Social Media Bridging the Student-Teacher Communication Gap in Classes - How?

There was a time when students would get cold feet at the very thought of interacting with their teachers; even if that meant for discussing regular assignment related issues, or to simply wish them on special occasions. Now, teachers are no more the dreaded humans and students do not fret about meeting them even for a casual discussion. Teachers are more like friendly guides today; students can rely on them when faced with academic issues, career related or otherwise. This change is visible not only in online educational domains but in face-to-face classroom setups as well. This enhanced interaction has been made further possible by the increased popularity of social networks.

Is social networking conducive to learning?

Just like any application based practice or trend, social networking too has its own positive and negative effects. Judging from its usage, which is primarily social mingling, one, cannot simply tag it as harmful to learning. In fact, it depends essentially on the students and educators; whether it can be made conducive to learning or not. However, it is always better to put any new practice to the best use for society rather than chucking it as a mere waste of time. Social networking can surely benefit teaching-learning if it is made a part of the classroom activities; and it is already happening in classes where teachers and students are allowed to access social networking sites by institute authorities.

How do social media foster student-teacher interaction?

There are independent educators who simply maintain pages of their own on various social networking sites and allow their students to post queries and comments. They regularly check those posts and respond to the queries, or have chat sessions with the students when online to solve their problems. They even post class modules or reference study materials on these sites from time to time, or maintain educational blogs to be accessed and shared by the students easily.

Many institutes use the class registration software to conduct classes online or to streamline administrative jobs of their onsite classes. Such institutes avail of the member management solutions to build and maintain private community networks where they ask their students to be a part of. These community networks are epicenters of activities where students and teachers interact freely. To provide a better communication platform, some institutes also purchase a Social Media Connector from the software provider at a minimal cost which facilitates easy downloading of social media profiles of members directly on to the community networks.

Following are the ways in which teachers are trying to leverage the power of the social media to connect with their students:

1. They post questions or conduct live polls on various socially relevant subjects on the social networking sites in order to understand their students' view points on them.

2. They engage in discussions online either through a forum or through a chat session to explain a certain lesson to their learners.

3. They share various info-rich graphics and slide presentations on their profiles to make their traditional mode of learning even more interesting.

4. They post blogs and encourage their students to do the same that helps to improve their creative writing skills.

Students who otherwise feel a bit awkward to open up in classes interact freely over social media. They even come to know of various issues that are rarely discussed in classes that add on to their knowledge.

Jonathan is a professional trainer. He employs latest technology for social media integration for class and social media for training that results in more attendance and ROI.

John Edwards Statement to the Media and the Punditry

I was not a John Edward's fan when he ran for president in 2008. I did not get the sense that his depth character had fully developed. (I had the feeling before his haircut video went viral.) But, On Thursday, I believe he showed courage. Edwards stepped out on the courthouse and made a statement after the jury acquitted him on one charge and deadlocked on the five others.

John Edwards thanked the jury for their thoughtful 9 days of deliberations. Edwards said he was responsible. Edwards said he and he alone was responsible. Whether or not he is sincere, we do not know. But, he recognized by saying he was responsible that he had to take accountability on some level.

John Edwards thanked his daughter, Cate, for her support and acknowledged that she was able to give it while loving her mother as much as she does. He acknowledged his love for all his children. He gave intense emotional public declaration of his love for his daughter, Quinn. He acknowledged his sins and said "God is not through with me yet." He vowed to continue to work for the poor. Then the pundits went wild.

Here is my punditry of the pundits. Chuck Todd called John Edward's statement creepy. I have to say I was a little thrown by that characterization coming from Chuck Todd. Then he surmised that nobody wants to hear from John Edward. "Just go home," said Todd.

John Heilemann went as far as to say that Edwards talking about his daughter, Quinn, was creepy. John Heilemann is inaccurate when he says Edwards had not mentioned his other children and had to go back and acknowledge them after he made a point to state his love for Quinn. He had previously acknowledged all his other children then reaffirmed his love for all of them after stating he loved Quinn.

Heilemann concluded Edwards should not have acknowledged Quinn. His reasoning was Edwards would not have been standing on the courthouse steps if it had not been for the affair that produced Quinn. Quinn had nothing to do with the affair. She is not John Edward's shame. Edward's affair is the problem, not the child. So, it was courageous for Edwards to publicly claim his child despite the pontificating he had to know would come.

Howard Fineman called Edwards' statement creepy as well. Then Fineman went on a comical caricature of Edward's statement. Fineman perceived Edwards weaving a story of his children into the plight of the poor. He characterized Edwards as egotistical and delusional. Fineman basically said Edwards was shameless for affirming his commitment to helping the poor in whatever avenues still available to him at this point.

