Social Networking in Education

I am about as eager to admit that I don’t use social networking as I would be to admit that I live in mortal terror of being crushed to death by space junk. Neither is a very flattering proclamation. But, since I would probably look like a bigger idiot for singing the praises of “My Face” or “Spacebook,” I had probably better be honest about my ignorance. I am sure there are a lot of practical uses for social networking. Like my classmates have mentioned, it’s a great way to keep in touch with long-distance friends. For educational purposes, I suppose students could have discussions with classmates and stay on top of assignments. For me, though, I have yet to develop a need for it. The few friends with whom I interact on a regular basis are local, and if I have a question, I tend to use the phone or send a quick email. Is this a terrible way to be?

I have looked at people’s Facebook pages from time to time out of curiosity, but I just don’t see the point in making a habit out of it. It seems, as Deb http://djbloomie.blogspot.com/ pointed out, that many of them contain questionnaire results and random stream-of-consciousness ramblings. I don’t have time to care about which Star Wars character Sally most resembles, or what Bambi thinks about fall lipstick colors. I barely have time to keep track of my own work and school duties. But, the awesome thing about this class is that I will get the opportunity to dink around with these technologies, and have it count as “schoolwork.” I love it! Perhaps I’ll fare better in my “Second Life” than I have in this one!

I know we’re supposed to refer to another blogger here, but I am having trouble finding blogs of value. I tried doing a “blog search” but just came up with random people whose credibility on the subject matter was questionable. I subscribed to Anderson Cooper’s blog http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/blog/ , but I don’t think that was really the point of the assignment. So, rather than rambling about Afghanistan, I think I’ll just ask anyone reading this: How does one find blogs about emerging instructional technologies by reputable authors?