that board “Quotes.”

You can click the “Find Friends” button to see what your friends are pinning. When you go to “Find Friends” you can “follow” your friends by clicking the “follow” button.  Friends from Facebook will pop up for you to follow if you want.

You can click the button at the top left to pick a general topic to look at or go to your home feed where everything you and your friends have pinned. You can also narrow down your search by typing in what you are looking for into the “Search” box.

Classroom uses for Pinterest:

Teachers can use Pinterest in the classroom by having students use Pinterest to find ideas for their research topics.

Students can create topic specific boards for their projects.

Students can find ideas to use when presenting their topic.

Resources for Pinterest:

Pinterest - Tutorial Video

How to Use Pinterest - Guided Tour Video

Twitter

Start by going to the Twitter home page https://twitter.com/‎. From here you will sign up for a Twitter account by entering you name, e-mail address and password, then click submit.

Once you have created an account the website will walk you through how to use Twitter. You can tweet status updates that are 140 characters or shorter. Then the website will ask who you want to follow. When you follow someone on Twitter their tweets are on your home feed.  You will need to select five people to follow to begin. That is simple right?! Congratulations you now have a Twitter account. You can follow friends, celebrities, sports teams, etc.

You can upload a picture of yourself and include a short biography.

Classroom uses for Twitter:

The teacher assigns students to pick a career they are interested in and follow feeds relevant to that career choice. Students can keep a daily journal about their thoughts on the career and what they learned from following people with that career.

Students can follow the issues to stay update on national and international events.

Students can also create a poem that is 140 characters or less to tweet to their audience. Students can give feedback to their classmates about the poem. The teacher could assign two students to peer edit each other’s tweeted poems and students can track how their poems evolved.

Resources for Twitter:

How to Use Twitter - The Basics Video

How to Use Twitter - Basics For New Users! Video

Course Management Systems

How to set up My Big Campus:

If you are a student or educator you will need to sign up and search for your school. If the school is not listed you can fill out a request form to use My Big Campus. The request form is short and to the point only asking about the school address and name, as well as your information.

This is a great site for 21^st century student education and collaboration! My Big Campus is also a safe site for students and educators to use.  This Course Management System can be accessed anytime from any mobile device which is important with today’s students.

My Big Campus website can be accessed here

Features of My Big Campus:

Activity Feed- You will receive notifications for posts, discussions, assignments, announcements, submissions, etc.

Profile- Here you can let other My Big Campus users learn a bit about you, share pictures, and list activities are you involved in (much like a profile page on Facebook).

Groups- Groups allow students to discuss a topic, share announcements, post resources when working on a collaborative project, etc. Students will be able to connect with all the people in their classes as well as any groups on campus they are involved in. This is a great feature to allow students to check on when a practice is or get feedback from their peers on a project. Students are more than likely to be involved with social media. My Big Campus attracts users because of its resemblance to other social sites.

Library- Students can easily access educational resources through the library feature on My Big Campus. Students can browse and search for the information they need for an assignment. The content in the library feature is filtered, so any grade level can use the feature and teachers won’t be worried about inappropriate content popping up.

Drive- Cloud storage allows users to easily download their files so they can access their material from any mobile device. Students will never have the excuse “I lost my flash drive” again.

Schoolwork- Using My Big Campus to submit assignments and complete tests online is ecofriendly and convenient. Tests and quizzes can be automatically graded making My Big Campus ideal for saving teachers time! With the Schoolwork feature students can easily access all of their work.

Edutalk- A networking tool for teachers allows teachers to share and access needed information about subject content, teaching tools, etc. whenever they go.

Messages- Students can communicate with friends or group members in a community message or a private one. Students can message teachers or peers if they have a question about an assignment or an upcoming event.

Calendar- All assignments and tests for class are posted on a calendar. This allows students to learn time management and to plan ahead. Events can be posted for clubs or teams as well.

Reporting- My Big Campus allows teachers to monitor the students web activity, including messages. Cyberbullying is a concern when using a web program that allows students to send messages. With My Big Campus teachers can tract students activity and immediately put a stop to any inappropriate behavior taking place.

Classroom Uses for My Big Campus: 

My Big Campus allows students to easily share responsibility for a group project. The group can communicate with the messaging feature where everyone can view the message and respond. 

Students can research a topic using the library tab where they can browse and search for needed information. 

Students can use this Course Management System to keep track of their assignments and activities, submit a paperless and ecofriendly assignment, interact and collaborate with peers through messaging, and upload their files to cloud storage so they can access it anywhere and work on group projects. 