Then Chris Mathews moved from characterizing Edwards' statement as having hit all the right marks to pointing out Edwards could have gone to jail for 30 years for the actions that produced his daughter. Then Matthews commented that it was like Edwards was saying I had this child by this woman and now I want to talk about it. Mathews was in lock step with the others that Edwards should not have acknowledged Quinn because of the affair cover up producing the child. Come on, Chris, think about how you were gushing over your granddaughter last week. You are free to love your granddaughter in the open.

John Edwards' is now free to openly acknowledge his child since all his dirty laundry in the public domain. He was supposed to acknowledge Quinn. The world is going to treat her like an illegitimate child, like the pundits did. John Edwards was supposed to legitimize his daughter.. He had the courage to stand up and claim her, finally.

Chris Mathews missed it again when he said John Edwards was talking to the country and not to Quinn. But, he was talking to Quinn. John Edwards was making a video diary. After denying his daughter, he wanted to have a public record for her. You know what they say. The Internet is forever. I agree with Chris Mathews that Edwards was also talking to his supporter Bunny Mellon when Edwards spoke of continuing to fight for the poor. Chris Matthews was also astute in recognizing Edwards was not talking to him, Fineman or any of the other pundits.

Edwards needed to make the statement. If he had not, as Mark Halprin though would have been best, the press would have hounded him. Some of these same commentators would have been saying Edwards should have made a statement. David Corn said that it was probably not a good time for Edward's to mention 'God is not through with him yet.'. The last time that I checked anybody can call on God at any time.

Al Sharpton piled on that Edward's should have said a word about his ex-wife. Oh no, he shouldn't have. People would have been outraged that he had the nerve to put Elizabeth Edward's name in his mouth. But, he did acknowledge her. He highlighted Cate's love for her mother. That was the best way for him to handle it. He let everyone know that he knows Elizabeth Edwards is still loved.

Sean Hannity tried as usual to lay the predicate for the next line of Republican attack that can be turned on President Obama's administration. He tried to convict Edwards personally without addressing the complexity and flaws of campaign finance laws. He was trying to make an argument for why Edwards should be retried. Hannity conjured up these reasons for a retrial. 1) There is enough evidence to convict Edwards. 2) With a new jury, the prosecutor could do more. 3) Edwards is not sympathetic figure. 4) The prosecutor could do a better job of trying the case.

Big Ed hit the right note. He showed a clip of John Edwards speaking about the big challenges facing our country. Edwards was foreshadowing that you are not going to be able to negotiate with powerful interests about energy policy, healthcare and education.. Edwards said they would have to be forced to the table. President Obama's three years in office has proved that those representing big money interests cannot persuaded by reason to put country first. Ed Schultz lamented on the loss for the democrats. He showed the part of Edwards' statement of him taking ownership for his immoral acts, but asserting he had broken no laws. Shultz was fair and balanced. He showed Edwards on the right side of issues, but acknowledged that Edward's ego got the better of him.

If Edwards can raise awareness about the plight of the poor, more power to him. Who are these people to say Edwards cannot have a future in politics? David Vitter is still a Senator. Bill Clinton is a beloved political figure. Elliot Spitzer is a political analyst. John Edwards can be whatever he wants, if he works hard and helps others more than he helps himself.

Tammi Nikki is a political observer and social commentator. She enjoys satirizing politics and hypocrisy. Follow her @Oforobama and visit her essays and political graphics at http://www.oforobama.com/

Political Mirroring Techniques, Mass Media Propaganda, And Seventh Grade Debating Tactics

Recently, there have been two interesting comments by President Obama in the same week as he starts his political re-election campaign. First, he stated that he was confident that the Supreme Court would uphold ObamaCare and stated that the Supreme Court ought not "legislate from the bench" and he also stated that the GOP budge was that of "rightist radicals," so basically, whatever the political opposition says, Obama says the exact opposite back at them, as if holding up a mirror. It's an old juvenile debating trick - in fact, I think I learned that one in the Junior High debating class actually?

Interestingly enough, you know who else does this extremely well - Ahmadinejad in Iran. He does it with everything, no matter what anyone says about his actions, he says the same thing about his opponents. When the US says it has been testing a better bunker buster, he puts out a news release that he has a new anti-aircraft missile, high-speed underwater torpedo, indigenous built fifth generation stealth fighter, or is planning new war games in the Straits of Hormuz.

You know who else does well at this mirroring political rhetoric - Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, he also does it all the time, it must drive his opponents nuts, I bet? Indeed, the best way to get false leaders to stop playing these childish games is really simple. Call them on it, and state in the media that this is a false-debating point, mirroring trick and that those who are unfit to lead use it early and often to deflect their own leadership failures. Once everyone sees through it, it no longer works in the media. Once you take a mega-phone, teleprompter, sounding board, soap box, or media from such a leader, everyone just stops listening.

You see, here is the deal - first, the President of the United States and leader of the Free World has a responsibility to answer for his actions, and failures. Blaming others isn't going to be enough anymore, we need leadership. Our country is too important to avoid questions and deflect responsibility. Whereas, other leaders of the world may get away with it for a short period, it does not belong here, we are better than that, and we need a leader who can stand above it all and lead.

