I've joined Bluesky!

 Bluesky is a social media app that began in 2023 as an "invite-only" platform.  When it became publicly available in February 2024, it had three million users.  Since then, Bluesky has had rapid growth. In September 2024, it hit ten million users; last month, it achieved thirteen million users; this month, it has crossed over twenty million users and was the number one download of the Apple and Google Play app stores.  (Bluesky's growth is impressive, but to put that total number in perspective, X currently has 586 million monthly active users and Instagram has two billion MAUs.)

Generated with Gemini AI. Digital image, 11/23/2024.

In the last few weeks, I checked out the platform, liked what I saw, and decided to sign up.  It's free of course, and what could be seen as a positive sign of its current corporate independence, there are no Google or Facebook or Apple shortcuts to create an account; you have to provide an email address and date of birth.  My two new Bluesky account handles mirror my two main social media handles across multiple platforms:

• watsonedtech: bsky.app/profile/watsonedtech.bsky.social
• kyedrpg (Kentucky Educators for Role Playing Games): bsky.app/profile/kyedrpg.bsky.social

After using Bluesky for a bit, I wanted to share some quick thoughts and initial findings.  I should point out that last year I signed up for Threads (under the Meta umbrella of apps), and as you'll see below, I can't help but make some comparisons between the two.  

• The interface is very, very similar to X, which is not a shocker when you learn that Bluesky was started as a Twitter project under Jack Dorsey before Bluesky cut ties and went its own way.
• There doesn't yet seem to be options to post from Bluesky to other social media platforms, or vice versa.  This is in contrast to being able to choose for an Instagram post to simultaneously also post on your Threads, or quick shares of an article or Amazon item to X.  I imagine this will change as the popularity of Bluesky grows.
• You can text up to 300 characters!  (For X, it's 280, unless you pay for a premium account.)
• The browser interface is as adept and robust as the mobile app, an issue that plagued Threads when it first launched.
• There are more filters and options to choose what shows up on your feed than with most other major social media apps.
• Multiple hashtags work just fine and in the way you are used to experiencing them on X, Instagram, or Facebook.  A popular one for educators is #EduSky.  (That still remains a sticking point for me about Threads -- it launched without any such tagging, and even now only allows one "topic" per post.)
• My favorite part of Bluesky is the opportunity to create or find "Starter Packs."  Basically, creating a Pack means choosing a title, writing a description, and adding a group of users that fit around your described theme or topic.  (You can edit all of these elements at any time.)  Other users can see your Starter Packs under your profile, and when looking at its list of accounts can "follow all" or individually choose people to follow.  A nice bonus feature is that when looking at your Starter Pack, you can see only the posts made by the users listed in the Pack.  Here's one I made of Kentucky educators I have learned from over the years, and I'll likely add new friends as they join the platform.

Hope to see you where the blue wings flap!

What are your thoughts on Bluesky?  Post a Comment below.

I've joined Threads!

It's not every day that a new social media explodes into the mainstream -- but here we are, and I have just joined Threads, part of the Meta family (Instagram, Facebook, etc.).  In fact, in your app store, you'll see Threads labeled as "an Instagram app," which gives it some great advantages while also creating some nagging issues to overcome; more on that in a moment.

https://www.threads.net/@watsonedtech

Over the last year, In the wake of some turbulence in the land of the bluebird app, I have briefly flirted with some other social media tools.  But Threads is by far the only one that I have liked right out of the gate. The user interface is clean and intuitive, and signing up takes seconds (assuming you have an Instagram account). There's a lot of potential in the tool and I can understand why it's gotten so popular within just a few days of its launch -- over 70 million subscribers and counting! There seems to be a lot of positive energy in Threads, especially among educators. Another bonus in a new social media like Threads is the chance to clear your feed -- things look a lot different when following dozens of people as opposed to thousands. You might use Threads to follow key individuals and friends instead of all the companies and celebrities you may have accumulated over the years on other platforms.

Besides the typical Like, Comment and Repost buttons, Share has a few features including....Tweeting your post.  Threads, you have swagger. 

Here are some of my quick observations about Threads. (Fair warning: such a new app is likely beta testing new features as we speak, so it's highly likely it will look different even a month from now.)

