Final Reflection

As I reflect on my experience in IT 8000, Foundations of Instructional Design and Technology, it is evident that I have successfully evolved my knowledge of my major.  Initially, I have reread my first blog post, which contained my first interpretation of the field of Instructional Design and Technology: "Personally, I define instructional design and technology as the design and implementation of unique learning experiences through technology and systems."

After this course, I feel that I have expanded my definition and understanding of the field to include the fact that IDT is designed to improve instruction and performance in education and training programs.  

Not only have I expanded my understanding of IDT, but I have come to understand the development of the field of Instructional Design and Technology. It proves crucial to understand the theories and processes of learning and using instructional media, which this course has taught me.

Further, IT 8000 has exposed me to project, performance, and knowledge management.  Concepts that I had not yet had an in depth presentation.  These concepts are integral to the process of Instructional Design and Technology and were probably some of the most interesting facets that I was able to obtain from this course.

I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed learning in this course.  It gave me pertinent information that was extremely relevant to my major and the reasons that I chose to undertake it.  

The Future of Social Media

So what is the future for social media?  This year, it replaced pornography as the number one activity to take place on the internet.

Through research and links, it seems the future is unclear, but incredibly bright.  The use of Facebook is in great decline, with some stating that its use is down nearly 34%, however the use of social media is way up.

  Social media could continue to change the landscape of news, education, and business, but how?  Through new technology, such as google glass, greater access to social media will lead to increased use and access of it.

No matter your opinion, it seems social media is here to stay.











http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/social-media/what-is-the-future-of-the-social-media-role
http://socialmediatoday.com/starrknight/1423216/future-social-media
http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/social-media-future

CNN Article - Social Media isn't all bad for teens

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/21/living/social-media-positives-teens-parents/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

I actually happened across this article after I finalized my final paper on social media as I was checking news on CNN.  It was very interesting as it presented many positive facts on social media for teenagers from one of the leading news networks, CNN.  From CNN's website:

Of 1000 teenagers surveyed:

• 28% said that social media made them feel more outgoing, versus 5% that said it made them feel more shy.  
• 29% said that social media made them less shy vs. 3% that said it made them feel more shy. 
• 52% said social media has improved friendships, where 4% said it negatively affected friendships.

"For every heartbreaking case of cyberbullying, there are many stories of teens using social media for good," said Katz.

These statistics and provided information help further the positives of social media for teenagers.  There are definitely negatives that teens and parents must be aware of, but it presents a great perspective on how to effectively utilize it.

Is Social Media Ruining Students???

With the countless discussed benefits and arguments in favor of social media, many 'experts' still argue that social media is a problem that needs to be addressed!

Some argue that social media creates a false sense of connections, which prevents teens and some adults from understanding true, meaningful relationships.

Other argue that social media will only lead to cyber-bulling.  Leading to a higher rate of depression, suicide, and deep psychological damage.

An obvious issue that has been addressed is decreased productivity.  Students and adults alike find themselves looking at Susie's dog photos instead of completing the work that needs to be done.  A company named Morse completed research that suggested that British companies lost 2.2 billion euros/year due to social media!!

One of the final of the major arguments is the lack of privacy created from social media.  Many students have not gotten into specific colleges, potential employees have been denied, and current employees have been fired due to the content that has been posted on social media.  This causes a big detriment to our students!

The real question becomes, do the benefits of social media outweigh the negatives???

No matter your opinion, it seems social media is here to stay!!

Link to Prezi

Here is a link to my prezi presentation on social media.

Social Media has changed advertising!

Social media has changed advertising for

businesses!  

It increases exposure, adds subscribers, creates 

new partnerships, improved branding, and much 

much more!

