Collaboration 2.0?
Howard Rheingold is developing the collaboratory that will redefine pedagogy, education and communication utilizing emerging media.
http://socialmediaclassroom.com/
class web
Mind the Gap: Collaboration 2.0?
Howard Rheingold is developing the collaboratory that will redefine pedagogy, education and communication utilizing emerging media.
http://socialmediaclassroom.com/
i'm sure this could be useful if you were designing the collabratec.com website, but i'm not really sold on the greatness of this Social Media Classroom where it pertains to school. Sure it's a decent addendum to a class, but only for classes that require in depth discussion b/n students...otherwise i don't see such a tool really being utitilized properly. the great majority of classes i have taken in my life (mostly art and natural sciences) have necessitated very little group discussions.
also, in the video, the dude at 3:30 needs to learn to work on the timing between raising a drink and opening his mouth to imbibe it.
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on a completely useless note, the guy being REALLY excited about his coke was the highlight of my viewing experience.
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Point one: Howard Rheingold is decidedly an expert in our field of interest, or at least in analyzing and trying to manipulate modern communication tools to better facilitate effective communication.
Point two: Maybe because of Point 1, I expected a miracle solution, but I don't feel that his "social media classroom" (SMC) tops what we already have at our disposal. As Phillip noted, most classes don't require the sort of commitment that a tool like Rheingold's demands. His SMC is a nice neat box that helps to synthesize many tools available and would no doubt help students manage their options and, as he notes, if it is used CORRECTLY would likely be valuable to collaboration and time management.
If we plan to only design tools for classes such as ours, I believe this route is a good one to take. If we plan to try to create an immersive, collaborative environment for every class, even the ones that only require in-class participation no matter the content or format, I believe we have a long way to go. With this one, Rheingold is still in the box, just decorating the walls.
-Lacy Mahone
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I would probably transfer to another school if I had to use this application. Its nothing but MySpace with video chat. Learning will be compromised in such a system.
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i completely agree with this. i think it is becoming too social, and i also agree with Phillip in stating that it would be useful if we were making a .com site but we aren't so i don't know how useful the site would be as a whole. i think pieces of it could be learned from, but from what he had we have already cam up with.
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I think Howard Rheingold is really on to something. I like the fact that he's trying to aggregate all sorts of course content and enclose it all in a scaffolding of Web 2.0 tools. I think creating this scaffold in "open source" makes for unlimited possibilities and gives the Social Media Classroom some longevity and flexibility (think Firefox or Moodle). Some major issues I have with the current version are a) look and feel - it's kind of clunky right now. b) you have to download/install something. Adobe has a couple of very cool online collaborative applications; Buzzword and Acrobat Connect, that don't require any software downloads because they use Acrobat Reader and Flash Player both "standard Issue" software already installed on 90% of the world computers today. - Tom N
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I don't see this website doing much more than what our CollabrATEC website. Social Media has a blog, a Wiki and a message board. I did like the idea of color coding the tabs to match the page. This affords easy navigation and knowledge of where you are. The one statement that I appreciated from Rheingold is..."Don't try to keep up with the technology but rather keep up with the literacy that technologies make possible." I prefer to stick with CollabrATEC.com myself.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrslljcnD8k&feature=related
This technology would pretty much void any plans we could come up with concerning digital space requirements. Maybe we should concentrate on a building and it's criteria, further.
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I didn't see anything new or exciting about this social media classroom. All it did was dumping all the existing social/ networking functions into one website. It probably will not work very well if the users are not teenagers or people who work with computers all the time. Once you put too many good things in one space, it gets confusing. A simple concept will seem too complex. And its users will be too frustrated to see the useful side of it.
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I believe this is a foundational platform that can be used to build upon, which is the stated intention from Rheingold. All of the tools incorporated in this platform (integrated forums, wikis, blogs, chat, comment, social bookmarking, microblogging, social video, video commenting, RSS, widgets, - his “first set of tools”-along with the included areas for curricular material: syllabi, lesson plans, resource repositories, screencasts and videos, which is what he calls “just the web service part of it”) I feel would be useful to integrate into our project platform.
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Howard Rheingold’s idea is an interesting one. However, I am torn on how collaborative it really is and how it is more of a gateway for multiple social media applications. For students, a central location for staying in touch, information and assignments is easier, but is it more applicable for all classes that what is already available? Unless it is a social media or journalism class, I am not sure students would use all the applications. If they will only use one or two for class would this application be unwieldy and unused by students.
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