Social Networks as a Political Force for Education (and, More Students 2.0 Sought)
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If I’ve learned anything in this year of blogging, it’s that good ideas need ritual repetition before they gain traction, find support, and become realities. So here goes (and the second point is far more important than the first):
Scott McLeod just wrote a very nice post about the launch, and the future, of Students 2.0 at Dangerously Irrelevant. I replied there, but want to paste a snippet here, since I’d planned to put these ideas out here anyway.
They concern two things: finding more writers for Students 2.0, and applying the same Twitter-social bookmark PR tactics used in the s20h launch to generate political pressure concerning educational issues.
1. Seeking More Students 2.0 Writers
From the comment to Scott, slightly edited:
Getting more staff writers for s2oh is a high priority. (Sylvia Martinez, by the way, already helped me find the first batch of writers, along with Diane Cordell (http://dmcordell.blogspot.com) Carolyn Foote (http://futura.edublogs.org), and Chris Watson (http://watsoncommon.blogspot.com).)
Any readers of any age who know a student already blogging with regularity - and quality - are invited to contact us on the “Contribute” page of Students 2.0. They don’t have to be “edubloggers” per se, just good writers (or multimedia)/ bloggers with the ability to reflect about their experiences in education. They can also contact me [here].
2. One-Click Political Activism via Social Networking: Twitter, Ning, and the e-Blogosphere as a Potential Political Force
On a side note, the launch itself was a learning experience about network marketing, and how it can be used to generate a message. I’m hoping to find a few others who see that this can be duplicated for political/educational purposes aimed at influencing politicians, voters, and the “education industrial complex” (to quote Jim Walker’s brilliant comment on Will Richardson’s recent “End of Year Dreaming” post).
So far, my post about it has been met with silence. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong, to me; it just means either the right people haven’t read it or, if they have, they read it at the wrong time
I’m convinced we can hold a few feet to the fire re: NCLB, the textbook industry, the ETS and College Board, and more, in a series of regular campaigns requiring little more than bookmarking a post to del.icio.us, digg, stumbleupon, etc, in a short time-frame.
You saw the potential of s2oh, Scott. Do you see what I’m saying about the potential political power of the educational networks of Twitterers, Ning-ers (Steve Hargadon, I’ll be in touch again soon, because the numbers in Classroom 2.0 can generate quite a message!), and similar networks to create pressure for change?
Come back soon for more ritual repetition. This can be so easy if we all work together, and at the same time, so powerful. We’ve shown with Students 2.0 that Twitter can be about more than the latest cool tool you found. It can be about creating the changes we all want to see - or at least raising a fun bit of low-effort hell in the attempt.
Photo credit: “see him?” by laihiu
If you like this post, please spread it: 
(But don't tag it "education." That will bury it.)
- A Belated Reflection on the Students 2.0 Experience
- From “LeaderTalk” to “LearnerTalk”: Global Student Edublog Coming Soon, Seeks Your Input
- Students 2.0 Edublog Pre-Launch: Help Spread the Splash
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Clay,
I like your ideas about harnessing the power of the web as an agent for social/educational change.
Would we collaboratively construct a posting, then blog it simultaneously, each write our own variation on a theme, or something else entirely?
Keep us in the loop; fun times ahead!
diane
diane’s last blog post..That’s a Big Ten-Four
diane
2 Jan 08 at 1:39 am
The how is an open question. As far as I see, complexity will kill the thing. Having one person write something, then everybody bookmark it, would be simplest.
Maybe start a wiki with a list of targets - textbook industry, NCLB, etc - and give volunteers the choice of which they’ll write.
Have a “bookmarking blitz” schedule on the same page. Man the Twitter barricades for the scheduled cannonade.
Watch the weekly (?) posts go viral on del.icio.us, digg, stumbleupon, reddit, etc. Then see what sorts of responses and echoes they get in the mainstream media, etc.
We could do the same with short YouTube videos.
This is basically what the Ron Paul netroots have done, I think (I don’t know that, I just suspect it).
We’d need to make sure people posting exploited metadata SEO stuff - meta-tagging and so forth. Not hard or complicated, but really powerful for attracting Google searches.
Clay Burell
2 Jan 08 at 1:56 am
Clay
Another interesting idea (political force) and I would like to know more about how it might develop. It does seem as if we have this convergence of people coming together more and more, and if there are ways to harness that energy and power, that would be a movement in itself. (Of course, we have to remember that there is likely be divergent political views, too).
Can you point us to any examples of how this might look?
I am one of those folks who sometimes struggles to get my head wrapped around an idea until I see some semblance of it and then it starts to fit together.
I agree that “complexity would kill this thing” as the simpler it is, the more likely you have that entire ‘middle crowd’ of folks who want to get involved with the fewest hurdles possible.
Take care
Kevin
Kevin H’s last blog post..Matt’s Video in the Classroom Site
Kevin H
2 Jan 08 at 5:41 am
Note to self: Invite Students 2.0 to exercise their own influence in generating this political swell. They have more readers than I do; if they wrote about political issues affecting education from their perspective, some of their posts might be especially digg-worthy.
And we really have to open our minds to using non-text-based forms of communication. Why do none of us use video/digital storytelling as a routine means of communicating and broadcasting our views?
It shouldn’t take so long for another “Did You Know” to make a splash. We just don’t change our 20th c. texting habits. And it seems like Students 2.0 have inherited those same habits from us. So far, no multimedia - no podcasts, videos (except for Sean’s promo), no photos (okay, Lindsea did use original artwork for one of her posts).
End of note to self
Clay Burell
2 Jan 08 at 6:29 am
Kevin, the best concrete examples I can give are linked in the post above, and they’re the ones that catapulted Students 2.0 onto the del.icio.us hotlist - and then to popurls and other sites - within three hours.
http://beyond-school.org/2007/12/29/a-belated-reflection-on-the-students-20-experience/
See Scott’s post (also linked) as well.
Clay Burell’s last blog post..Social Networks as a Political Force for Education (and, More Students 2.0 Sought)
Clay Burell
2 Jan 08 at 11:11 am
Clay,
I’m interested in your idea. I agree that YouTube could be a powerful vehicle.
I was browsing through the EDin08 site–have you seen it? They are making an effort to bring education issues into the conversation. However, I’m not too keen on some of their key ideas, or want to know more about the details of their support, though I agree that we need to get education on the plate as an issue, and particularly technology in education.
I like the idea of a site like student 2.0. Something like what Edin08 proposes to do….but with a group of bloggers like LeaderTalk has, raising issues that all candidates should be paying attention to. Students as well as regular bloggers could be included.
It’s clear the candidates are avoiding discussing NCLB….or at least most of them are. It’s a hot potato–and I worry that by avoiding talking about that, they are avoiding the issue altogether.
I think a much more attractive issue is that of global education….I think there’s a “market” for us to talk about that idea, so to speak, that people would be receptive to.
Just my “two cents worth!” Carolyn
Carolyn Foote’s last blog post..Where are we going, where have we been?
Carolyn Foote
4 Jan 08 at 1:42 pm
Oops–I was certainly not implying our students are not regular bloggers. They are the greatest and I’m enjoying reading Student 2.0. Sorry–blogging while tired!
What I was trying to say is that having a mix of students and teachers and administrators would be fascinating. And I like the idea of basing it on the Students 2.0 blog model.
Carolyn Foote’s last blog post..Where are we going, where have we been?
Carolyn Foote
4 Jan 08 at 1:44 pm
Carolyn, Thanks for this. We’re thinking remarkably alike. Thanks for the lead, will follow it. And stay tuned
Clay Burell
4 Jan 08 at 2:18 pm