Social media has become a dynamic marketing tool that permits a business with an general sense of customer reviews, complaints, and provides the opportunity to advertise in innovative ways.  Sara Davidson reports that 70% of business-to-consumer markets have acquired a customer utilizing social media on Facebook.  Facebook (www.facebook.com) reports that nearly 50% of companies have seen a five times return on investment for buying ads on their website.  This social media outlet allows for targeted ads and personalized approaches for selling the business.  “Engaging in social media will help strengthen the brand experience which will support brand building.  A company becomes more attractive to the customers, and to current and potential employees, if it has a well-built brand name” (Edosomwan, Prakasan, Kouame, Watson & Seymour, 2011, pp. 7).  Therefore, social media can distinguish a business and provide an individualized image to the consumers. 

Social media is a cheap way to advertise and market.   Businesses can post free advertisements on twitter, Facebook, etc.  Encouraging customers to provide feedback on social media sites can also serve as free, very effective advertising.  It seems very important that all businesses utilize social media!! 

Social Media Provides Effective Ways of Instruction

Can a teacher utilize Social Media as a tool for instruction?

DUH!

The image provides so many examples for why to use social media!  It's what the kids use on a daily basis; why not utilize this tool to help provide engaging instruction! 

It connects to people around the world, provides personal branding for colleges and jobs, its how they WANT to learn!  

Edmodo.com is an excellent platform that provides social media access to teachers and students.  It resembles Facebook, but is strictly used for educational purposes.  Teachers can share info with teachers from around the nation.  They can also post tests, quizzes, notes, lesson plans, activities, etc. Students can interact with other students, ask the teacher questions after hours, and learn information through the platform.  Check it out here!

Social Media Statistics

Social media dominates the internet.  Check out this link with stats on all of the main social media sites:


http://blog.digitalinsights.in/social-media-facts-and-statistics-2013/0560387.html

Some interesting stats that stand out to me:

23% of Facebook's 1.5 billion users check Facebook more than 5 times a day.

4.2 people billion people use their mobile phones to check social media websites

40% of marketers use Google+, 70% desire to learn more and 67% plan to increase Google+ activities

More than 5 million photos are uploaded everyday on Instagram

These stats show the importance and relevance of social media and why it should be a focus for instruction and instructional designers.

History of Social Meida

I found a modern, engaging, and interactive website providing the history of social media:

http://avalaunchmedia.com/history-of-social-media/Main.html

It is interesting that this site begins social media with the postal service.  Some 'experts' debate that social media must be include the internet, and suggest that social media began with the first online forum.  Others argue that social media first began with pigeon posting, in which pigeons would fly messages from one location to another.  From my research, I tend to believe that pigeon posting was the first advent of social media.  While the definition has now evolved to include the internet, the first definition and examples seem to date back to pigeon posting.

Social Media, Redefined...

http://socialmediatoday.com/SMC/194754

As I was researching/writing for my midterm paper, I was becoming more confused about the difference between social media and social networking.  This website seemed to be very effective in breaking it down:

"Social media is a way to transmit, or share information with a broad audience. Everyone has the opportunity to create and distribute. All you really need is an internet connection and you're off to the races.

On the other hand, social networking is an act of engagement. Groups of people with common interests, or like-minds, associate together on social networking sites and build relationships through community."

Social media seems to refer more to the message or information, whereas social networks seem to refer to an outlet where social media can be created and found.

Still confused?  Understandably!  It is obviously very complex, as most people describe and refer to them as synonymous terms.

From the examiner:
Social Media are tools for sharing and discussing information.  Social Networking is the use of communities of interest to connect to others.  You can use Social Media to facilitate Social Networking.  Or, your can network by leveraging Social Media.  

Here is a video that really helps simplify social media:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE

History of Instructional Design and Technology Timeline

Here is a link to the IDT History Timeline Prezi I have created!

Check it out:

http://prezi.com/t8l-yycg8nij/history-of-idt/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Enjoy!

M.B.As in Social Media

Social media is becoming so prevalent that you can obtain a masters in the it!!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2013/09/09/college-students-social-media-for-careers/2786323/

Social media is entering our schools as it is being utilized in so many ways, including advertising for your business, your organization, and yourself.  The basic component that is immediately taught in these social media classes is the powerful effect facebook photos, twitter comments, and myspace pages can have on your hireability.  Even connections from social media outlets lead to friendships and jobs.

