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Glossary of 'Social Software' terms in education
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Bebo
Definition: Social networking site on which users can set up a profile and share photos, videos etc. Appears to be increasingly popular with students and is widely used by new bands and authors wanting to reach this audience
Use in Education: Like MySpace and Piczo - can be used to enage younger learners. The skills required to build really effective Social Networking sites like these are immense and should not be overlooked.
Link to Example: http://www.bebo.com
Definition:Blinkx is the "world’s largest video search engine". That means, people use blinkx to search through the entire Web for the videos they want. Unlike Google which only really searches Google Video (and now YouTube)
Use in Education:Can be used as with any search engine as a research tool by learners and practitioners, however it will bring up content that may be undesireable, so caution would be needed when used educationally.
Link to Example: Overwrite link here
Blip.tv
Definition: Blip.tv is one of the many online video websites of which YouTube is probably the best known and most popular.
Use in Education:Social video websites can be used by students to upload their own videos that they have created. It is also possible for staff to use such sites for uploading their own videos.
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blog
Definition: The term 'blog' is derived from the phrase 'web log'. A blog is a web page which contains a series of chronological entries - the content is often in diary form (but doesn't have to be). Images, flash players, videos etc can all be incorporated into a blog. The blogging software usually includes automatic archiving of older material, indexing of entries, a facility to record comments (which makes blogging a collaborative resource) and an RSS feed option. The reason blogging has become so popular is that no technical expertise is required (e.g. no html knowledge needed) and anyone who can use a simple text editor will be able to create a blog very easily and quickly. Podcasters normally use blogs for their webpage content which links to the media file which they post (e.g. http://splendidspeaking.podomatic.com/ ). The term 'audioblog' is often used to describe a podcast. Google have their own blogging service at https://www2.blogger.com/start which allows anyone to easily set up their own FREE blog site using a simple step by step guide.
Use in Education: Blogging can be used for students to post research. In diary form it can record class progress with a particular project. A blog can be used to record college trips (e.g. a geology study week in the Lake District). Blogs can be used by teachers as very effective tools for reflective practice (eg http://thegordonschools.typepad.co.uk/asu/reflective_practice/index.html) . A research paper on this issue is available at http://www.dur.ac.uk/smart.centre/publications/BlogsFloridaeista2005.pdf
Link to Example: www.merlinjohnonline.net Blogs for education can be created at http://www.blogs2teach.net or at http:// www.edublogs.org
Definition: BlogLines is a web based RSS agregator. You create an account on bloglines, then add RSS subscriptions to it, which it then follows for you. The huge advantage of this over a computer based aggregator, is that with this being web based, you can access it from any computer - so is ideal for students who may use many different machines.
Use in Education: Students or staff could create own accounts, so that they could 'follow' relevant blogs, websites or similar.
Link to Example: Overwrite link here
Definition: Blogger.com was a site which allowed users to create Blogs and view those of others. It is now available as a Google product. The term 'blogger' also refers to a person who owns and posts to their own Blog.
Use in Education: Overwrite use here
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Blogosphere
Definition: The concept of blogs and bloggers as a worldwide community with its own ethos and culture.
Use in Education: Overwrite use here
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Buzz Out Loud
Definition: Overwrite definition here
Use in Education: Overwrite use here
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