The Two Faces of Social Networking

[Sam Gliksman]

I've written in the past about the fact that one of the most underrated educational benefits of the iPad lies in it's ability to connect people. Whether through Facebook, Twitter, Facetime or others, mobile devices allow us to develop "learning communities" beyond the boundaries of any physical location. In giving workshops to educators and parents, I often highlight the concept of learning community as one of the most important advances of a 21st century education.

 

There are many fine examples of the benefits of online community and the creative ways they can be utilized in collaborative projects. One of the most stirring examples that I have found is the "Virtual Choir" by musical conductor, Eric Whitacre. In his Virtual Choir, Whitacre invited people to submit a YouTube video of themselves singing one of his compositions. He then wove them together into an amazingly innovative video - a "virtual choir".

 

It's an extremely emotional and soulful piece. If you haven't seen it, take a few minutes to watch it below:

 

Whenever I present this video at workshops it never fails to spark heated and controversial debate. Inevitably some people find it disturbing - "cold" or "chilling". Many take offense at the fact that it's a compilation of individuals sitting in their homes singing on their own. At one seminar that I gave to parents at a school in Hollywood many actually worked in the entertainment business (a surprise, I know).  Music, they argued, should be a personal collaboration between people. The essence of that collaboration involves personal contact - seeing, hearing and connecting to others on a personal level. For some, technology wasn't a way of connecting people - quite the opposite. Technology actually stood as a barrier between people and created a situation where we communicate more and more through electronic devices instead of socializing in person Interestingly, many were texting on their phones during the presentation.

One person at the front of the audience then raised his hand and explained that he actually was a close friend of Eric Whitacre. "You don't understand", he explained, "that most of the singers couldn't ever have imagined working with Eric or singing in his choir. For most of them this was a dream come true and they were incredibly grateful of the opportunity to participate".

The Virtual Choir video became an online phenomenon. Eric Whitacre recently gave a talk at the TED conference where he explained how the video was created. His talk is contained in the video below (my apologies if you're on an iPad but I could only find a flash based video):

 

 

If connecting and collaborating through online learning communities is a principle feature of 21st century education, then this video represents a core debate about the use of technology in education. Is technology bringing us together or is it breaking us apart? Does the increasing use of technology make our students better digital, global citizens but reduce their ability to interact socially and emotionally?

 

So, what do you see? Do you see the chilling sight of hundreds of lonely people singing alone in their rooms or do you see an incredible weaving of musical souls collaborating from all corners of the globe to create an incredible piece of music? That question really represents the very essence and power of social networking.

[Lynn Bergsma Friesen]

I also frequently use the "technology is a tool" phrase, but I am am increasingly aware that our current access to social networking is a tool that is going to be far more complicated to learn and to teach to use effectively than, say, a hammer or a saw. I happened to part of an impromptu lunch time conversation with parents and teachers yesterday on this very issue, and overwhelming intuition from the group (based on experience and anecdotal evidence alone) is that our children and teens are at risk of becoming less adept at face-to-face social interaction skills. Another concern frequently voiced by teachers at my grades 7-12 school is that students simply are not developing the reading-for-information skills they need for ongoing academic success. One possible explanation is that the time students spend on social media has to come from somewhere, and the fear is that fewer and fewer students are spending time developing their reading skills as they spend more and more time on social networking sites.

 

Given that social networking seems to be here to stay, and obviously has the potential for incredible collaborative efforts, how do we evaluate the risks and the benefits, and help students, teachers, and parents develop the skills, values, and boundaries they need to use it for good?

[Jessica Vincent Allen]

I see what Justine saw... many people taking advantage of their desire to collaborate with someone in a way that they may never have had the chance before.  I couldn't stop thinking about people who might be living in a remote area or who have relocated to an area of the world where they don't have access to a choir that they once belonged to or wanted to belong to.  Through this use of technology, they would have a chance to do what they were passionate about even if they couldn't physically be there.

