I thought Tweet was a noise that a bird made

I posted an article on my blog from last week that discussed about how the awareness level about global affairs of college students has risen. I do believe that technology has a huge part of this. There have been studies that show that students spend several hours of the day on the internet. I believe that this is a big reason why students have a higher awareness level. News can travel extremely fast when it’s on the internet. For perfect example, how many times have you searched on youtube a clip that you have heard someone talking about? I know that recently during the new season of American Idol, there was a try-out that everyone was talking about because it was so dreadful. It was called “pants on the ground”. The night it showed, I was busy doing homework. The next morning when I came to work, it was like I had missed the funniest thing of the century. As soon as I got home, I sat down on my computer and youtubed “pants on the ground”, and I found the video clip with already over 10,000 views. I bet after reading my blog, you will try to watch it. This is a silly example of how something travels so quickly, but this is also how news travels so quickly. I bet that thousands of people googled something about the earthquake in Haiti as soon as it happened. The internet is how the community is socially communicating these days. Technology is how we stay connected with the world.

The social community of Twitter and Facebook is a gigantic phenomenon that everyone has heard of. I believe my grandmother even has a Facebook account. “Tweeting” is socailly a way that connects students on college campuses. These connections come from either posting what social event they are heading to, what class they are sleeping through, or what exam they are stressed out for. Students might read these “tweets” and communicate with other students about having similar emotions or even having questions about assignments. The title of my blog is to give an example of how fast these online social networks are growing. I am younger graduate student, and I was not sure what Twitter was about a month ago. Within a month and all of my friends pressuring me to make an account, I have a twitter account and “tweet” almost every day. Technology spreads extremely fast and I believe it initiates a new level of understanding within the college classroom. Technology is the key to connecting students across campuses. These social networking communities are important for connecting the college student today.

During the past year, Facebook and Twitter has targeted an older generation of people. Like I said before my grandmother has a Facebook account along with my mother, my great aunt, and my college teachers. WHOA…..what? Teachers? Is there a community outside of the classroom that connects students with their teachers? It is definitely possible now with social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Read this article found on the Chronicle:

http://0-chronicle.com.umiss.lib.olemiss.edu/article/Facebook-The-New-Classroom/48575/

This article was written by a teacher discussing different experiences that she deals with having a Facebook account. She mentions the boundary that should be crossed between private and public postings with students. She discussed the possibility that she could see when a student is struggling with homework and was in a dilemma to help them or not. It was very interesting to me that some of the comments that the students said, “If we didn't want your help, we wouldn't have friended you in the first place”. This is a perfect example of how technology and the social networking online community can impact students on the college campuses today. With what we know about the virtual community, I think it is inevitable for future students to not be a part of a virtual community. Therefore technology is a key part to colleges today.

Technology doesn’t just include these social networking communities, but also online classes, iphone applications, labtops, e-mails, ipad, etc. In this generation of students, there is an endless list of technology devices that are seen within the college community. During classes, students are using “clickers” to answer test questions and quiz questions. Teachers used blackboard and other programs to display study material for their students online. There are discussion boards and blogs that involve interactions with students and students, and also with students and teachers. Technology is present in every type of class whether it is art, science, mathematics, or political systems. I think technology will be present in future generations whether you like it or not. So be ready.....