The Internet In 60 Seconds

What Happens in 60 Seconds on The Internet

Shut down your Internet for sixty seconds and here's a sampling of what you will miss:

• 1500+ blog posts
• 98,000 new tweets
• 12,000 new ads on Craigslist
• 20,000 new posts on Tumblr
• 600 new videos (25+ hours worth) on YouTube

Gizmodo.com

Classroom Guide: Top 10 Tips for Teaching With New Media

Here is a link to a free guide put out by edutopia.org.

Classroom Guide: Top 10 Tips for Teaching With New Media
This guide helps you make the most of the latest technologies and innovative ways to use them during the school year.  Full of practical ways to prepare students for 21st century success, this guide will help you deliver the relevant and meaningful education all students deserve.

Back When I Was A Kid...

Back when I was a kid is the statement we swore we would never say.  I am at the point where, at 31 years old, I see the huge difference from when I was a kid and kids today.  Undoubtedly, most of the change is with technology.  My mothers greatest goal was to get us to watch less television by limiting our viewing hours and always honoring the 'no TV for a week' campaign.  Now, television is not even the issue.  Kids are wired (well more like wireless) everywhere and it is portable and traveling with them everywhere.  Internet, gaming, texting,  portable music, the list goes on and on.

For today's youth, being wired is a way of life.  The average teen sends more than 50 texts a day; younger children spend over 10 hours a week playing video games; and the amount of time all kids spend online daily has tripled in the past 10 years. - PARADE MAGAZINE (October 9, 2011)

Being passionate about educational technology I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing as long as it enhances their lives and experiences.  I tell the technologyphobes at my school all the time that technology should not change what you teach but enhance it.  It should touch all the different learning styles and spark the students curiosity.

Does Higher Education Need To Offer Classes on Digital Literacy?

I stumbled upon an interesting article today called, Universities must rethink their approach to student digital literacy.  It is an interesting read and got me thinking.  How many, if any, high-school through higher education programs offer such classes?  You would think with the changing social media it would be an important and relevant topic to discuss and not something to shove aside or treat negatively.  Students need to understand what what they put online is there for the whole world to see.  If can effect their future job searches and opportunities.  Communication digitally vs. in person is very different.  Wouldn't it be nice to show them all the possibilities and how to communicate appropriately in a digital world.  Not only show them how but how to use that to their advantage to land their dream job or become a leader in their field of interest.

Google+ Growth Explodes

No surprise here. Google+ growth has exploded this week mostly due to the fact that people don't like change and were annoyed with the Facebook profile shuffling this week. Every time Facebook switches profiles around people get bent out of shape, but this time seems worse then usual. Here is an interesting blog post from Jeff Bullas.