The positive impact of social networking sites on society.

Social networking is now a massive part of our lives, it is difficult for the society to function without social media. Decades ago it was impossible to connect with people, it could take several months for letters to get to family and friends who resides miles away. But today the use of digital technology like mobile phones has changed the society. We get so busy with work and family obligations that we hardly have time to chat on the phone. Social media like Facebook, twitter has made it much easier to interact with friends it takes less than 30 seconds to send a brief  message and reaches friends in no time. Social networking sites have made the world a smaller place. Read more on

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/positive-impact-social-networking-sites-society-opinion/

Benefits and challenges of social media

Social media has increased the growth of business relationships with customers, companies do benefit from social media by engaging in market research, this enables feedback from customers thereby improving on their products. Social media sites also connect companies to their customers and potential customer. Though social media has tremendously improved businesses, it also has its challenges. Companies face challenges like security; sharing too much information online could have negative impact on the company. Privacy is also an issue; companies are exposed to hackers who could have access to both customers and business information. They are also faced with complains by unhappy customers, this could have detrimental effect on the company's reputation. Read more

http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/page/2655/

Risks and Challenges of Social Media

Risks and Challenges of Social Media
This article talks about the risk of social media in healthcare field. Privacy is a key factor in healthcare, we all have to be cautious of information we share on social media sites particularly medical practitioners, whatever is posted on open sites is publicly available. Confidentiality is important in healthcare, nurses don't have the right to share patients information with anyone without the patient's consent. An incident happened in Wisconsin, two nurses were terminated from their positions for taking pictures of a patient's X-ray showing the patient's body parts. One of the nurses actually posted this photo on her Facebook page.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/731336_4

Copetitive educational mobile apps in the future for Africa.

The Co-Creation Hub (CCHUB) is a company with aims to capture the attention of Nigerian youths through social media. Unfortunately, the country has seen a decline in the status of the post-secondary education in the country and this company hopes to boost the status by releasing a new application called EIFKO, which is a mobile application which generates quizzes to be completed by students and offers students a chance to share their scores, adding an element of competition among peers. Along, in its trial run in Nigeria, if successful the company wishes to also release the application to other West African nations.

For the full article place click here

Penn States trials social media integration for the future

This article by Daniel George and Cheryl Dellasega, explains the results of their project which aimed to integrate social media tools into the curriculum of two electives offered to 4th year students at Penn State College. The authors carried out their project by using a large variety of social media, including Twitter, YouTube and Flickr .The results of their project were that students do in fact highly favour learning through social media and, interestingly named a few strengths and weaknesses named on previous blogs (ie. concerns about privacy and lack of facility with technology and  real time communication , connecting with medical experts and collaborative opportunities). The authors concluded that social media can bring about many learning opportunities however educational facilities must be willing to put forth the man power and resources to integrate social media into their curriculum.

For the full research article, click here

FOAM or "free open access meducation"

This article exposes the idea of a single form of media that anyone across the world may access for free. Unfortunately, problems stated with this were, once again similar to those listed in past blogs where social media was used in medicine, privacy, lack of staff, unwillingness if staff and, newly, lack of peer reviewed content. The idea that this article brought forth was FOAM or "free open access meducation". the basic idea of FOAM was to create a form a media where anyone, anywhere can access medical advise, the only problem was, as mention, lack of peer reviewed content, which is essential in the medical world. Due to that many medical educators shyyed away from using a site where essentially, anyone can put anything. Fortunately, this concept is still in its trial phases and will be subject to change and improvement which may change the mind of many medical educators in the future, making FOAM something to look out for in the upcomming years.

For complete information on FOAM, click here

Education and Social Networking

The article here researched that 94 percent used the internet, 82 percent go online at home and 77 percent had a profile on a social networking site. When asked what they learn from using social networking sites, the students listed technology skills as the top lesson, followed by creativity, being open to new or diverse views and communication skills. Students are reported that they checked networking sites from home and other places. Participation in educational activities may have increased both at home and schools if students would have had greater exposure  and access to social media. For example, Facebook can be used to discuss school topics or incorporating Twitter  for projects or parties. 

Classrooms are constantly becoming more technology based as noted in the Globe and Mail there are universities in Canada and the United States that are beginning to eliminate the need for classrooms and allowing students to log in and watch there lectures take place online. One of the major benefits to this is the cut down in tuition costs and the ability for people living around the world to revive higher education. It is noted in the article that one of the main reasons for this is students having the ability to go online and learn more in a few minutes from an internet search than a  professor may learn in an entire lifetime on any given topic.

classrooms of the future

We can all agree that the classrooms of the future will have more of a technological base. whether that be as a tool the teacher uses to present the information like a power point, or a way for children to interact like a smartboard, it could even be through an online class that you sit at home or in a Starbucks to complete. The most important thing to remember while creating or imagining to classrooms of the future is that school is a place to not only learn educational matter but also social skills. Although the use of technology may be more convenient it will be important to keep the classrooms of the future interactive and play based for the younger groups in order to instil social skills into their lives. By clicking here you can here a principal talk about the importance of a teacher and play role in younger children as well as a few different view of what classes may look like in the future.

