The shift (Social > Media)

The shift is on.
This Slideshare by @skytland, Social > Media, provides a highly visual presentation, combined with apt quotes and comments on the topic of Social Media. If you need a quick fix on understanding the global phenomenon of social media, this presentation is a good start!

It highlights the shift (towards real-time) ... asks why do we care? and provides a range of examples of social media used to support communication, knowledge and data sharing, collaboration, transparency, authenticity, networking, visibility and engagement.

Lo and behold, it even contains Astro_Mike and reveals how he was able to tweet from space (via e-mail to NASA).

Social > Media

View more OpenOffice presentations from Nick Skytland.

Thanks, Nick Skytland for highlighting the shift and sharing your thoughts.

Twitter future trends?

A glimpse into the near future with Twitter trends by Karim Gargum? This slideshow blends insights into the growth and potential of the social media tool, Twitter, and predicts some interesting trends in its development into the future.

10 Twitter Future Trends

View more presentations from Karim_Gargum.

The 'always connected, always on' generations should appreciate the convenience and extra functionality of Twitter, lure of mobility and the myriad of cool third party tools responsible for the rapid growth and evolution of of microblogging.

Karim Gargum's predictions will resonate with many in the Twitter community.

Twitter Handbook for Teachers (on Scribd)

The Twitter Handbook for Teachers - just published on Scribd.

This overview of Twitter and ways of using it in education was created for a group of educators attending an inaugural Twizza (Twitter & pizza) gathering in Perth, Western Australia on April 8, 2009.
Created by: Tomaz Lasic (Twitter: @lasic) The handbook is provided under a Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-Alike 3.0 unported license.

It is a really useful guide for educators looking for helpful tips and resources for using Twitter and why you would want to, especially reasons for using Twitter to extend your professional learning networks (PLN).

An opening quote in the handbook from Sue Waters (@suewaters) .... provides the answer.
“Why would anyone want to tell others what they are doing in 140 characters?”
And yet to dismiss Twitter is a mistake because it’s an incredibly powerful tool for your personal learning and connecting with others.”

Twitter supports connections, reflections, communication and collaboration, the ability to form and foster trusted networks and connect critical friends.

Twitter provides the power of the tweet and re-tweet, the @ and #tag, shortened URL pointers to follow and for followers, the immediacy, opportunities for aggregation - the tools to enhance an essential and widespread PLN for 21st century educators.

Thanks to @moodleman and others from @southoz (me) for extending the global conversations and insights for the recent MoodleMootUK #mmuk09 via Twitter, Twitpic and other social media.