Group+8B

=Personal Learning Environments and Social Networking=

=A) Overview=

 Social networking has become very popular in the past few years. Since social networking sites have been introduced, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Ning have attracted millions of users. Living in the world today it is hard to find someone who doesn't have a Facebook. Social networking is helping to connect the world. There are many types of social networking sites out there and a great many focus on integrating technology, collaboration with education, and culture. Cultures can be brought together through social networking whereas; other social networking sites, such as Facebook, mainly focus on common interests and current activities of people. Social networking sites can be used for a wide variety of things including finding out current information although, there are some security issues. There are many arguments that have come up against the security of information and safety of social networking sites, saying the they attract online predators since anybody can have an account on these social networking sites. Personal learning environments (PLE's) are systems that help learners take control of and manage their own learning. This allows learners to:
 * Set their own learning goals
 * Manage their learning, both content and process
 * Communicate with others in the process of learning

PLE are tools, communities, and services that are combined to form educational platforms that learners use. It represents Web 2.0, like blogs, Wikis, and Rss feeds.Some examples of personal learning environments are Igoogle, Yahoo, Wikipage, and Microsoft Live. These sites are used frequently and they help keep the user organized on the web.

A personal learning environment or PLE is a potentially promising educational approach for both mixing formal and informal usage of social media and supporting student self-regulated learning in higher education contexts. Through personal learning environments one can collaborate, learn, and discover all about whatever their topic of interest happens to be. Social networking also allows people to collaborate, share ideas, and make the best of the information available to them.

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=B) Current News=

Social Networking plays an important role in the lives we live today. Many companies have seen the value in social networking and since then many social networking sites have op ened up ranging from Athlinks - a social networking site for tunners and swimmers, to Advogato - a social ne twork for software developers. Social Networks are a tool for sharing information and getting in touch with people with the same interests. Disputes against social networking sites however have mainly been about the various arguments that have come up against the security of information and safety of social networking sites, saying that they attract online predators since anybody can have an account on these social networking sites. Social Networking is still a huge part of society today, bringing people closer together and helping people find others who share their common interests.

Personal Learning environments or PLE's are a main source of independence and new way of learning. Most personal learning environments revolve around video or audio outlets explaining why one of the most used PLE's is Youtube, because it allows users to post a variety of videos ranging from college lectures, to a recipe for fried chicken.

Personal learning environments allow learners to take control of and manage their own learning, by giving learners a chance to: Personal Learning environments also include online schools and classes as well. =Areas of Impact=
 * Set their own learning goals.
 * Manage their learning, both content and process.
 * Communicate with others in the process of learning.

C) Education
Social Networking has a major effect on a student's education. Studies show that students, who are being bullied on social networks, have lower grades. Social networking can also be educational because it teaches students how to collaborate and how to communicate using different technologies. Personal learning environments are all about education. If you have a good, positive personal learning environment then you will be able to learn any subject very easily and effectively. The term personal learning environment (PLE) describes the tools, communities, and services that constitute the individual educational platforms learners use to direct their own learning and pursue educational goals. A typical PLE, might incorporate blogs where students comment on what they are learning, and their posts may reflect information drawn from across the web. While most discussions of PLEs focus on online environments, the term encompasses the entire set of resources that a learner uses to answer questions, provide context, and illustrate processes. PLEs allow learners to set their own goals. PLEs allow learners to manage their learning. PLEs allow people to manage both content and process and communicate with others in the process of learning. PLEs help you move from expert developed and sanctioned knowledge to collaborative forms of knowledge construction.

D) Government, Politics and Employment
The government has done many studies on students’ personal learning environments and how they affect their test scores and grades. The government has also made programs in schools to give children, less fortunate, the right tools and resources. Most new schools in America have the proper tools and resources for their students, but the students have to reach out for them themselves. State cyberstalking, cyberharassment and cyberbullying laws.

Social networking is a form of collaboration, which is now required to strive in this flattened world. Social networking also teaches one of the most important things in the flat world, and that is Empathy. Researchers say that people learn "virtual empathy" through social networking.

Public social networking sites can be used to further promote government information and services. This could include setting up a Linkedln group, a Facebook group, or a Ning community. By setting up a group in Facebook, for example, government can bring people together who are employees with those who are interested in a fact of an agency’s work and information. Doing so expands the government’s outreach capabilities and ability to interact. Social networking sites with government partners can help achieve a government’s mission. Social media a governmeThe personal learning environment is very important to the government because it is a system that helps learners take control of and manage their own learning. This includes providing support for learners to: set their own learning goals, manage their learning, and communicate with others in the process of learning.