The constant changing classrooms of the future!

The model of the classroom is constantly changing, however it rarely changes to benefit the student. Bill Gates has recommended that the university and college classroom change forever in a way that models the individual need of each student. Gates is proposing that the standard lecture hall/ classroom be removed all together, and replaced with video lectures catered to each students individual strengths. With the money saved on paying professors we could have more seminar and lab rooms set up for interactive learning. CNN also reports that Bill Gates will be donating $100 million dollars towards the creation and development of new educational software. By clicking here you can gain more information from the Bill gates interview.

Higher Education Curriculum and Social Activities

Curriculum developers have to bear in mind that the learning processes of students change over time. In order to update higher education, curriculum developer must be aware that learning is the process of acquiring new personal knowledge, skills or competencies, which can be used when meeting forthcoming challenges in life.  Developing curriculum also involves skill, competence, timing, feedback, feed forward, and reflection.  More information is presented here

A Couple Last Pointers to Online Classroom Success

Online class success requires some knowledge of internet, computer software. Many portals to course content and aids in research materials can come from social media sites. Having a working knowledge of how to navigate around the internet and the capability to find information when required is key. So if you do not have the internet at home, or if you are not comfortable or have a working knowledge of its use then online courses are not for you.

Ensuring to use your classmates to interact with and relying on them to help answer unsolved questions regarding the course is always helpful. When you attend classes in college in a full-time program you become friends and find yourself communicating with your new friends regarding your course content. You ask these new peers questions when things are unclear or when you are just completely stressed out and need to release and vent out your emotions. This should also be the case in online class. It is okay to depend on your peers and use them as a portal to release any frustration you may have. It is always better to get these things out so that you can focus your time and energy on becoming successful in your online class rather than continuing to stress about these things. Anyone attending an online course should always keep in mind that the professor is always an email away and there are always resources available to help you become successful. Most of the success is just a matter of applying yourself, getting organized, and following through! So if you have what it takes to be successful in an online class, give it a go and see how well you can do!

 

More Tips on Online Classroom Success!

Being successful in the online classroom all depends on how you begin your semester. Getting organized is extremely important. Not only does the online learner need to be self-motivated but they must have the ability to balance their social and school life, and do it! Online classes are flexible enough to allow you to schedule your life around it and you are given all of your assignments, due dates, and readings right at the beginning of the semester. Now, it is up to you to organize, plan and implement your planning the best way you can to guarantee success. It is extremely important also, during your first week to become familiar with the course organization. You must be comfortable navigating the course content and you must have an over all idea of how this course will be spread out and what will determine your final mark.

Establishing a place that is quiet and allows you to concentrate in your online course is also extremely important. Don’t plan on completing assignments around your family and friends during social gatherings and expect to be successful. Online course, although not taking place physically in front of your professor still require self-determination in order to end is success.

 

Globalization in Higher Education: Nursing

The demand for higher education has increased worldwide and the response has been an impressive expansion of educational offerings both within and across countries. Education has been made more accessible through online offerings and the development of onsite, external campuses in foreign countries. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of educational courses that target international clientele. This has led to concerns about quality and consistency and also the need for international standards of education. The purpose of the curriculum is to emphasize the necessity of common educational standards for nurses in a globalized world. Common standards are crucial in regulated professions, such as nursing in which lives depend on the possession of specific competencies. Despite international differences in nursing education and practice, a number of mechanisms allow nurses to migrate throughout the world. In some source countries, there is a deliberate policy of educating nurses for export. This article here will define and describe globalization and the internationalization of education, discuss the exporting of education, nursing education, identify the challenges and current solutions related to nurse migration, and present current standards and future trends in harmonizing nursing education internationally.

MORE ON NEGATIVES AND POSITIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

The overview of social media has changed the world in numerous ways. It affects each individual in different ways. Today it can be used as a very supportive tool in changing a person’s life, but at the same time cause such battles which can negatively impact a person. While there are some negatives associated with social media, the positives in communication all around, has made the world tougher and a better place to live in.
          Social media has many positive effects on the society. The introduction of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have increased communication among individuals. These websites serve as an important medium, keeping individuals socially active. For example Facebook, allows people to communicate with each other, comment on people’s statuses, join different organizations, play games, and even instant message. This site allows for millions of people to keep in touch with each other, and ultimately acts as a source of entertainment. Social media also allows contact with people from around the world. Using these websites can also increase a person’s computer abilities. Social media can also help people who have trouble socializing in person. Sites like Facebook allow “People who have difficulty communicating in person feel more relaxed interacting via the internet. Since there is a screen rather than an actual person, people feel more protected and relaxed. This allows people to grow more confidence, and communicate their thoughts over the internet rather than confronting the situation. Social media can also be a huge help to a lot of teenagers. It helps them search careers and colleges that they could be interested.
http://www.converstations.com/2012/05/the-positive-and-negative-sides-of-social-networking-guest-post.html