Awareness

=**Awareness **= 

**Social Networking - focuses on the building of online communities of people who share interest and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. **




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=What is a Social Network?=

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"Online social networks are communities of people who share interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most services are primarily web-based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as <span class="aptureLink wiki_link_ext" style="-webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-top-left-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius: 4px 4px; border-bottom-width: 0px! important; border-left-width: 0px! important; border-right-width: 0px! important; border-top-width: 0px! important; cursor: pointer! important; display: inline! important; float: none! important; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px! important; padding-left: 0px! important; padding-right: 0px! important; padding-top: 0px! important;"> messaging, <span class="aptureLink wiki_link_ext" style="-webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-top-left-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius: 4px 4px; border-bottom-width: 0px! important; border-left-width: 0px! important; border-right-width: 0px! important; border-top-width: 0px! important; cursor: pointer! important; display: inline! important; float: none! important; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px! important; padding-left: 0px! important; padding-right: 0px! important; padding-top: 0px! important;"> [|email], <span class="aptureLink wiki_link_ext" style="-webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-top-left-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius: 4px 4px; border-bottom-width: 0px! important; border-left-width: 0px! important; border-right-width: 0px! important; border-top-width: 0px! important; cursor: pointer! important; display: inline! important; float: none! important; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px! important; padding-left: 0px! important; padding-right: 0px! important; padding-top: 0px! important;"> [|video], <span class="aptureLink wiki_link_ext" style="-webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-top-left-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius: 4px 4px; border-bottom-width: 0px! important; border-left-width: 0px! important; border-right-width: 0px! important; border-top-width: 0px! important; cursor: pointer! important; display: inline! important; float: none! important; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px! important; padding-left: 0px! important; padding-right: 0px! important; padding-top: 0px! important;"> [|voice chat] ,<span class="aptureLink wiki_link_ext" style="-webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-top-left-radius: 4px 4px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius: 4px 4px; border-bottom-width: 0px! important; border-left-width: 0px! important; border-right-width: 0px! important; border-top-width: 0px! important; cursor: pointer! important; display: inline! important; float: none! important; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px! important; padding-left: 0px! important; padding-right: 0px! important; padding-top: 0px! important;">  [|Wikipedia] )

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Some of the most popular social networking tools are described here:


 * [|Facebook] A social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. The ISTE special interest group for school library media specialists has a[|Facebook page] and there is a [|Librarians and Facebook group] and a [|Librarians and Web 2.0] group. You can search for people or groups with like interests.


 * [|MySpace] Virtual community site allows users to [][|Club Penguin] .clubpenguin.com/, meet people, browse their profiles, and make friends from all around the world. There are many groups for librarians and/or school library media specialists. Many libraries and school libraries maintain pages in MySpace because young people are frequent visitors.


 * [|Ning] A site for creating your own social network for personal or professional use--or both! Or join one that already exists. See Ning features [|here]. Search for topics of interest to you to see Nings that exist. Here are few ning groups that may be of interest to you:
 * [|Ning in Education] For those using the Ning social networking platform in education
 * [|Literacy Forum] Joining diverse groups of people to engage in literacy dialogue, collaborate on projects and boost literacy levels from coast to coast to coast
 * [|Classroom 2.0] For those interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in education.


 * Instant Messaging / Texting - is a form of real-time direct text-based communication between two or more people. There are many platforms that one can communicate with. Some of the most popular instant messaging tools are described here:

**
 * [|Skype] - allows users to make video and audio calls for free. This can be to a friend nearby or far far away. Both users must download and install Skype to be able to chat.
 * [|Twitter] - is a notification/response system that allows you to contact near instantaneously with other people using just 140 characters. When you follow a person you will receive their messages (called tweets) and when they follow you back they receive yours. People who you both follow will receive messages you send each other. You can even use a browser such as [|TweetDeck] to keep your tweets organized so that you see only what you want to see.


 * Twitter, What's Twitter?**

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=Moving Beyond the Game: Social Virtual Worlds= =Six Features of Virtual Worlds = **//1. Shared Space//**//: the world allows many users to participate at once.//  //**6. Socialization/Community** : the world allows and encourages the formation of in-world social groups like guilds, clubs, cliques, roommates, neighborhoods, etc.
 * [|Google Talk] - is a free Windows and web-based application for instant messaging and voice over internet protocol (VOIP), offered by Google Inc.
 * //2. Graphical User Interface//**//: the world depicts space visually, ranging in style from 2D “cartoon” imagery to more immersive 3D environments.//
 * //3. Immediacy//**//: interaction takes place in real time.//
 * //4. Interactivity//**//: the world allows users to alter, develop, build, or submit customized content.//
 * //5. Persistence//**//: the world’s existence continues regardless of whether individual users are logged in.

=Vocabulary= MUVE ~ Multi-User Virtual Environment MMORPG ~ Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game MUD ~ Multi-User Dungeon WoW ~ World of Warcraft Avatar ~ Character that repesents an online user (both 2D and 3D) Inworld ~ User is online in a virtual enviroment IC - OOC - NPC ~ Role playing terms: In Character - Out-of-Character - Non-Player Character Sim ~ Simulation Third Person View ~ Refers to a graphical perspective rendered from a fixed distance behind and slightly above the avatar. Viewer ~ A gaming client or interface (an application) downloaded to a computer that connects to a remote computer system (server) by way of the internet.

media type="custom" key="5210069" =Popular Virtual Worlds= [|Club Penguin] ~ A virtual world for elementary school students to join a community, engage in fun activities, chat and play games with friends. [|Webkinz] ~ A virtual world where elementary school students can care for a virtual pet while interacting with games. [|Second Life] ~ Users can explore, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create, trade, buy and sell virtual porperty and services with one another, or travel throughout the world referred to as "the grid". Must be 18 to register for an account. [|World of Warcraft] ~ A MMORPG where users avatars explore the landscape, fight various monsters, complete quests, and interact with other avatars in various mythical worlds. Requires a paid subscription.

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=Virtual Worlds for Educational Use= [|Quest Atlantis] ~ An international learning and teaching project that uses a 3D multi-user environment to immerse children, ages 9-15, in educational tasks or quests. [|Active Worlds River City Project] ~ As visitors to River City, students travel back in time, bringing their 21st century skills and technology to address 19th century problems. [|Teen Second Life] ~ A global community of teens aged 13-17. Opportunities are available to socialize, explore various sims, build and collaborate on projects. [|Reaction Grid] ~ A virtual world where teachers and students can build together.