More and more social networking sites continue on surfacing
on the Internet and expanding. With all the emerging technologies, people tend
to communicate more through their smart phones and social networking sites than
email, snail mail, land phone or face-to-face. This shift is impacting all
generations and all disciplines including education.
EbizMBA guide just listed the fifteen social networking
sites in 2015 with an estimate of the number of users that affiliate with each
site. This list starts off with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google
+, Tumblr, Instagram, VK, Flickr, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm, Meetme and
Classmates.
Ask.fm is a social network with almost a 141 million
registered users, 25 billion answers and 49 languages. It is a global community for friends, family
members, and others who can post a question and receive a variety of answers.
Also the site allows users to ask a question anonymously. On this site, the
main communication and interaction run through the prompts posted by users
asking and responding to questions, which allows the freedom of expression.
Moreover, users can link their Ask.fm account to their Facebook’s account,
Twitter, and/or Vk.com.
From a pedagogical point of view, this site enables adult
learners to connect with each other and exchange questions and answers. This will create a learning community and
promote a higher level of critical thinking. Users can block or refuse to
receive questions
from people they don’t know or would not like to interact with. The site lists and defines its core values, which are :"“Curiosity, Anonymity, Safety, Respect, and Togetherness”.
One of the most popular social networks is Facebook. It has
the highest number of users. It connects people around the globe and nowadays, it
became an important social trend. Due to its popularity, many other websites
try to integrate Facebook to bring traffic to their websites.
My first experience with Facebook was during my BA classes
when a person from the cohort of twelve volunteered to create a private group
on Facebook. She explained that we would be able to stay informed about the
weekly assignments, quizzes and exams dates, as well as collaborating within
the group and extending help to each other. I wasn’t too thrilled with the
idea; however the experience was fruitful. Having our private group on Facebook
was easy to access and the collaboration among all of us an amazing learning
experience. This group stayed private
until we’ve completed our courses.
Social networks can
be used for different purposes, including education. It’s an immediate and fast
technology that enables learners to interact virtually, express their needs,
exchange ideas and information, and develop new knowledge and skills.
Reference:
http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites
Mona,
ReplyDeleteI am not familiar with Ask.fm as a social networking site. I know about and have used Ask.com to get answers to questions but I was not aware of the networking site. One advantage that you mentioned is the fact that one can be anonymous. With some people being fearful of social media because of privacy issues, this will be a good site to use if one does not want to disclose one's identity.
Doris
Hi Doris,
DeleteThank you for your comments. I am also not familiar with Ask.fm social network. I didn't even know it exists until I started the research for other networking sites.
I like the sound of ask.fm. Sometimes I have questions that I want to ask but I feel like others will think they are dumb questions, so I end up just searching for the answer without ever really asking the question. I like the idea of being able to ask a question and remain anonymous. I have also never thought about using Facebook for private class use. They reason I started a Facebook account was because I live so far away from all my family and friends on the mainland. This has been a way for me to keep in touch and show them all pictures of my son growing up. I never really thought of using Facebook for educational classes. Thank you for the information.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly,
DeleteThank you for reading my blog and sharing this information. In my opinion, there is no dumb question, trust me! As human beings we don't and we can't know everything. Learning happens informally and formally for every person who purposely inquires about something. For example, even though I speak 5 languages where 3 of them derive from latin and 2 don't so I feel very comfortable asking if learning Chinese difficult, interesting or boring? this is a subjective question and I will get many answers, right?
Hi Mona,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing information about Ask.fm. This is a new fort me. I teach a bible class and I think this would be a great tool for individuals to share their thoughts or ask questions. When it comes to discussing religion, many people fear asking what some may perceive as a “dumb” question. I believe that the anonymous capability would allow people to speak (via the internet) freely. I kind like the advantage of posting questions or even answers anonymously, but then it also opens the door to abusers. I hope there is some type of security feature available.
Cassandra
Hi Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I am glad to know that you can use Ask.fm for your bible class. I should join your class one day (this has been a plan for quite some time now). They do offer securities as you click on core values and see how they handle them.
Hi Mona, (Blog)
ReplyDeleteFacebook is the most popular social networking website. Facebook is the biggest platform among all other social networking site, as it has a unique source of generating revenue and traffic. An application is the most worthy asset of Facebook, it helps every business no matter big or small in order to promote their respective brands and services, hence it is very essential for ever business owners to create customized Facebook application which not only excites the user to practice it but also to share it contagiously among other users.
Great Post !
Hi Reem,
DeleteThank you for your comments. You are definitely right. Who doesn't know facebook? is the question. The traffic on this social network site is humungous and it could be implemented in adult learning or 6-12th grade when set to private group and monitored by parents and teachers.