Constructing New Social Patterns

'... what is

often attributed to being a fear of technology per se is more correctly a fear or anxiety

associated with new technological modes of being in the world.p.51.

Mallan writes about children's on-line identities on social networking sites like MySpace and some aspects of social relationships in this virtual environment.

In this section of the article'(Friends and Community: a sense of being-with and being there' p.58) it is described that the children in the study used MySpace and others to seek out like minded friends, but also as a way to establish popularity through 'Top Friends List' and though quantification. It was noted that girls would know the exact number of friends they had and boys were more likely to give an estimate.

One student talked about how she could contact others that came from the Solomon Islands. this reinforces other articles I have read about being able to communicate with others regardless of geographical location.

'The extension or merging of real life with online life does not necessarily mean

that all online communities simply replicate or replace all the dynamics and social

functions of traditional communities. Rather, as the students’ comments reported here

suggest, the technology itself is a key player in shaping how a community can operate in

complementing offline identity formation and social activities.' p.64

Digital Culture & Education (DCE)

Publication details, including instructions for authors

http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/

Look at me! Look at me! Self-

representation and self-exposure through

online networks

Kerry Mallan

School of Cultural and Language Studies in Education

Queensland University of Technology

Online Publication Date: 15 May 2009

Some thoughts on global citizenship

In the 21^st century there are now two overarching types of communities; Off-line and on-line. The young or the millennium generation will actively and capably manage to engage in both. On-line communities differ from off-line communities in the sense that there are no boundaries. On-line communities are truly global communities. Here are some thoughts on the idea of global citizenship will relation to on-line communities. With regards to schooling there are implications that arise. What is the role of schooling in preparing the young for Global Citizenship? What are the moral requirements and knowledge needed to be a on-line global citizen? And finally, how might this be achieved?

An On-line community is one that exists in a virtual space on the Internet. These occur in spaces such as email, chat rooms, My Space, Facebook, and interactive gaming sites.

They are global communities because through the nature of the Internet anyone around the globe has access.

Global citizenship is similar to regular citizenship that we are all familiar with except that it relates to on-line spaces only.

Citizenship and a person’s social role and responsibility have typically been taught at schools in subject such as SOSE, society and culture or geography and history. The question is do we need to add on-line citizenship into these subjects school curriculum. I thin the answer is yes. Social roles and responsibility and in particular ethical behaviour.. Stranger danger is being addressed already but not particularly attached to these subjects that would allow for a real world connection and perspective to be gained. In addition students need to understand topics from a variety of perspectives. Cross curricula learning enables this to occur.

Before we discuss how Global Citizenship should be taught it is important to articulate exactly what makes global citizenship different from everyday real world citizenship.

So how might we achieve integrating this into curriculum and into everyday teaching practice?

Transcending borders

Because of Web 2.0 this generation develop social communities that are unique. They include more friendships that extend beyond local borders. What was foreign is not so anymore, this is not due solely to easily accessible transport with wings but due to the ubiquity of internet or virtual travel. In Thomas Friedmans book, The world is flat, it is written, 'the world has moved into a third great era of globalisation, people transcending borders, interacting and appreciating other countries, becoming global citizens.' (cited in Welch, 2009) This article, Transcending borders, is focused on ways in which we can use web 2.0 technologies to create global citizens with knowledge of Asia pacific regions, not just western or British.

Retrieved from: Welch, Maureen. Transcending borders. [online]. Education Horizons; v.10 n.4 p.5-6; 2009. Availability: ISSN: 1440-723X. [cited 06 Apr 10].

Education in the 21st Century

Shaw states, 'Critical attributes of 21st century education include Integrated and Interdisciplinary, Technologies & Multimedia; Global Classroom; Project-Based & Research; Student Centered. 21st Century Skills include: Driven; Relevant, Rigorous & Real -World; Constant Change; Lifelong Learning.' These are themes that crop up again and again. What is discussed in this article is the acknowledgment that classrooms are not delivering or if they are, they are still not delivering enough.

'Our students are facing many emerging issues such as global warming, famine, poverty, heath issues, a global population explosion and other environmental and social issues.' says Shaw. Thinking about this article it seems to me that Web 2.0 applications can be used to study new social communities, through this kind of research, we can more accurately target the kinds of curriculums we should be including, and to go beyond gaming and entertainment. However, 'We must realize, and our students must understand, that we cannot move toward a vision of the future until we understand the socio-historical context of where we are now. Where are we? What events led us to be where we are? How can this inform our development of a vision for the future and how we want to get there?' says Shaw.

Retrieved from: Shaw A. Education in the 21st century. [online]. Ethos; v.17 n.1 p.11-17; Term 1 2009. Availability: ISSN: 1448-1324. [cited 06 Apr 10]