Social networking will soon be available to the members of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. Headquarters has planned the launch for January 2010.
The GoLightly platform will house the network and be a part of the international website. Within this site, members will have web 2.0 tools to create committee wikis, develop their own blogs, establish private discussion forums, use video and images to convey meaning to today's new teaching generation.
In addition to wikis and blogs, web 2.0 tools can include social bookmarking, like delicious, RSS, tag clouding, podcasts, photo sharing, and online video or media, such as YouTube or TeacherTube. Most of these tools are free. All one does is sign up for an account. One's involvement level deepens the experiences of collaborative community learning. In any social community we learn from others. The more one reads other blogs and participates in the social community, the more you learn.
In his book Smart Mobs, Howard Rheingold talks about "people who are able to act in concert even when they don't know each other. The people who make up smart mobs cooperate in ways never before possible..." His views on smart mobs relate to the entire idea of social networking and collaborative work. Will Richardson talks about social media and how we as participants will de-focus on the tools of today but continue to latch onto "the “properties and dynamics” or the “network effects” that they bring about." The way of communication has forever changed. It is up to us, the world of educators at any level, to help one another learn the new world of collaboration and connectivity. The DKGnetwork is our first step toward that effort. Look for the launch in January.