During one session, Bob Carlson, assistant attorney general in Missouri and the president of the charity regulator’s group, discussed the legal implications of charity efforts on social networks. Social media, however, isn’t the only issue on the minds of regulators. The rest of the agenda for the conference’s public day includes discussions about: Governance of nonprofits, privacy issues, international solicitation, and alternative legal structures for organizations that do well, such as low-profit. nt isn’t about new ways that agencies or officials share or gather information, collaborate with the public in addressing the grand challenges for the 21st century or build better policy through online engagement. Employees could also form groups on social networking sites to overcome stovepipes within organizations. PLEs are premised on social media as well. PLEs are effective in addressing learner control and personalization. PLEs can help integrate formal and informal learning. PLEs require the development and application of self-regulated learning skills. State employees who actually care about their jobs forced to pull extra hours at home because they weren’t permitted access to these social networking sites at work. In fact, spoken to several S.C state employees about the issue, and several of them told us they could do their jobs better if they were permitted access to social networking sites at work.

E) Arts, Entertainment, and Leisure
The effect that social networking has on our usage of arts, entertainment, and leisure is astounding. Social networking really does lea ve the world at the fingertips of anyone that wants to use it. One can connect with people from all areas of the world, whether it be Austria, China, or Africa. It can be a never-ending means of entertainment and learning. “... Technology has not only mediated communication in countless ways, but ... the very ways we communicate—and even the ways we ta lk and think about communication—are changing as a result." One tends to think differently about what to do in their free time when they can connect with others so quickly. We are social beings and having easy ways to communicate at our fingers can make some get a little bit too used to social networking in their free time. Social networking is also affecting the way we view entertainment. If one is bored they can simply type in cat video into Youtube and approximately 1,510,000 results will come up (as of 3/7/12). The possibilities are endless and it is easier than ever to share a talent, a funny story, or a thought to anyone who cares to look for such things.

F) Science, Environment, and Health
Science is playing a important role in many different areas and the creation of computers, internet, has made it much easier for people to keep in touch with other people. Social networking websites made it easier for students to communicate with other students and teachers. Current social networking sites, for example Myspace has also made groups where people who are very interested in science and can join and discuss current issues or talk about some scientific theories. There are many different social networking websites related to science, recently a new social networking website was created by grad students to “improve collaboration across disciplines in the sciences”. Mark Zuckerberg created a social network for scientists. And it is successful About 1.4 million researchers have signed up already, and that number is growing by 50,000 a month. After all, the Internet was originally created mainly by academic for academics and Mr. Zuckrrberg’s invention, Facebook, got its start on college campuses.

But though the Internet has speeded things up, it has not changed how researchers are connecting to each other. Academic communities are still functioning well, and also making it hard for scientists to find others doing similar research. And results often are not shared across disciplines. The scientists/researchers favorite activity is to ask each other questions about practical research problems, from DNA-sequencing techniques to statistical tricks. More than 10 million papers have been uploaded. Most scientific journals now let authors post their work on “personal web pages”, which includes profile pages on social networks. Science is not only about collaboration but also competition too. This puts a limit towards what they’re willing to share. A survey of over 100 small and medium enterprises in six European countries found few examples of participation in formal learning. Either it’s in or out of a workplace. For the successful organization and management of their own learning, the students have to meet several requirements related to the appropriate combination of adequate knowledge, skills, attitudes, and competences. Outdoor learning is different than classroom-based learning. Study aims to characterize contextual learning during class visits to science and natural history museums. Activities of limited choice offered scaffolding, allowed the students to control their learning, and enhanced deeper engagement in the learning process. The integration of both formal and informal learning episodes into a single experience, the use of social networks that can cross-institutional boundaries, and the use of networking protocols to connect a range of resources and systems within a personally-managed space is an important concept. PLEs help you set your own goals. PLEs help you manage your learning.

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Team Members
**A) Overview: [|Cierra Ritter]** **Andre S.** **Skylar S.** **B) Current News:** **Merissa L** **[|Cierra Ritter] Andre S.** **C ) Education: [|Hannah H.] Ryan G.** **Merissa L Darian H.** **D Government, Politics and Employment:** **Nardos Haile Darian H.** **E) Arts, Entertainment, and Leisure: [|Skylar S.] [|Hannah H.] Sydney H.** **F) Science, Environment, and Health: Sydney H. Ryan G. Nardos Haile**

**Team Roles** (Click here for a description of team roles.) **Content Editor:** **[|Hannah H.]** **Ryan G.** **Image/Graphics Editor:** **Andre S.** **Discussion Monitor:[|Skylar S.] [|Cierra Ritter]** **Presentation Editor: [|Darian H.]** **RSS Editor:** **Merissa L** **Mind Map Editor:** **Sydney H.**

**Group Photo:**

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