Sunday, January 20, 2013

Week 2 EDUC 630

 

I love participating in online communities.  I am addicted to Facebook because I have found old friends that I haven't seen in many years.  I love to look at their family's pictures and their status'.  I love the fact that I can reach out to freinds and their advice about parenting, restaurant choices, or networking for work. 

I enjoy emailing my in laws across the pond to the UK and best of all Skypeing helps us see our loved ones over in England and is cost effective.  My husband is English and he relies on communicating through Skype.  His Mom Skypes him at least twice a day and it can feel like she is right at home.

I believe that online communites are effective especially if people live in different states or countries, but nothing compares to the warmth of a hug from a loved one.

 
 
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9 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 20, 2013 at 5:03 PM

    Hey Maggie,
    I couldn't agree more with the effectiveness of Skype and other social media. I am in the military and have been stationed overseas in a handful of countries over the years to include times before and after all of these advances and it's so much better and easier with them. See you in class.

    Dustin

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  2. PJimisonJanuary 22, 2013 at 1:40 PM

    I agree! Skype is awesome! When I was on mission in Africa, I was able to use Skype to call home. My daughter skyped me all through college and it was a joy to stay connected to her! I tried to explain to her how it was "back in my day" when I had to tell my mom to call at a certain time once a week so that I would be in the hallway in the dorm at that time so that I could answer the phone! It's still hard for her to understand life without a cell phone. ha ha.

    Thanks for your post!

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    1. Maggie WardFebruary 2, 2013 at 9:56 AM

      Thanks for sharing! It is amazing how times have changed! I thought back to my high school days where we all had pagers (90's) I hated those things too! My Dad would page me page after page if I got into trouble and I wasn't home in time. I couldn't imagine being that age and having a cell phone, they could have tracked me at my parties!!!

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2013 at 8:21 PM

    Maggie,
    Your addiction to Facebook is the reason I started on the site. My wife and I worked at a company in Indiana back in 2008 that closed down because of the drop in the economy. I created a Facebook account to keep in touch with former co-workers that were friends since we didn’t have the money to meet up and hang out. I used to reply regularly to friends and talk about what was going on in their and my life but I haven’t been a regular poster recently. I now use the site more for updating what is going on in my life and watching what others are doing. I think this use of the site is still in the spirit of what online communities can do for education but is not as interactive as I want the students I teach to have. One thing I am going to use the EDUC 630 class for is to use the lesson plans to rewrite how I incorporate the blogging, social media, and other technological based material into the students everyday life. Incorporating this online community spirit into the education will help them to build their resumes and allow them to show their knowledge, if they are also able to keep in touch with distant friends and family that is a bonus to the educational goal.

    Chris Lyons

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    1. Maggie WardFebruary 2, 2013 at 9:58 AM

      That is great Chris! What grade do you teach? I think blogging in the classroom can be great! Good luck!

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  4. ZachJanuary 26, 2013 at 11:01 AM

    Hey Maggie!
    Social media is a great resource tool to keeping people connected. I too gather advice from my friends via social media, though my preferred method is Twitter. I think I like the simplicity and quick reading ability that it brings.
    I agree with your final comments that online learning communities are effective in keeping touch with those that live farther away – though I think the negative is that it lets us be lazy when connecting with people next door. It can be quite the distraction and teen texting stats are only going higher. Face to face communication skills are declining – we (teachers, parents, adults) must be the examples for students.
    -Zach

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    1. Maggie WardFebruary 2, 2013 at 9:59 AM

      Hi Zach,
      You do bring up a great point that is why I think having a balance is super important too. It is great to hear that educators still are strong believers in appropriate people skills, I am complete compliance with you!

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  5. UnknownJanuary 27, 2013 at 6:34 PM

    MAggie,

    I recently retired from the military and was fortunate enough to work a job that introduced and trained me to use these communication media sources. As a public affairs representative for Virginia's Air National Guard, I utilized facebook, web sites, and skype to communicate with other members located outside the area. Funny as it may be, I actually had to go and buy a stamp last week to send a communication. Boy did I look lost! Thanks for your input.

    Jim Orbin
    Liberty University

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  6. UnknownJanuary 27, 2013 at 9:21 PM

    Hey Maggie,

    I agree! One of my favorite online sites is Facebook as well as twitter. Just like you I joined Facebook because a lot of my old classmates from high school was on it and I could keep in contact with them. A lot of my family that I don't get to see often had joined facebook and it was an excellent way to stay close to them. Twitter is another one that I must say that I use often. I use twitter to clear my mind.

    LaKeshia Ellis
    Liberty University

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