Week 1: Getting Acquainted

Overview : January 14th-January 20th

This first week is dedicated to getting to know each other while opening accounts on the different platforms and applications we will be experimenting with during this session.We will be also connecting to the Future of Learning in a Networked World event and ongoing discussion.

Activities

Getting acquainted with the course environment, identifying yourself and socializing with other participants.

  • Once you have first logged into the Dekita SMiELT you have been taken to your account page. If you have not customized it then, do it now by clicking on the Edit button in "My account" and filling in the account settings and personal information. See example. Do not use sentences, but tags (keywords) to define your interests.
  • Post an introductory message in the Dekita SMiELT Social Forum to get acquainted with the other course participants and socialize playing the Magical Chairs game.
  • Open accounts on the different platforms and applications (blog, a feedreader, Flickr, 43Trio, del.icio.us, Twitter or Jaiku, Community Walk, VoiceThread, dotSUB). We recognize that opening accounts is a tedious process. We suggest you register the same e-mail address for all of them so you do not get mixed up. You may want to use Keepass (Windows only) or Sxipper (Firefox add-on) to help you manage your passwords in a secure way. For most tools we have provided tutorials (see bulletted lists under each tool) in case you find difficulty in setting them up. If you have any doubts or need some extra explanation, please use the SMiELT Media Forum.
  • Configure your Wordpress blog. If you have any doubts, refer to the tutorials for this tool. Add links to your personal accounts of the different applications to the Wordpress blogroll (dashboard + blogroll tab + add link).
  • You may want to name the category My Portfolio or Social Media. See example
  • In your own blog, write an About page giving some info about you (go to Dashboard, write Page (not Post) in your Wordpress blog). You may also add other static pages in Wordpress like for instance, a timetable for your course, your presentations, classes, publications, homework

Observation task: layout, functionality, characteristics, similarities, differences, definitions

  • Answer these questions (on a post page in your Wordpress blog) about the social tools you have just linked under the Social Media/My Portfolio category.
  1. What have you noticed about the various platforms that you have opened accounts on? What do they have in common? How do they differ?
  2. Are these environments different from LMS (like Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle and others)? How?
  3. What does "social media" mean for you? Which social media have you used already and what are your feelings about it?
  • Optional extras:
    • Sum up the presentation our guests made at the end of the week and post your reflection on your blog.
    • Check the Future of Learning in a Networked World blog and wiki, read this post, observe what is happening and blog your impressions. You may want to participate in some of the online events.
    • If you have finished doing it all and still have some time to spare, check out the reading list or amuse yourself customizing your blog by inserting some add-ons to your blog sidebar. Depending on the presentation (blog template) you have chosen, you may need to use the Wordpress widget page.

    Benchmarks

    I have:

    1. Signed up to the SMiELT site, updated my account, profile,photo, interests, time zone, posted an introductory message in the SMiELT Social Forum and socialized playing the Magical Chairs game.
    2. opened personal accounts at: Wordpress , 43Things, 43Places, 43People, Flickr, Twitter or Jaiku, Community Walk, VoiceThread, dotSUB and an aggregator of my choice (Bloglines, Pageflakes, Google Reader)
    3. configured my Wordpress blog, opened an About page with my bio.
    4. added the category My Portfolio/Social Media + the links to all my personal social tool accounts underneath
    5. observed the layout and features of different tools, answered the questions and posted my impressions in my blog, adding the tag SMiELT08 and EVO08.
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