Web 2.0 Slam - 'Performing' Innovative Practice
Strewth Bruce, looks like Skippy the Kangaroo is going to need to get a Twitter account.
Australia is to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to give people early warning of bushfires.
Residents of towns in Victoria state have said they had little or no warning of the devastating blazes that killed 173 people in February.
Read more on BBC News.
The BBC reports on concerns about the fact that “M” the boss of MI6 has a Facebook account.
Personal details about the life of the next head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, have been removed from social networking site Facebook amid security concerns.
The Foreign Secretary has weighed in and defended the John Sawers.
The UK foreign secretary has defended the next head of MI6 after details of his private life were removed from social networking site Facebook.
David Miliband denied security had been compromised after the wife of Sir John Sawers posted family photographs and details of their children and home.
Mr Miliband told the BBC: “You know he wears a Speedo swimsuit. That’s not a state secret.”
Is it an issue?
What do you think?
BBC reports on changes Facebook wants to make.
The social networking site Facebook has come under fire for planned changes to its privacy settings.
It wants to “simplify” the process so users only have to set them once, instead of for each individual feature.
Facebook says the change will help people share more information with one another.
However, critics argue the new set up could lead to members being persuaded to share too many personal details – their date of birth for example.
Fifty ways in which Twitter can be used to enhance and enrich learning in the classroom.
Some examples from the article…
5. Brainstorm. The ability to share ideas as the occur any time and any where creates an excellent opportunity for brainstorming on class topics.
16. Follow mentors. If professors or other key figures in your field of study are on Twitter, follow them to keep up with their research and activities.
So is Twitter just hype?
Research from people (who don’t use Twitter) seem to think so.
Micro-blogging service Twitter remains the preserve of a few, despite the hype surrounding it, according to research.
Just 10% of Twitter users generate more than 90% of the content, a Harvard study of 300,000 users found.
Anyone who reads my e-Learning Stuff blog will know that I believe that Twitter is all about the coffee and the conversation. Yes there is hype, but for my e-learning community of practice it is working really well as a collaboration and conversational tool.
Steve Wheeler over on Learning with E’s has similar thoughts about the Harvard study.
No, I’m not convinced that this study (which is a survey of 300,000 users) is actually saying anything useful or positive. Some people don’t get Twitter and others only get it partially and use it in a limited manner. Potentially, Twitter is one of the most powerful social networking tools ever to have emerged from the so-called Web 2.0 – and I think it will stand the test of time. There is a large and growing body of tools that support Twitter, and already a vast amount of evidence to show that Twitter can be used inventively as a teaching and learning tool. It seems to me that from their tone, the Harvard researchers can be numbered amongst those people who simply ‘don’t get’ Twitter.
Though having suffered recently from some Twitter problems, I hope that Twitter will sort them out so that Twitter can survive the hype and continue to be a useful tool.
BBC reports on how a UK teenager ’saved by Facebook’
A British teenager who took a drugs overdose has been saved after the American girl he was chatting to online raised the alarm.
Well I missed that one.
Last week saw the start of series 3 of BBC’s Robin Hood. Didn’t notice it was on, too busy watching Primeval I think!
From BBC News
There may have been few things that protesters, politicians and activists share, but during the G20 meeting, they were united by their use of Twitter.
The micro-blogging service was heavily used by all those involved with the meeting, be they in the debating chamber, quizzing politicians after briefings, or protesting beyond the police cordon.
This cartoon from the Washington Post amused me.
Found it via Frances Bell’s amusing blog article which takes this cartoon five stages further! Have a read and a smile.
BBC reports on new findings that show that not everyone thought highly of Robin Hood.
A Scottish expert has uncovered a medieval document suggesting negative attitudes towards Robin Hood.
The story of how Robin and his men stole from the rich to give to the poor has long been part of English folklore.
However, Julian Luxford of St Andrews University found a dissenting voice in a Latin inscription from about 1460 in a manuscript owned by Eton College.
The previously unknown chronicle entry says Robin “infested” parts of England with “continuous robberies”.
BBC reports on changes underway at Facebook following recent criticism.
Facebook has responded to criticism over the way it handles user data by handing over control to its users.
Members of the social network will have comment and voting rights over the firm’s future policies regarding how the site is governed.
Founder Mark Zuckerberg said the aim was to “open up Facebook so that users can participate meaningfully in our policies and our future”.
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