This week you will:

1. Join our Facebook Group.
2. Post to the Facebook Group introducing yourself and reflecting on the Intellectual Virtues.
3. Complete the Understanding the Expectations for ICS119- Introduction to Social Media Form.
4. Complete Week 1 Self Assessment.

Aloha and Welcome to ICS119!

At the start of an online course, typically most learners are lost and confused. Is That you? Don't worry once you get the hang of the process, -it repeats every week- you will catch on. Until then I am here to help. We are all here to help. I hope.

Getting lost within an online course is the most common problem when you first enter an online learning. This week you will find your way around the course and our Google+ Community. You will also get to know one another by posting in our Google+ Community. Have fun and don't take yourself too serious.

Ready to get started?

This course is based on adult learning theory. You are an adult, right? Ok, but what type of learner are you? Have you learned how to learn? Have you learned how to assess your own learning? Have you learned how to learn while sharing openly on the Internet? Have you learned how to be positive, effective and engaging when you learn online? You will in this course! Yeah!

Actively Developing Your Thinking

This course will activity introduce you to social media. The emphasis will be on actively developing your thinking. Everything we do will be designed to help you become better and better at thinking about social media. You will internalize information by using it actively each week to attempt to improve your thinking. Therefore the primary purpose of learning about social media is to help you develop your thinking or reasoning skills. Why is this important? The quality of every decision you make about social media will be directly determined by the quality of your reasoning abilities. In fact the quality of your life in general will be determined by how well you think in general.

Don't worry, you will have fun learning. When you are having fun you open yourself to new possibilities. Having an open mind is the first requirement for learning. By the end you this course you will be able to determine how you want to use social media for your own purpose.

How the Course Works

Introduction to Social Media: A Typical Week Learning Online.

Each week you will need to spend between 6-9 hours on this course.

1. MONDAYS- First day of week
   1. Every Monday a newsletter email will be sent to your hawaii.edu email address that includes:
      1. An overview of the current week’s learning objective
      2. Assigned content for to read and or watch.
      3. Activities to complete that include;
         1. You will create about 2 blog posts each week.
         2. Beginning week 4 you will be commenting on two other learners blog posts each week using intellectual standards.
2. THURSDAYS
   1. Every Thursday a newsletter email will be sent to your hawaii.edu email address to check on how see how you are doing and to remind you of the dues dates of that week's activities. .
3. SUNDAYS- Last day of week
   1. Course Activities- All activities are due by Sunday 11:59 pm each week- All late assignments will be deducted 10%. Late assignments will be accepted up until two weeks late.

WEEKLY GRADES. Every week you will complete a self-assessment form to receive your grade. Each week your self assessment is assessed by me for accuracy before you receive your grade. Each assignment clearly breaks down what you need to do to earn all the assignment points. Please follow the directions closely and you will earn all the points for the assignment.

WEEKLY INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK

1. Every week I will provide feedback on the blog posts you create using the intellectual standards.
2. After the fifth week, I will also be providing feedback on how your commenting to other learners learning artifacts using the intellectual standards.

Read/watch the following...

The key organizing idea behind this course, Introduction to Social Media, is “connection”. Connection is the guiding concept underlying everything you will learn in this course. In this course we will focus on thinking critically in reading, writing, and evaluating to create positive connections using social media. The purpose for thinking about connection is that the way we think and interact with each other affects everything. Our brains work by making connections. From connecting ideas new ideas emerge.

To think critically we will use reasoning by asking questions, gathering information, making inferences and assumptions to come to conclusions about how to create positive connections using social media. The key questions we will ask about making connections are; How do you create compelling content that uniquely represents you and your message? How do you practice using appropriate social media tools to create an online identity? How do you create and execute a social media campaign, and analyze its effectiveness?

Getting the Key Idea behind social media: Connection

If we understand the concept of connection as the underlying concept of social media, we study social media in a certain way. We realize that all other concepts about social media are related to the basic idea behind social media; that a social network creates a connection when users electronically share generated experiences, needs and desires. “Social networks are familiar to all who study primates, from baboon troops and gorilla and chimpanzee groups to human societies of all levels of cultural development. Common markers of social networking’s success and social status have long been marked by ownership of material goods, such as cars, houses, and the number and type of friends that one possesses,” Eric Clemons, Wharton School of Business.

Social media messages create connections that have different audiences, understandings, points of view and assumptions that shape our perceptions of reality. Power influences these connections. Social media influencers have established credibility with large audience and can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and reach. Social media ownership influences connection by the social media we can or cannot view and by what we can share and say online. This influence as “power” is an important concept in social media. The key to understanding the power of social media influence is through thinking about connection.