Additional Resources for My Big Campus: 

My Big Campus Schoolwork Tutorial

How to Use My Big Campus the First Time Tutorial 

My Big Campus Creating a Group Tutorial 

Blackboard

This Course Management System costs money for a school to sign up for and use so I had a difficult time researching this topic. Interested educators can contact a sales associate at 1-800-424-9299 or fill out a contact form under the "Contact Us" tab at the top of the web page. I do not have step by step instructions for how to use each tool because you have to purchase Blackboard.

Blackboard website can be accessed here 

Blackboard Teaching and Learning Solutions:

Blackboard Learn:

Teachers can create powerful lessons by customizing their Blackboard Learn. Teachers can design web based journals, chats, wikis, blogs, etc. Blackboard Learn incorporates peer participation through this Web 2.0 social learning experience. Teachers can share lessons and easily manage their students grades.

Blackboard Collaborate:

Blackboard Collaborative allows teachers to create a more student focused instruction through office hours, tutoring, etc. A Course Management System such as this allows students the opportunity to learn from home while taking on other things such as working or a family.

Blackboard Mobile Learn:

This Course Management System allows students and teachers to access course material from any mobile device. This is necessary for students who are constantly on the go. Students can turn in assignments when they are riding the bus or on break at work. Another benefit of Mobile Learn is teachers can communicate with parents who may not be able to make it to a conference. Mobile Learn allows parents to have access to their student’s grades and homework assignments.

Blackboard Engage:

Blackboard Engage allows parents to access any information regarding their child’s education, from grades, attendance, lunch menus, school news, activity schedules, etc.

Classroom Uses for Blackboard: 

Blackboard is a Course Management System that allows teachers and students to interact. Students can have peer-to-peer discussions in a forum post, turn in their assignments, and manage their assignments in the calendar. Students can watch videos and reflect on them through Blackboard as well as peer edit another classmates paper. 

Additional Resources for Blackboard: 

Blackboard Tutorial

Using the Blackboard Calendar

How to Use Blackboard Discussions

Blackboard Profile

Video and Audio Podcasts

The Website for Audacity 

How to set up Audacity:

1. The first step is to go to the Audacity website. 

2. Once you are at the site you will need to click "Download Audacity 2.0.5"

3. Once it downloads select “Run” continue clicking the next button until it says “Install” 

4. Then click install

5. Once it has installed this will pop up

You can begin recording immediately! Click the round red dot at the top of the window. Speak clearly as you record. If you need to delete a section because you are unsatisfied with the quality highlight the section you want to delete. Once the section has been highlighted click the button with a picture of scissors on it. Once you have recorded your podcast you can add effects to it by selecting the “Effect” tab. From there choose any effect you would like to add to your podcast. After you have successfully edited your podcast and are satisfied with the finished product you will go to the “File” tab and select “Save Project.” You will need to save this file as a WAV file to your computer.

Ways Teachers can Use Audacity in the Classroom:

• ·         Record a speech. This allows students to practice their speech before presenting it to an audience. Students can also upload it to Glogster to share with a wider audience.
• ·         Create sound stories. Audacity allows students to record a story and add sound effect to it!
• ·         Interviews.  Students can record primary source interviews for a research paper or topic.

 

      Additional Resources for Using Audacity:

How to Use Audacity to Record and Edit Audio

How to use Audacity and add Effects

 Don't Forget- Audacity is FREE

The website for brainshark 

How to Setup Brainshark:

Once you arrive at the web address you will select the blue "Try it for Free" tab in the top right corner. Then you will click on the free brainshark option that best fits you.

How to Use Brainshark:

Brainshark is a simple three step process with a video podcast product.

1. Upload Content

2. Add Voice

3. Get Link/Share

Once you have uploaded your content you can add audio. You may add audio through you computer mic or call the number listed to call in on a phone and record that way. You record audio per slide. You will click on the slide then the record button. Brainshark will count down from three for you to get ready to record. After you have finished adding audio to the slide click the stop button. You can preview your audio then choose to rerecord or save the audio for that slide. you will continue to do this for each slide. 

Once you have finished recording select the "End Recording Session." Your presentation is then complete. You will then choose to submit your presentation through a link or sharing your work, depending on what you prefer. 

Ways Teachers Use Brainshark in the Classroom:

• PowerPoint.Students can add audio to their PowerPoint presentation. This allows students to practice their language skills through writing and speaking. 
• Group Presentations. Group work with brainshark allows students to collaborate to produce a finished product.
• Give a Report. Students can give an oral report through a brainshark presentation. 

Brainshark can be accessed on any mobile device as well as uploaded to YouTube or emailed. 

Additional Resources for Brainshark:

Video on how to set up brainshark

Frequently asked questions 

Don't Forget- Brainshark is FREE