Michele Brannon-Hamilton's Blog

I believe social software tools alone have changed the face of the Internet because people naturally like to develop communities. Social software programs like Facebook and Second Life are engaging and fun. I use Facebook to connect with friends and family here and overseas with a frequency that might not normally happen. I can see photos of people and keep up-to-date with what they are doing.

I tried to incorporate Facebook into my current job as a learning skills advisor but I couldn’t really figure out a way to add people in the way I wanted and I really don’t want students in my personal Facebook. I decided it might not be the right tool for my purpose but I will look into it further.

Last month, I took a Second Life workshop and created an avatar. What an interesting experience. I can understand why people like creating and connecting to others in new and interesting ways. It was a little intimidating since the instructor kept reminding us not to change our clothes while out in public. She was really worried that we would appear naked!

Educationally speaking, I think Facebook might be limited in my case but may work for other instructors if many students are already online. The problem I would face again would be allowing students into my private life. I think Second Life has its place in the classroom though. Teachers can use this program to create virtual worlds that students can explore. However, we had trouble at our school because the video cards were old and the computers too slow.

Overall, I look forward to trying new collaborative or social software because people like communicating together. I think it works very well in the classroom because new knowledge can be created by groups of students. Please read my post on weblogs and wikis to read about my experiences there.