Wendy S. Markusen
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Thoughts on Microblogging

01/19/2014

3 Comments

 
Picture
A little birdie told me...
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites have brought a whole new meaning to this phrase.  While I understand that such media and cyber tools can be very useful and entertaining, I am apprehensive to buy in.  As a middle school teacher I constantly hear my students talking about who posted this or who tweeted that.  My least favorite word in the English language right now is "hashtag" (is that even a real word??).  #Cra-cra#supercute#OMG!  It's about enough to drive an old fart like me insane!  My biggest concern is the detrimental affect it can have on the lives of highly impressionable young people.  The false sense of anonymity, the absence of genuine face-to-face social interaction, and the risk of misinterpretation due to lack of context all make these trends potentially dangerous for teenagers like my students.
    However, I know that social media is the future of socializing and news reporting.  I'm sure if I had a business or played on a high profile sports team I would find it more useful than simply personal entertainment.  Until I am forced into it, I'll rely on old fashioned phone calls and e-mails when interacting with my students and their parents and I'll save Facebook for my personal friends and family only.  (Actually, I am lying because I do use an app called "Remind 101" which allows me to text my students without them knowing my real phone number.  I just like to live up to the façade that I can live in the dark ages when the internet was in its first 20 years of existence, young people still dialed the kind of phones that plugged into the wall, and you had your closest friends' phone numbers memorized, not stored in your contacts list.) 

 


Comments

Jessica Schendel
01/22/2014 8:49pm

There are many people in the world that miss use microblogging. They post things that are inappropriate or that are of no use to anyone but if used in the right context I believe that it can be a huge help. With sports it is an easy way to get out a message or changes in events. It is also a great way to let people know what a great job someone did or what awards may have been won. I do agree with you to a point but I also believe that if used correctly it can be an amazing thing and very useful.

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Wendy S. Markusen
01/23/2014 7:12am

@ Jessica: I agree with your point about sports and other environments, but I still believe it is too dangerous to be used in public education and at this point in time can also be detrimental for teenagers.

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Tamara Monson
01/23/2014 3:57pm

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for your commentary. The "Remind 101" app sounds like a really great app to send information to students. I currently teach at a high school, and while I do have email to communicate with my students, it would be great to send text messages since those seem to be the way students communicate the most. Thanks for the info!

In response to the notion that people would actually have phone numbers memorized vs. simply stored in a contacts list, that's actually the indicator for me as to how long I've known a person. If I know your number--well, at least the number to the house in which you grew up--you've been a friend for over 20 years. If I have to email you to get your phone number if I lose my phone/contacts, that's an indicator you haven't been friends with me for too long.

Have a great end to your work week!

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    Wendy

    This blog was created to share assignments for my M.A. classes at Fresno Pacific University.

    About me:
    I am a mother, wife, teacher, and student.  My family is my first priority.  I have a passion for health and fitness and try to lead by example in my Physical Education and Leadership classrooms.

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