The Ed Policy/Social Networking Nexus
When it comes to the education sector, what is the future of social media and networking? That was the question that dear ol' Eduflack addressed at a presentation yesterday to the Knowledge Alliance. But it is an issue that I hear a great deal about, and no one is quite sure what to do with.
Education seems to be one of the last sectors to "join the party" when it comes to what is new and cutting edge. We were late comers to the Internet and websites. We were slow to embrace blogs (though it is important to note how sites like Eduwonk were quite cutting edge, for both education and other sectors). And we've been dangerously tardy on on social media opportunities, including Facebook and Twitter.
The latter may be due to the fact that we aren't quite sure how to use these tools. In a perfect world, social networking sites are designed to help education organizations and educators do a number of things. We share information. We receive information. We start grouping ourselves with like-minded organizations. We engage in discussions, ask questions, and, yes, network. Social media tools are meant to be more than just glorified RSS feeds, where we push out the latest press release or research study. They are mean to encourage dialogue and interaction. No one way communication here, please.
But doing so requires us to give up some of the control. It means opening ourselves up to negative comments
