Social media is a force that has the power to change lives. This weeks TED.com video, Wiring a web for global good, by Gordon Brown points out quite dramatically the power that Social Media has to change lives on a global scale. But what has occurred to me as I have researched this topic, is the changes that social media has made in my life. Here are just a few examples. Last year on my class syllabus, under teacher contact, I had my district email, this years class syllabus has my district email, personal email, facebook, twitter, blog, class website, and my ichat. I make it a regular habit to check my netvibes, home page at least twice each day. Last year I had no idea what I netvibes account was. I always thought of myself as a fairly technically educated person but the first four months in this graduate program has exposed me to a world that I had no idea was out there. Now I find myself wanting to expose my students to this world and it is a challenge since what I teach is science. But the personal change is not limited just to exposure to the new forms of media and social networking but more about the understanding of the power that these new forms of media have. I can learn more in ten minutes through the social media connections I have then I could in ten days of searching on my own. Many of my fellow teachers are hesitant to try this stuff because they believe it will be a major drain on their time but I believe that when used correctly my social networks save me far more time then they have cost me to set up."In a network people act independently, but that doesn't mean alone. A person defines their place in a network by what is important to them. Networks share problem solving. Most research in group dynamics suggests that groups of five to seven members working together get the best results." (Downes, 2007) All of these factors allow social networks to solve problems and find solutions much faster and better than working alone. I was amazed by the story of the gold mining company, this company was ready to close it's doors because even with all the companies resources the company could not find gold. So they put the problem out there for the world to solve by publishing their geological findings and then having a contest to find gold. The company turned a five hundred thousand dollar investment into 3.4 billion dollars worth of gold. This is an amazing story of the power of social networks in business but even more dramatic are the multiple stories from the TED.com video. When people are made aware of social problems and motivated to help, amazing things happen.
So I will leave you with this, I work with students everyday that are being left behind because they are not allowed access to this amazing world of social networks. I feel almost helpless to do anything about it. I need your ideas and your resources to effect change in this environment. Will you help me?
Brown, G. (2009, July) Gordon Brown: Wiring a web for global good [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.ted.com/talks/gordon_brown.html
psbobj (2007, May) Collective Intelligence - The Vision [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQe8dWTbE2U
Downes S., (2006) Groups Vs Networks retrieved Oct, 2008 http://choicelearning.blogspot.com/2006/09/group-vs-network.html
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