How we are communicating and are we really? Quick thought about the impact of the internet.

Too busy to post on social media, yeah right!

Wow, it's been two months since I last posted. I've had many thoughts, experiences and learnings, but time seems to tick away. Time? It's a challenged for me as I always try to strieve a balance between my vocational duties and personal interests and priorities.

I find that as I continue to strive and seek connections in edtech and online communities, I am able to prioritize and manage my time. But, the time on-line seems to have gone up in my priority list! Why is this?

There are so many social media networks which have slightly differing purposes and value, that as I discover and join one, I hesitate and ultimately incorporate the new one into my daily routine (instead of dropping  or replacing it). So much time online. So much time surfing. Sure I'm surfing the internet with a purpose, but still surfing the internet.

One way of looking at the multifaceted ways social media can be used.
Can you see where and how more recent examples of Social Media fit it?

I could list all of the networks, connections and accounts that I have, but by doing a google search my name, all of them come up - here's a quick look of my footprint 11,000 results in 0.23 seconds.

Try a google search on your name or handle yourself!! Astounding isn't it?

(Remember, there is always someway one's profiles are that transparent and public - but I digress and will perhaps make that a topic of a separate blog post.)

Back to cybersurfing, despite being purposeful - connecting and communicating via online professional learning networks.

An illustration of how one person (Damien Basille) became intertwined in the Social Media web.

How the internet is changing our children?

I often think about how technology and social media affects me, my development and relationships with the world. That's why I'm excited to head to the Bloor Hot Docs theatre this afternoon. I'm going to do one of my volunteer shifts and see the documentary is called InRealLife. The doc explores how the internet is affecting youth in Britain.




As the start of the trailer mentions, "The people who invented the internet has no idea that this would become the basis of society."

Scary isn't it? Is it scary?

 I believe my generation sees tech and access to tech as tools to support learning and communicating.
We put the tools into nice charts and graphics - to explain, categorize and make sense of how we are incorporating the 21st century tech into our worlds. In my role as an assistive technology teacher, I also provide support and problem solve ways that Special Education teachers and students can have learning opportunities to access the curriculum by using technology in the model of differentiation.
But what about our students, who for them, all these "tools"are interwoven and just part of their daily lives. How is the exponential growth and daily use of social media apps and ongoing development of other software and hardware (see 3D printing, 4D printing, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality etc.) changing our kids? Or is it?

It will be interesting to see how many questions this doc may answer for me. But again, like most of our experiences, with answers there are always more questions.