The Social Media Puzzle... it moves fast

In the Social Networking we've taken on a difficult issue in Assignment 20.

Social media has threaded itself into our society. For many, it's amplified struggles with long standing battles: our penchant to entertain ourselves, struggles in how we communicate, relevancy, learning, connecting, peer pressure, social cliques, harassment, stalking... you name it. People get scared, and in many cases, justly so.

With all those issues per se, Social Media has also opened up incredible opportunities in our world to make connections and to learn.

Each student in the class has been asked to dig deep and explore the feelings of the older generation, an adult on campus and also one (or both) of their parents and / or guardians on this issue. 

These tools didn't exist 10 years ago... but every generation has had it's issues, it's distractions with gadgets, and struggled with the social issues around them. Here are a few to refresh the memory!

Just ask someone who's over the age of 30 now what their parents thought of them 'spending so much time on that ridiculous telephone,' or how they 'could spend so much time watching television!'

We were receivers back then primarily... we watched and listened for the most part. Now it's about creating, publishing and group conversations. With the advancement of technology though, computers, the internet, mobile technology, the transition from what we term web 1.0 to web 2.0 (and 3.0 on the horizon)... all those old traditional conversations are accelerated, they get magnified. If things are accelerating, than so must our resolve to teach communication and collaboration skills students need.

What does that mean for our future? Gaining some perspective of the past, present and future... we're hoping... will help ; )

SocialNet Guest Speaker Series: Mr. Pete Nicholson - The English Teacher Tale

Our second guest speaker, Mr. Pete, 'Mr. Nic,' Nicholson.


Topic: The transition from high school to today.


Here are our cliff notes from the day.


__


Communications major 'by default.' Unsure of what he wanted to do.


Internship on 10 o’clock News in Philly. Found the career to be cynical. Looking for tragedy all the time.

Interviewed for sales postion. Door-to-door type thing. Couldn't really see himself doing it. He didn't want to be the most annoying man in the world. 

Sister got him a gig at Nickelodeon in the copy room.
Worked up to being a production Assistant: “first real job.”
MTV show ‘Unlimited.'
‘Show went too high brow to be successful. Should have been more trashy.’
Overall, the PD job was a 3-yr gig.
Constantly praised for work ethic... and made him wonder just how bad other employees were who had his job previously.
Had a philosophy... get there before your boss and leave after.

One day he had his existential moment where he asked himself, "is this it?" Decided that the current career path he was on wasn't working for him. So he saved up his money and decided to buy a used car and he followed Horace Greeley's advice and he went West. Started hoarding money. Packed up shop.

Traveled 8 months alone from Missoula, down the West coast, through New Mexico, and all the way back to his brother in Vermont.

Read ‘The Alchemist.' Book had a large impact on his thinking.

Started asking himself ‘what am I going to do when I get back?’
Started daydreaming of teaching.

Took some classes in Albany to get English credits and then moved to Bristol and went to UVM to get his Masters in English.  

He and his then girlfriend, now wife, decided to move back to Manchester and it was after he moved back, he then interviewed for the teaching position at BBA which he obviously got and the rest, as they say, is history.

As career went on... stopped thinking about perfection and more process.

Life is not without battles. Self doubt and the like.

SocialNet Guest Speaker Series: Financial Do's Dont's and How. With Mrs. Lisa Souls

Many thanks to our first guest speaker in the Social Net class, Mrs. Lisa Souls.

Topic: Financial Do's and Don'ts. How to get started.

Here are our cliff notes from the day.

___


What should you look for when your borrowing money?

• Interest rates and the cost of funds.
• Looking at interest rates, you need to look at late fees and the interest rates.
• Everything you spend money on goes to a credit report over time and it will follow you for seven to ten years.
• The biggest form of debt is due to credit cards.

Unsecured: Buying a t-shirt on credit, the bank won’t take it back
Secured: Mostly real estate, if you don’t pay, they will take it.

Credit

There are three major credit card bureaus. 300-850 worst to best credit.
You get three free credit reports a year.
Make sure, even if it seems like you're too young, get a credit report. myannualcreditreport.com is a free credit report.

Make sure you can pay off your monthly bill. The interest is sky high so don't use a credit card as a loan.
Get a credit card and pay it off each month. Don't spend what you can't afford. Credit cards themselves aren't bad... how we use them can be. Don't treat it as a loan. The interest is far too high. Don't feel 'entitled' to money you don't have.
Small purchases equal small payments and will help you to establish a credit rating.


Find a credit card that offers benefits that have value to you: money off at the pump, travel benefits, etc. They change all the time. keep up on it. There's no magic formula.

Federal vs. Private loans:
FHA (federal housing administration) is a conventional loan which guarantees the money. Since you don't have the money to put down on the loan they will put down more but they charge more as well. It is not the best program but it helps some people.

Investing

“Save money for a rainy day.” Set a budget. Save at least 10% or 5% if you can out of your income every check. Too many people who could save money don't. Most of them in that scenario end up paying for it later. Life throws obstacles at you.

401k. Take a certain percentage of your salary out of your check directly, tax free, and employers will match it. Usually ranges from 3% on through 5%. This is only applicable if you work for a certain company. If you don't contribute, they wont pay. If they offer it, take it. It's free money!


* Summarized by the class in collaborative editing and published by students.

Refitting our Social Networking Course Description

We had a discussion if the Social Networking course description was as good as it could be.


So... we had at trying a refit.