How To Do Well in This Course

To do well in this course, I must begin to think about connection. I must read and watch the course content not as a lot of information to remember, but as tools to help me think about connection. Thinking about connection is about using empathy, attentive awareness and reasoning by asking questions, gathering information, making inferences and assumptions to come to conclusions about how things should or ought to be, which things are good or bad, and which actions are right or wrong.

I must become clear about the purposes of how I connect using social media. I must begin to ask questions, and recognize the questions being asked, about using social media to improve how I think about making connections. I must begin to sift through social media information, drawing conclusions about connection. I must begin to question where information about social media comes from. I must notice the different interpretations that are formed about social media to give meaning to social media. I must question those interpretations to understand them better. I must begin to question the implications of various social media interpretations and begin to see how to reasoning is used to come to conclusions. I must begin to look at the world and develop the viewpoint of how to use social media to make positive connections.

I will read and watch the content in this course looking explicitly for the elements of thought. I will actively ask questions about connection during the course from a critical-thinking thinking perspective. I will begin paying attention to my own thinking about making connections in my everyday life. I will make thinking about connection a more explicit and prominent part of my thinking.

Sharing on the Open Web

All work in this course will be shared openly on the Internet. However, don't worry there is a lot of stuff out there and its hard to find what you are sharing unless someones knows where it is. Yes, sharing in public is harder. People can see your mistakes. People can see you try things you're not comfortable with. It's hard, and it's sometimes embarrassing. But it's also big fun if you do it right. in this course you will learn how to to share.

It's so much better learning in the open. You'll try harder. You'll think more about what you're doing. And you'll get a greater reward – people will see what you've created and connect on it. Sometimes critically, but often (much more often) with support, help and praise.

People really appreciate it when you share. After all, what you're doing when you share is to create material that other people can learn from. Your sharing creates more content for this course. Learner's appreciate that, and you will probably appreciate the content other people in the course share with you.

Embrace Personal Accountability

You will be assessed (graded) based on these three agreements:

1. We agree on the goals. We want the same outcomes for everyone, we're just trying different ways to get there.
   1. You agree to complete the course activities on time.
   2. You agree to accurately self assess your learning.
   3. You agree to give and receive feedback using intellectual standards.
2. We agree on reality. The world is not flat. Facts are evidence. We will learn to be accurate, concise and precise in our communication.
3. We agree on measurement. Because we've agreed on goals and reality, we agree on what success looks like as well.
   1. You agree to use the weekly self-assessment forms to measure the progress of your learning.
   2. You understand and agree the instructor will review your measurements for validity.

All three allow us to enroll on the same journey, and to hold each other accountable for our work. Any other approach disrespects your classmates and leaves you in a corner, without allies.

Open or closed?

Culture moves in two ways. Open and closed.

If you're a teacher, in business, a politician, a parent, a leader, an oligarch, a media mogul, an oil baron, a salesperson or a marketer, you need to make a choice, a choice that will alter how you work with others and the investments you make in our culture and your craft: Do you benefit from a population that's smarter, faster and more connected than it used to be?

Do you prefer transparency?

Either you're riding the tide or pushing against it.

Are you hoping that those you serve become more informed or less informed?

Are you working to give people more autonomy or less?

Do you want them to work to seek the truth, or to be clouded in disbelief and confusion?

Is it better if they're connected to one another or disconnected?

More confidence or more fear?

Outspoken in the face of injustice or silent?

More independent or less?

Difficult to control or easier?

More science or more obedience?

It's pretty clear that there are forces on both sides, individuals and organizations that are working for open and those that seek to keep things closed instead.

Here are a few extra non required resources you may be interested in.

The 7 Habits of personal effectiveness

From Wikipedia

The book first introduces the concept of paradigm shift and helps the reader understand that different perspectives exist, i.e. that two people can see the same thing and yet differ with each other. On this premise, it introduces the seven habits in a proper order.

