OLDaily

Plan Now for a Year of Social Success (2018 Version)
Doug Peterson, doug — off the record, 2018/09/04

This is the time of the year teachers make decisions about social media, but this year the decisions are harder than usual. I actually reported this post when it was first published back in 2012. Doug Peterson offers what would usually be good advice: grab that class hashtag and start using it on Twitter. And tie this into your classroom blogging. Great, right? But is Twitter really an appropriate venue for learning? People have asked this question in the past, but this year they are asking it with more urgency. I don't have any good answers here, but teachers need to ask themselves the questions before they take to social media.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

How to effectively build and leverage a personal learning network (PLN)
Paul A. Kirschner, Mirjam Neelen, 3-Star Learning Experiences, 2018/09/04

It's interesting top see an article about networking from the prototypical proponents of direct instruction. But here it is. "We define," they write, "a PLN as a trusted network of current and former colleagues or other people that are valuable to you as a professional or in other areas of your life.... The value of a PLN lies in the fact that the people in it provide access to the knowledge and expertise necessary for you to better perform your role." So, OK then. Social constriuctivism next?

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Does a ‘universal attention token’ sound good? Then you’re going to love the blockchain
Mathew Ingram, Columbi Journalism Review, 2018/09/04

This is an idea that doesn't interest me. But I raise it here because it will probably be applied to educational content at some point (there's probably a stealth startup already in the works). “SocialFlow—which manages social-media campaigns for media companies—wants to replace the ad business and its shady click and page-view model with a cryptocurrency-based “universal attention token,” which it announced this week.” The same idea "is already built into a new web browser called Brave, which was launched in 2016 by Brendan Eich."

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Teachers Are Moonlighting As Instagram Influencers To Make Ends Meet
Julia Reinstein, Buzzfeed News, 2018/09/04

Most of them started as teacher-bloggers, but through websites like TeachersPayTeachers and Instagram feeds these teachers have been supplementing their often-meagre income marketing props, aids and classroom supplies. “Some come just to share to help other teachers and to make a little extra pocket money,” said Freed. “And then some of them actually become extraordinary content creators, and they really become almost mini-publishers.” I'm glad that some teachers are able to use the internet to make some extra money, but I think teachers should be paid by school boards, not each other.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]