William Shakespeare and me

William Shakespeare and me...

Okay...it is not really William Shakespeare, but I think you get the point.  Not many people have a finger puppet of William Shakespeare, but I think it shows my relationship to writing and literature.  It is high art.  I love the film Shakespeare in Love because it shows William Shakespeare pouring over draft after draft of his work.  Now...to the world of instant communication...instant gratification...social media.  The very thing that has continued the popularity of the Kardashians.

So, I must admit I came into this class deeply suspicious.  You are asking someone who does not even own a smart phone to jump on the social media bandwagon.  However, I must admit that I am beginning to see this as a useful tool.  As our videos in class demonstrated, this is a fantastic way to build a Personal Learning Network.  On my Twitter (@safko_dan), I have already begun to see what a powerful tool this can be for connection to resources and opening your mind.  I have been following an art history feed (@ArtHistoryFeed) and have enjoyed getting a peek at Vermeer or Picasso or some other genius every day.  Similarly, @USNatArchives and @Historyinpics provide great access to raw materials that would make any future social studies teacher salivate.  Additionally, it is great to learn new things.  Following @OHEducation demonstrated that there is a Lego building championship this weekend while @Hechingerreport gave me food for through about using peer mediation in schools.  As someone who just barely used Facebook before, this is a brand new and exciting world.

Okay...now it is me and Napoleon.  Can you tell that I cannot wait to teach European history in high schools?  Maybe this blog can be a way for me to show off my extensive collection of finger puppets.  One of the nice things about starting from scratch with social media is that I can control how I wish to appear to the world.  As our reading My Favorite Teachers use social media shows, you need to have pictures and build an authentic identity.  Our tweets and posts can enhance learning and provide reminders to students who seem pulled in so many directions and more distracted than ever.  However, I think we want to be careful.  My current work is in recruiting students to college and we have found that there are some way teens just want to connect with each other without the influence of others.  A Teenager's Views shows how Snapchat is a good example of very personal connections that do not want to be seen by a wider world.

I endeavor in my social media presence to showcase my personality in a fun way while maintaining some decorum.  I also want to try to highlight some of the more intellectual uses for social media.

I am excited to begin this new online presence.