Hello:
Today, January 20, 2009, is a momentous day in history, an American celebration. Inauguration Day occurred in United States but the world was watching.
Dr. Whitehouse offers some guiding questions for our IDT (Instructional Design Technology) course. I will use these questions to guide my blog.
What does it mean to be an adaptive and analytical educator in the 21st century?
What does it take to be a 21st century educator who integrated technology effectively?
What is Web 2.0 and why is it important to understand how to use Social Networking Tools?
Today I received a telephone call from a close friend. Bodil lives in Denmark. We met in college and remained friends. For our friendship to endure, our long distance social networking was airmail letters, Christmas cards, sometimes a birthday card. Included in those cards and letters were words, experiences and images.
Both geographical space and time separates our lives, yet we remain interested in building and maintaining a friendship. The technology of mail, photographs, and greeting cards created and enlarged our social network.
Communication joined our lives. Bodil, a native Dane, spoke English. The English language became a venue. We shared mutual; interests and values. Our social networking was face to face, but also what joined our lives were mutual interests in our families, hiking, wanting to learn, laughing, and wiliness to share. The platform to our friendship was a shared language but also a shared vision of how we viewed our world and experiences.
Two important phone calls occurred that I remember. The first call was on the evening of September 11, the day terrorism struck our country. The second call was to express her happiness regarding President-Elect Obama.
Again, technology joined our lives, effective social networking depends on willingness to want to meet others, to learn from others, to accept and appreciate who they are as individuals. Language improves social networking but today we can share images immediately. There are Blogs, Flicker, Face book, My Space and other sites. I am a support for Web 2.0 resources. It offers new ways to build learning networks, to share ideas and learn and to socialize. I believe when we share pictures those human facial expressions, those gestures help to join use and define who we are. It is not a replacement for face to face but it joins us instantly because it crosses the barrier of space and time.
Is it really the technology that is changing how we networking? Are we now re-discovering we can share the same human experience?
Today letter writing has become an art form. During World War II letter writing reached its peak because it was seen letter writing improved the moral of military service personnel.
(See:
http://digitalcommons.bryant.edu/ww2letters/) The technology was mail, but the original purpose remains the same, to share, to learn, and network.
"V-Mail used standardized stationery and microfilm processing to produce lighter, smaller cargo. " "V-Mail assisted with logistical issues while acknowledging the value of communication. In 41 months of operation, letter writers using the system helped provide a significant lifeline between the frontlines and home. "
http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/victorymail/index.htmlBe sure to view the newsreel describing V-Mail...
View a two-minute newsreel describing V-Mail: "New Service Speeds Mail to U.S. Troops, 1944," produced by the Office of War Information. National Archives (208-UN-113
http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/victorymail/letter/index.htmlDuring the Iraq war, our military personnel connect to the homefront, using personal emails, making cell phone calls and sending images. During the Iraq war, handwritten letters are few. These technology changes may influence how we understand and interpret our military history.
Today, emails and blogs are replacing personal letter writing and journals. John Adams our second President wrote extensively in journals. See (
http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/aea/diary/)
Adams journals and letters documents our early beginnings and struggles as a nation. His thoughts and letters joined others. His thinking and letters helped the founding leaders become analytical problem solvers. Today his letters help us interpret and understand our past.
President Barack Obama depends on his ‘Blackberry’ and is expected to be the first email president, according to a New Times Article.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/16/america/blackberry.phpI support technology integration; however, educators must recognize past venues. I argue the paper and pencil note we wrote and mailed represent technology integration. Web 2.0 resources offer new tools, concepts, and skills for building friendships across space and time. In the 21st century, the use of Web 2.0 resources offers the user the opportunity to build new learning networks and improve our problem solving skills and building new global friendships.