 

Taking that idea and applying it to education, I believe that collaboration and communication through technology are only going to strengthen education in the future.  Students who weren't motivated in person for myriad reasons (second language, shy, scared to talk in large groups, fear of bullying, social communication problems, etc.) might finally get a voice when they are in their home, in a safe environment where they have time to think and reflect.  Imagine what those students would gain from being part of a WORLD WIDE project like this.  

 

I think what technology will do is give a voice to those who have are shy, confidence to those who are hesitant, and courage to those who have ideas.  Instead of splitting everyone apart, I believe it is going to help students find those who are like them and create networks and connections beyond anything they could receive in a traditional face to face classroom.  Anyone who has used twitter knows that once those connections are made, a desire to connect face to face follows. There are tons of tweet-ups to testify to this.  I am sure it will be the same with students in the future.  I bet it is already happening with the people who connected with this choir.  It would certainly be interesting to find out...

[Jeremy Dorn]

Mark Schmit, I couldn't have said it better myself. I tell the children I work with that all the time "technology is tools" as I brandish the broom I just used to push the power button to start the ceiling mounted projector.

 

We have tried off and on to get a Skype or other video conferencing service setup between us and a partner location. It's tough to keep such things together with the other academic pressures we're under.

 

One of my favorite episodes from the TV show Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was called Chat! Chat! Chat!. The writers and artists did a good job capturing the essence of a modern day chat room conversation and possible the developments as communication methods evolve. I have even begun noticing similar formats playing out now in Video and Audio podcasts. One easy example to find is the TUAW Talkcast. Essentially a core group of panelists (on a live conference call), who have the speaking floor, with a collection of users participating by text chat. Now what's funny in Chat! Chat! Chat!, the tail end of the episode the main character is participating in this chat room while she is driving on the highway

 

The reason why these people recored themselves at home is likely due to the nature of the request. They need video, which means a camera. They need sound which needs microphone. The most convent collection point for both is the personal computer, likely a laptop. They also needed relative quite for good audio recording. A person's own home or room is the easiest place to find that. You would not, for example you would not have seen someone try this while riding on a city bus or out in a public park.

 

When one begins to logically deconstruct digital social media, keeping in mind the requirements of a task, cultural psychology, and so forth, one can begin to understand why it developed that way. IMO (having gotten my eduction in geographic information science) it is emergent behavior based on rules, or this is case constraints, imposed on the individual agents (people). Change the rules, and you can likely change the result.

 

What if I were to ask everyone who reads this site to, say this Sunday, take a picture of the local sunset and submit for a "earth turning" video. By having everyone take a picture of the sunset at their own local time, with enough geographic distribution at the same relative latitude, you could create a video of the earths rotation. I'll bet I'd get a great amount of urban (sub-urban) landscape, mostly residential, in those photos. Does this mean that all these people never leave the city? No. My supposition is that most of those people would be at home by that point, possibly easting dinner. Although given the audience for this site I may also get a number of school and university buildings as well (I know how late we educators work sometimes :P )

[Justine Hughes]

I think this is testimony to the power of human communication and collaboration.  Without this, most of these people would never have had this sort of opportunity.

What if, through this, more connections are made and celebrated?  What if this has opened a door for someone who would have been reluctant to participate in a 'real world' environment, but who now may make that step through this process?

I agree with Mark regarding the tool aspect of technology.  People choose how to use it.  A paintbrush can be used to create a beautiful piece of art or to paint a house - it's the choice of the user.

As a teacher, I hear more discussion and collaboration and sharing of knowledge happening when my students are blogging or emailing their epals than I heard when they were writing in their books.

[Mark Schmit]

I see the chilling sounds of people in front of their computers singing the same song, and technology being the tool that allows for this "remote" collaboration to create a incredible piece of music.

 

Technology is a tool, much like the calculator is to the teaching of Mathematics. You're not going to give students access to calculators prior to instruction in the division algorithm. They then lose their motivation to learn the division algorithm. Technology is a tool and should be used in that way. Does it have the possibility to reduce interpersonal contact? Of course it does, but educators need to make solid choices on how to integrate technology into instruction and what makes a viable use of technology. I am curious to any research regarding appropriate uses of technology.