"Even outside of Tuscaloosa, I'll meet someone on the road, and they'll tell me they've seen me on Twitter," Torrence said. "People are out there seeing my name that could potentially hire me down the road."

Start to use social media wisely!  Feel free to go get a masters in it!

Social Media

As my topic for IT 8000, I have been assigned to cover social media.  So for me, the first question that I feel I must address is:  How does one define social media?  The term is frequently used to describe facebook, social networking, and more, but what is it?

About.com seems to break it down very well:

What is Social Media?

The best way to define social media is to break it down. Media is an instrument on communication, like a newspaper or a radio, so social media would be a social instrument of communication.

In Web 2.0 terms, this would be a website that doesn't just give you information, but interacts with you while giving you that information. This interaction can be as simple as asking for your comments or letting you vote on an article, or it can be as complex as Flixsterrecommending movies to you based on the ratings of other people with similar interests.

Think of regular media as a one-way street where you can read a newspaper or listen to a report on television, but you have very limited ability to give your thoughts on the matter.

Social media, on the other hand, is a two-way street that gives you the ability to communicate too.

Now that we have answered the question of what is social media, we can move on to social media websites. Because social media is such a broad term, it covers a large range of websites. But the one common link between these websites is that you are able to interact with the website and interact with other visitors.

Here are some examples of social media websites:

•    Social Bookmarking. (Del.icio.us, Blinklist, Simpy) Interact by tagging websites and searching through websites bookmarked by other people.

•    Social News. (Digg, Propeller, Reddit) Interact by voting for articles and commenting on them.

•    Social Networking. (Facebook, Hi5, Last.FM) Interact by adding friends, commenting on profiles, joining groups and having discussions.

•    Social Photo and Video Sharing. (YouTube, Flickr) Interact by sharing photos or videos and commenting on user submissions.

•    Wikis. (Wikipedia, Wikia) Interact by adding articles and editing existing articles.

And these websites are not the only social media websites. Any website that invites you to interact with the site and with other visitors falls into the definition of social media.

Instructional Design and Technology

Instructional Design and Technology has come a long way since its origins, which can be traced back to the early 1900s.  During the first years of it's creation, it was solely referred to by the media that was implemented and utilized for instruction.  As technology and the learning process evolved, so did the definitions of IDT.  Today, Robert Reiser and John Dempsey define instructional design and technology in their book, Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology:
                 
                    "The field of instructional design and technology (also known as instructional technology) encompasses the analysis of learning and performance problems, and the design, development, implementation, evaluation, and management of instructional and non-instructional processes and resources intended to improve learning and performance in a variety of settings, particularly educational institutions and the workplace.
                    Professionals in the field instructional design and technology often use systematic instructional design procedures and employ instructional media to accomplish their goals.  Moreover, in recent years, they have paid increasing attention to non-instructional solutions to some performance problems.  Research and theory related to each of the aforementioned areas is also an important part of the field." (pg. 5)

Personally, I define instructional design and technology as the design and implementation of unique learning experiences through technology and systems.  Currently, I teach Broadcast and Video Production at a high school in Fulton county.  This definition is very pertinent to me as I attempt to create individual learning experiences/opportunities by using the technology and systems available.  I attempt to tailor the information presented to each student, especially in my advanced levels, based on his/her individual needs.  Some students spend their class time working on basic editing, while others focus on advanced editing.  Others will work with special effects, music, lighting, camera operation, graphics, etc.  Subsequently, my personal goal of this definition and this course is to improve my ability to design learning opportunities for all students, utilizing the means I have available.

8/28 Introduction

Hi,

My name is Josh Lee and I am currently in my 3rd semester of undergoing my masters program in Instructional Design and Technology.

As the title suggests, I have created this blog for use in IT 8000: Foundations of Instruction Design and Technology.

Please feel free to posts questions or comments at any time.

-Josh