Social Media, Networking, and Bookmarking

This week we explored the vast possibilities of social media and networking within education.  I begin by briefly reflecting on the 2009 Horizon report and the main points made in regards to the personal web.  As the web is an overwhelming source of information for both teachers and students, the benefit of creating such an environment could simplify the process of searching. 

The concept of Diigo is very clear to me, though I find the structure to be very annoying.  I began be struggling to make sense out of the various search options.  It is very unclear as to where you are searching.  At times I was searching Google, or may be my library, or maybe a community library, or who knows where else I was looking.  As I attempted to follow this week’s assignment, I search for a group that was involved in 3d art, particularly those who use 3ds Max.  After 15 minutes of frustration, I finally found a few links but no groups.  The links appeared to have people following, but no join option was available.  I added the link https://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fnaldzgraphics.net%2Ftutorials%2F40-autodesk-3ds-max-tutorials-for-beginners-and-advance?tab=comment  and then choose save.  I am now one of the people, but I cannot find a way to add this group to my Library. My group was named Naldz Graphics and they had a page of over 40 Autodesk 3ds Max tutorials which is how I continue to learn about the program I teach at Terra.

Now, as I am frustrated with the adding end of this assignment, I believe the benefits of such a concept are unlimited.  Once I got past the organizing part, the use of such resources would more than benefit my students.  As I am not a fan of Diigo, I would rather create my own social network of students and give them an area to share tutorials they find on the web.  I believe Autodesk has such a group named the Area.  This is where artists share work with each other. Currently at Terra, we use a help forum (discussion based) and a wiki for sharing visuals, but to be able to combine these would benefit those students who are intimidated by the fact that the internet has an unlimited set of resources, and you never know which are the best to go with.

As far as the appeal, students who are serious about becoming 3d artists know that they will not learn everything they need to know to be successful just by attending a weekly class.  It is those who search the web for additional resources and spend hours outside of class that are successful.  Such an option will open up the doorway for those who are willing to take this extra step to learn.  The great part of this option is that any age can benefit.  Tutorial based learning typically can be controlled by the viewer, tailored to the specific needs of the student.  They can work at their own pace, and decide which tutorials meet their needs.

Overall, the benefits outweigh drawbacks, but I foresee some issues such as students who fail to learn the basics from their classroom instruction, and try to dive right in on the advanced content.  I have a few of them now that would rather do all the fun affects, yet are not willing the basics.  They quickly learn when they start asking me questions.  I use the philosophy; “we need to learn how to crawl before we can walk”.  If students are made aware of this issue, they can be influenced to follow the proper learning steps to achieving tasks when working with 3d animation.

Johnson, L., Adams, S., and Haywood, K. (2009). The NMC horizon report: 2009 K12 edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved fromhttp://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2009/chapters/personal-web/