1. Be Proactive. The concept of Circle of Influence and Circle of Concern. Work from the centre of your influence and constantly work to expand it. Don't sit and wait in a reactive mode, waiting for problems to happen (Circle of Concern) before taking action.
2. Begin with the End in Mind. Envision what you want in the future so you can work and plan towards it.
3. Put First Things First The difference between Leadership and Management. Leadership in the outside world begins with personal vision and personal leadership. What is important and what is urgent? Priority should be given in the following order:
   1. Important and Urgent
   2. Important and not-urgent
   3. Not Important and Urgent
   4. Not important and Not urgent
4. Think Win-Win. Genuine feelings for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value acnd respect people by understanding a "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. Use empathic listening to genuinely understand a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, and positive problem solving.
6. Synergize. Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals that no one could have done alone.
7. Sharpen the Saw. Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes exercise for physical renewal, good prayer (meditation, yoga, etc.) and good reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to society for spiritual renewal.
   1. Covey explains the "Upward Spiral" model in the sharpening the saw section. Through our conscience, along with meaningful and consistent progress, the spiral will result in growth, change, and constant improvement. In essence, one is always attempting to integrate and master the principles outlined in The 7 Habits at progressively higher levels at each iteration. Subsequent development on any habit will render a different experience and you will learn the principles with a deeper understanding.
   2. The Upward Spiral model consists of three parts: learn, commit, do. According to Covey, one must be increasingly educating the conscience in order to grow and develop on the upward spiral. The idea of renewal by education will propel one along the path of personal freedom, security, wisdom, and power.
8. The 8th Habit- Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.

Take a look at the 7 Habits on Pinterest

This course will begin to help you find your voice and inspire others using social media.

but... it's up to you make the choice.

Social media apps and services

• Alltop. Aggregation of RSS feeds organized by topic.
• Buffer. Social-media content-scheduling platform.
• Canva: Amazingly simple graphic design
• Camera+. Mobile photo-editing app.
• Chrome. Google’s Web browser.
• ClickToTweet. Service to add clickable links to send tweets.
• Color Splash. Mobile photo-editing app.
• Constant Contact. Email marketing with a customizable toolkit.
• Creative Commons. Nonprofit organization that enables sharing of creative works; it maintains a front end to search other sharing websites.
• Diptic. Mobile app for iPhone and iPad to create photo collages.
• Do Share. Chrome-based Google+ sharing service for Google+ personal profiles.
• Facebook. Social-media platform.
• Feedly. RSS reader app and service.
• Flickr Creative Commons. Flickr collection of Creative Commons photos.
• Fotolia. Stock-photography website.
• Friends+Me. Service to share Google+ content to other social-media platforms.
• Futurity. News-aggregation service for research from top universities.
• Goodreads. Social network for readers and writers.
• Google+. Social-media platform.
• Google Scholar. Specialty search engine to find scholarly research.
• HangoutMagix. Website to create lower-third custom overlays for Google+ Hangouts on Air.
• Holy Kaw. Website compilation of human-interest stories.
• Hootsuite. Social-media monitoring and scheduling platform.
• Iconosquare. Instagram desktop viewing site for popular content.
• IFTTT (If This Then That). Utility to connect different websites to do things automatically.
• Instagram. Social-media photo-sharing app owned by Facebook.
• Instatag. Mobile hashtag app for Instagram.
• iStockPhoto. Stock-photography website.
• Klout. Social-media measurement and content-curation website.
• LikeAlyzer. Service for Facebook measurement and metrics.
• LinkedIn. Professional social-networking platform.
• MailChimp. Service for e-mail lists.
• NPR (National Public Radio). Not-for-profit news service.
• Photo Repost. Mobile app to share other people’s Instagram photos.
• Pinterest. Social-media platform to share pictures.
• Populagram. Service to view popular photos from Instagram on desktop or mobile.
• Post Planner. Facebook app for content curation and management.
• Reddit. User-generated and user-rated Internet news service.
• Replies and More. Chrome extension for Google+ that enhances replying to comments.
• Repost for Instagram. App for Instagram to reshare photos.
• SlideShare. Website for sharing presentations.
• SmartBrief. News curation and aggregation service.
• Snapseed. Mobile photo-editing with Google+ integration.
• SocialBro. Twitter monitoring, measurement, and maintenance service.
• Sprout Social. Social-media management and measurement service.
• Stocksy. Stock-photography website.
• Storify. Service to compile stories across social-media platforms.
• Stresslimit. Editorial calendar plug-in for WordPress blogs.
• StumbleUpon. Website for discovering and rating content.
• TagsForLikes. Mobile app with hashtags for Instagram.
• Tailwind. Pinterest analytics and scheduling website.
• Tchat. Twitter chat client.
• TED and TEDx. Inspirational speeches presented in eighteen minutes or less.
• Triberr. Blogging community that shares members’ posts.
• Tumblr. Blogging platform.
• TweetDeck. App for Twitter.
• 22Social. Facebook app to run live Google+ Hangouts on Air through Facebook.
• Twitter. Social-media platform.
• Twubs. Twitter chat client.
• Wikimedia Commons. Collection of public-domain and freely licensed images, sound clips, and video clips.
• Wikiquote. Free online compendium of quotations and their sources.
• WiseStamp. Service to create custom e-mail signatures.
• YouTube. Video-sharing site.