Here's the old one:


What role does technology and social media play in your life? Is it a source of entertainment and grounded to more typical school functions like reading, research, and writing? If so, there's a good deal more it can do. How can you leverage these tools to build an extensive learning network? How can you learn to deal with information overload? How can social media be leveraged into, well, more? Here are some other questions designed by your peers who created this course: What practical knowledge and tools will help you in the future to understand the world of finance, budgets, credit cards, online investing, amortization rates, taxes, individual retirement accounts, and mortgages? What resources will help you manage stress, and understand the role of nutrition in this modern world? We'll explore the questions from the class by leveraging social media... for you. We'll also use these tools and skills to connect with guest speakers. These speakers will discuss their areas of expertise and also how they made the transition from high school into the responsibilities of adult life. We'll use social networking skills to collaborate in and out of class and help you learn about how to head into your future. This class will consist of collaborative work, group discussions, explorations and projects designed by the class.


Here's the new one:


Ever get worried about life after high school? Need advice on finances? Credit cards? Bills? Online banking? Health? College? How to deal with roommates? How about nutrition? Cooking? Cars? Aging? Retirement? What practical knowledge do you need to help you into the future? We'll frame up questions as a class, and we'll find answers. We'll invite guest speakers in to share their expertise with the class on themes we design and also to discuss their personal transition from high school and into life. Along the way, we'll explore and uncover a deeper layer of using social media. We'll help you sculpt your thoughts on how you appear online, what you should know about these tools, and help you learn to leverage them to help you in the future. You'll learn more about how to learn, and how to communicate in this hyper-fast world. You'll gain deeper technology and social media skill, and gain a wealth of practical knowledge for your future. It's a course designed by your peers and explores your new questions each semester.


Thoughts? 


Anything we should add or change? Even better, design one of your own and tell us about it. Add your comments below. Your thoughts are very much appreciated!

Evolving... Blog name and 'SocialNet' course name

Image from: CafePress:
http://www.cafepress.com/+uss_enterprise_history_tile_coaster,472671744

I did some tuning today here on this site to refit the side menus... make things easier to find... especially for folks visiting the first time. I also posted our new Assignment Assessment forms, and a few other minor things.

The lab here has evolved... and keeps doing so.

Originally, this web site just housed the Tech Research class. The we moved in Hardware and Networking class (now taught by Mr Morrison), eDesign, and the new Social Networking course.

With these new course additions, the title of the blog (bbaTechResearch) may not, well, fit any longer.

Should we keep all the courses combined here? Is there a better title to house them all, something that encapsulates what we do?

Should the Social Networking course move onto its own blog?

As for the Social Networking Course... is this the right name for the course? Is there a better title? Something more descriptive?

We'll see where the discussions head.

Your thoughts on these matters are appreciated (add a comment!).

Keep moving forward...

AP

Class Discussion: First speaker

The Social Networking class has chosen 'Finance' as our first topic. We've framed up the following ideas for our questions and will send out an invitation to a guest speaker today! We're hoping to bring the guest speaker in next week.

Finance:

What should you look for when you borrow money?

Setting a budget: Especially in college:

Credit cards: How do they work?
Interest?
How does monthly billing work? Is interest charged monthly on unpaid balances?
What are some 'credit card traps' to watch out for?

Mortgages? How do they work?
Interest rates?
Paying on principal?

Car loans?

Online banking?

Safe investing?
CDs, Roth IRAs, Interest on accounts. What's the best option?

Saving money 'for a rainy day.' Problems with spending to your budget limit.

How did you get to where you are?
Did you want to do this when you were in high school?
Job path?
College experience? How did you manage this path?

What do you see as the future of your job?

What was your personal journey from high school into college, the workplace, to where you are now?

Other questions we should ask? Perhaps ones we should leave out for another time?

Thoughts?

New Course... Engage

For roughly three years we've been kicking the idea around of a 'Senior Seminar' type course here, specifically to meet the needs of our students graduating and moving into the world. We've had many discussions on 'starting here' and the need / opportunity to incorporate these tools into many other areas of the school. Hopefully the work that students do here can be a beacon to open doors in other curriculum areas. Here's one of my original posts here on my personal blog from when we started brainstorming with students on this topic.


Colby Halligan ('11) and Luen Proft ('11) shored up the work this semester that  Anders Ax ('08) and a host of others began and we again passed it on for approval.


We received notice this morning that this new course was approved so we're off and running. We'll be announcing more details about the course, asking for feedback online from the academic community here and abroad as to what to include, ideas for guest speakers, and for projects. Think tank sort of stuff: The essence of social networking... and moving forward.


Many thanks to Jenn Hyatt and Neil Freeburn for their input and also the cast of people who contributed ideas along the way.


Engage, AP


SOCIAL NETWORKING: A SENIOR SEMINAR
1 credit Level 2
Seniors (available to Juniors if there is space available)


What role does technology and social media play in your life? Is it a source of entertainment and grounded to more typical school functions like reading, research, and writing? If so, there's a good deal more it can do. How can you leverage these tools to build an extensive learning network? How can you learn to deal with information overload? How can social media be leveraged into, well, more? Here are some other questions designed by your peers who created this course: What practical knowledge and tools will help you in the future to understand the world of finance, budgets, credit cards, online investing, amortization rates, taxes, individual retirement accounts, and mortgages? What resources will help you manage stress, and understand the role of nutrition in this modern world? We'll explore the questions from the class by leveraging social media... for you. We'll also use these tools and skills to connect with guest speakers. These speakers will discuss their areas of expertise and also how they made the transition from high school into the responsibilities of adult life. We'll use social networking skills to collaborate in and out of class and help you learn about how to head into your future. This class will consist of collaborative work, group discussions, explorations and projects designed by the class.