Week 7 Reflection: Social Software in Education

There was certainly a lot of information in this week's reading, covering a wide range of topics all under the social networking umbrella. I chose to focus on the social software report, as I am interested in how these tools will play a part in my actual teaching experience. It has been so neat to learn about all these sites, but kind of like a pro-d day where you get a whole bunch of new ideas but haven't actively planned how you are going to use them, I wanted to see what this report said about social software's role in education.

The report has a lot of useful information (such as a very detailed explanation of different kinds of social software), but the most important part to me is the list of social software's key characteristics. The report lists qualities of social software that explain why it is important in the realm of education. Prior to this list, I was reading sweeping statements: that it enabled people to "to learn together, to collaborate and to build knowledge" (Owen, Grant, Sayers & Facer 2008), and so forth. But the list of characteristics are concrete ideas and statements about exactly how social software fits into the education system, and I really need that. It answers the question of "why" for me.

Another part of this report that stands out for me is section 3.3, which addresses the question of "How do we educate for creativity and innovation in the ICT age?" (Owen, Grant, Sayers & Facer 2008). As you've seen in my prior posts, I did worry that the expectation for amazing digital tools would result lack of creativity and a scorn for anything simple (See my Week 3 Relection; after all, what's wrong with just telling a story? Why does it have to be digital?). It is nice to see this issue addressed in the report.

Thus, in section 3.3, the creative process in Japanese industry is described. It shows that in order for creativity to blossom, there needs to be a way for thinkers to externalize their thoughts. Without externalizing their thoughts, ideas remain tacit, personal and essentially unseen. By having a space for dialogue and creating a place to collaborate, creativity is enhanced. Ideas, though perhaps repeated throughout the creative process, become refined, challenged, and openly discussed.

This week, I hope to try out some more social networking sites and think about how to use it in my teaching. So far I have twitter, facebook, and a blog. I've posted a video on youtube and am working on my wiki. What's next? Stay tuned!

Reference:
Owen, M., Grant, L., Sayers, S., & Facer, K. (2006). Opening education: Social software and learning. Futurelab: Retrieved June 21, 2008 from http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/opening_education/Social_Software_report.pdf