If we reduce the responsibilities of the Oval Office to mere sound bites and media "gotchas" we are no better than the rest, in that case our commander in chief has forfeited our right to lead here and we've forfeited our right to lead abroad. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative eBooks on 2012 Politics. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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How Learning and Development Industry Can Access the Benefits of Social Media

The potential of social networking in strengthening the learning process has become far-reaching over the past few years. The integration and assimilation of social networking and communication in the learning and development industry have completely revolutionized the way people create and share information. With social media surge in recent years, people can share and upload exciting information instantly, disseminate data, thereby making it viral in the most convenient way. In this article, we are going to show you how this has transformed the panorama of e-learning.

Fostering social intelligence among students is the primary objective of education. The process of web-based learning, along with the integration with social networking sites, has opened up many new opportunities to learn and inculcate interpersonal skills. The social media surge these days has encouraged learning process to come out of the constricted boundaries of traditional classroom. As a result, the knowledge base is extending on a rapid pace using this highly convenient medium.

The use of social media in the learning process has increased interactivity among the peers as well as with teachers, so as to make it more effective. Websites, such as Facebook and Twitter are extensively used in recent times in order to send reminders and disseminate study materials to learners. Through these platforms, students and teachers can interact and communicate, as and when required. The convenient process of interaction makes it easier for teachers and students to stay connected and share their knowledge for better understanding and enhanced experience of learning.

Nowadays, a growing number of companies are investing in social media marketing to create a hit brand for their businesses. In fact, a lot of training organizations are using the potential of social networking sites to reach out to the prospective students. These tools help your organization to build up an extensive network, thus enabling you to double your returns from your classes and training sessions.

The process of integrating social networking with the e-learning process helps you build your interpersonal communication, thereby making learning process interesting and engaging. With a social media platform, people get enormous opportunity to express their views and interact with others. Social networking allows people to reconnect with the rest of the world and expand their social interaction. The more your network will be stronger, the more will be your chance to deliver important messages and news. In this way, the knowledge delivery process will be stronger.

Jonathan is a professional trainer. He employs latest technology for online class registration and online training registration that results in more attendance and ROI.

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Is There Political Bias in the Mainstream Media?

The mainstream media (sometimes referred to as "MSM") has been a target of Republicans for some time now as being somehow biased and unfair toward the GOP and conservative views in general. For their part, Democrats have targeted networks such as Fox as being unbalanced and unfair, even during times when pundits who openly share their political leans are not being featured. The intensity of these feelings about the media seems to be increasing as time passes and as social media outlets play a stronger role in politics.

The problem with these assertions of political media bias for both sides of the political aisle is that they are hard to prove. Republicans and conservative bloggers point out correctly that many mainstream media members do fit demographics more typical of Democratic voters - given the colleges they went to, the attitudes of the professors at those colleges, and the demographics of the states where they live. But then again, it would be unfair to assume that even if more mainstream media members vote for Democrats or hold personal liberal opinions that they would necessarily be biased in their reporting.

On the other hand, while many pundits employed by Fox news may have a conservative or right-wing lean, that does not mean that the regular news broadcasts on the network are equally biased. That also would be unfair, and may merely be the result of a hyper-sensitivity to that possibility by people who are charged up by the opinions of the political pundits on the station.

Several scientific studies have tried to explore whether there is any mainstream media political bias. One study out of UCLA found no evidence of a left-leaning bias in the mainstream media, and in fact found that political media reporting overall leaned to the conservative side. This study simply counted the number of times various media outlets mentioned liberal and conservative advocacy groups and political organizations, but these methods were faulted as not accurately measuring bias. Other studies have tried to measure potential political boas in the media by comparing the types of stories written during election campaigns and putting stories about different candidates and parties in "positive" and "negative" categories to see which party seems to get more of the latter. Still other studies have taken a retrospective view of political media bias by looking historically at whether more positive media reports tend to follow certain leaders, depending on their political lean. There has been no meta-conclusion reached as yet about media bias based on these studies.

The fact that in this age where statistical science is well advanced we have not been able to prove any "liberal bias" in the mainstream media or conservative bias in the non-pundit driven news broadcasts on conservative stations like Fox might suggest that perhaps there is none overall. A recent possibility that has gained steam is that the mainstream media stays so adamantly central and middle-of-the-road politically that those who have views on the far right or left do not feel they are completely covered or heard. That leads to claims of bias because the media reports seem to always disagree with their own off center political opinions and beliefs.

For more information about potential bias in the mainstream media and related coverage of politics from an independent view, please see our blogs at:

Foxes in the Henhouse: Coverage of politicians and political groups who do have hidden agendas and secret loyalties

Campaign Report Cards: Your chance to grade the mainstream media and other aspects of each political campaign.

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