Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, Blogger.com, texting, and e-mail... So many ways to stay in touch with my family, friends, colleagues, students, and basketball teams. I am sure many of you out there remember a time when telephones didn't even have answering machines... If you missed the call you missed the call. Oh how far we have come! As with anything, there are pros and cons to the developments we have seen, but whether you like the changes or not, social media is here to stay. Do you have to participate? Of course not, but tons of people around you are. How has that changed things? Who is there guiding our young people through the ups and downs of it all? I am sure we've all heard some horror stories that involve the use of social media and/or our e-mail and texting. As a computer educator I have chosen to get involved for many reasons. One big one is to stay on the cutting edge so I can help guide the young people I teach. Another reason is it allows me to communicate and share with the people in my education world, whether they are students, parents, or colleagues. With my freelance work, it helps me share my work, communicate with clients, and to reach out to potential clients. Personally, I get to see what's going on with friends, old and new and occasionally I share what's going on with me... Funny thing is I tend to be more of a private person when I get the chance. That's a bit of my wonderful, but shy mother coming through. That and by the time I get home from working on a computer all day, the last thing I want to do is get connecting and check in on people... Anyway, I am sure it is not hard to see the benefits of social media, but we can't forget that what we do and say online will follow us in the "real" world...
So, how has social media and the technology at our fingertips affected your life?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The Power of Media
So it's been a awhile, again and I was telling myself, "I need to blog, I need to blog", but I couldn't really wrap my head around a topic. Then it hit me, "The Power of Media". Two questions come to mind. What does that mean? and Why blog about it?
To me, "the power of media" means that through media, such as this blog, Facebook, podcasts, radio, TV, movies, etc. the creator of that media has the ability to reach people and to possibly affect their mindset. Whether it is done consciously or subconsciously, people that create content help shape the world we are in. As a teacher, I have access to hundreds of young people throughout the year and being a computer teacher I am showing them how to create content. In my yearbook class, we not only make the yearbook, but we put out a DVD yearbook, two newspapers a year, a weekly newscast, a monthly newsletter, and we utilize Facebook and Instagram to help get the word out in regards to the activities we do, like our Get Inspired Project, which consists of many projects thought up and carried out by the students with a simple goal of helping to better the world we live in. They use all of our media options to help promote their cause. OK, now we have an idea of what it means, now, why am I blogging about it?
Personally, I have been struggling a bit to find a clear path to take in regards to all of the activities that I am involved in. I won't bore you with the specifics, but as I've expressed in the past, I am the type of person to have tons of things going on at once. Constantly juggling the activities I am involved in. One thing I don't do a good job of is sharing my experiences whether good or bad with people that may be interested or may be able to benefit from the insights gained. For me, the way my brain works, this particular blog about the power of media is helping me to find the direction I want to take. It's time to use the technology at my fingertips spark conversation, to get involved. I can share what I am doing with it, as I have done a bit, but I also want to find out what others are doing. How are you using the media available to you? Are you only a passive consumer of the media, meaning do you just sit back and watch or listen to the content that others are creating or are you one of the creators? Remember, it is those that create that have the potential to shape our world. I'm interested! Anybody else? What are you working on? What message, if any, do you have?
To me, "the power of media" means that through media, such as this blog, Facebook, podcasts, radio, TV, movies, etc. the creator of that media has the ability to reach people and to possibly affect their mindset. Whether it is done consciously or subconsciously, people that create content help shape the world we are in. As a teacher, I have access to hundreds of young people throughout the year and being a computer teacher I am showing them how to create content. In my yearbook class, we not only make the yearbook, but we put out a DVD yearbook, two newspapers a year, a weekly newscast, a monthly newsletter, and we utilize Facebook and Instagram to help get the word out in regards to the activities we do, like our Get Inspired Project, which consists of many projects thought up and carried out by the students with a simple goal of helping to better the world we live in. They use all of our media options to help promote their cause. OK, now we have an idea of what it means, now, why am I blogging about it?
Personally, I have been struggling a bit to find a clear path to take in regards to all of the activities that I am involved in. I won't bore you with the specifics, but as I've expressed in the past, I am the type of person to have tons of things going on at once. Constantly juggling the activities I am involved in. One thing I don't do a good job of is sharing my experiences whether good or bad with people that may be interested or may be able to benefit from the insights gained. For me, the way my brain works, this particular blog about the power of media is helping me to find the direction I want to take. It's time to use the technology at my fingertips spark conversation, to get involved. I can share what I am doing with it, as I have done a bit, but I also want to find out what others are doing. How are you using the media available to you? Are you only a passive consumer of the media, meaning do you just sit back and watch or listen to the content that others are creating or are you one of the creators? Remember, it is those that create that have the potential to shape our world. I'm interested! Anybody else? What are you working on? What message, if any, do you have?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)