• You need an Instagram account to sign up.  There's no way to get Threads without one. I find that strange, since you could conceivably, say, make a Facebook account without an Instagram account. From Meta's perspective, I suppose this is a shrewd way to keep you deeper in its family.
• The New York Times reported on Threads in their 7/9/23 morning email newsletter, and among other things, pointed out that you cannot delete your Threads account without deleting your connected Instagram account. I did see where you can "deactivate profile" in the app's settings, but NYT is correct about true account deletion.
• Once you create a Threads account, your Instagram profile will show a "button" allowing you to go to the person's Threads account. (Your Threads profile also has a button that leads back to your IG.) That is both convenient and likely some savvy tool cross-promotion. Interestingly, this button indicates what number subscriber you are -- I signed up as Threads apparently crossed the 73 million mark.
• If you want multiple Threads accounts, you'll need multiple IG accounts, which is a bit trickier than it sounds. The Threads app currently has no way to easily switch between accounts, like you can on Instagram, nor can you see that you may have notifications on one account while logged in as another.  However, on Threads, you can sign out of your current profile and sign in as another one.  (After creating my initial Threads profile, signing out/signing in is also how I created a second Threads profile, but this assumes you are logged into your device's Instagram app with two or more IG accounts.)
• While you can look at a Threads profile online (such as my link above shows), you can only view the person's posts. You can't log into your own account or post via a browser or see any notifications -- you can only do those things via your mobile app.
• You can Like a post, but as of yet there is no way to look at all the posts you Liked or make a Bookmark list like you can on Twitter. To be fair, however, this is similar to how Instagram currently works.
• You can attach a picture from your device's photo gallery to your post, but there is no other media functions built into Threads. Apparently if a video is in your gallery you could conceivably post it, although I haven't yet tried nor have I seen others do so yet. The only way to insert something like an animated GIF is through your device's keyboard.
• There is no (hash)tagging system in Threads, or any other structure that allows you to only follow or look up certain topics. My gut tells me this will be the next big upgrade for Threads, but for now, you are basically stuck just watching your feed based on who you follow, with your only search ability in looking up other people's accounts.
• I need to know the verbs. Are we Threading on Threads? Do I post a Thread on Threads? Is it a repost or a Rethread? If I tweet on Twitter, do I Threed on Threads?

I'm not giving up on Twitter yet, but I definitely will keep playing around on Threads and hope to bump into you over there!

Edit 7/9/23: A whole whirlwind of findings meant I needed to already update this post. I added new info about your options for deactivating or deleting your Threads account, what it takes to switch or add additional Threads profiles, the current limit of looking up your Liked posts, and a better understanding of posting videos.

Blended and Personalized Learning

I recently returned from iNACOL 2015, an international annual conference that specifically looks at best practices for blended learning and digitizing classrooms.  I was privileged to present on a session about Shelby's multi-year technology integration plan, along with John Leeper (our Director of Innovation in College and Career Readiness), Maddie Meyer (teacher at Southside Elementary), and KDE's David Cook (Director of Innovation and Partner Engagement). We also attended some intriguing sessions with valuable information, but I was particularly taken by a pair of keynote addresses.  The first was a highly engaging, motivating, and moving presentation by Buddy Berry, the superintendent of Eminence (Shelby's district neighbor).  Mr. Berry challenged us to stop doing school the way it's always been --  because we can show how much we care about students and truly meet their needs by evolutionizing education with digital tools and old-fashioned compassion.  The second was by Craig Kielburger (one of the founders of We.org), who talked about becoming a social activist at the age of 12.  Years later in Ecuador, he shared his story of a village chief who called a "minga" in order to finish building a school:

Had a wonderful #inacol15. I hope we can bring @craigkielburger's "minga" to Shelby County! pic.twitter.com/zmf933MwsE

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) November 12, 2015

Isn't it time in education for us to call a minga?

An entire conference about blended learning made me reflect on what is happening here in Shelby County.   But first, some definitions.  I find the articulation of blended learning in Straker and Horn's Blended to be the most useful: "Blended learning is any formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path and/or pace.”  This focus on the student is what makes blended go hand in hand with personalized learning; although you could personalize without technology, it would be difficult to facilitate. (It should be noted that simply using or integrating technology does not guarantee a personalized experience.)  So how does one define personalized learning?  In short, unlike differentiation or individualization which is managed by the teacher, personalization is unique because it is truly driven by the student; the student has "voice and choice" what will be learned, and when.  (For a comprehensive chart comparing personalization, differentiation, and individualization, click here.)

Thanks in large part to Chromebooks, personalized and blended learning are proliferating side by side.  One example is at Martha Layne Collins High School.  Madelyn Sterrett is a math teacher who uses Blendspace as a way of digitally organizing unit materials and resources for her students.  As students combine analog and digital materials to track their progress, they take ownership of their own learning:

Mrs. Sterrett has students using Blendspace with their Chromebooks to help self-pace math learning. pic.twitter.com/w2DgpnMxdY

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) October 6, 2015

Another math example is at the other end of the age spectrum, in third grade at Heritage Elementary.  Julia Lyles had confidence that her students needed only a few days with their Chromebooks before they would get past "how to use the device" and get down to the business at hand: a personalized learning environment managed by Google Classroom.  Now the students' math learning is self-paced.  With daily exit slips and a large chart on the back wall, Ms. Lyles can see when skills are mastered and track their current stage of progress.

Julia Lyles in front of her students' exit slip packets and class progress chart.

In the past, these model examples of student personalized learning may have been silo'd or overlooked. Now, however, social media has amplified teacher voice and given instructors unprecedented access into each other's classrooms.  That's exactly what Shelby County High School math teacher Bart Roettger shared in a recent meeting of Shelby's "Guiding Coalition" (a group of educators and community partners willing to share our district's vision and successes outside of a school building's four walls).  Mr. Roettger explained that, thanks to Twitter, he heard about and was inspired by the personalization of learning occurring in Mrs. Sterrett's classroom.  Now that he knows a high school resource who is a click/tweet/email away, Bart will begin his own transformation of his classroom.  How powerful that we can find inspiration not only from outside our district, but also from within!

Blended learning takes a willingness to fail forward, a strong infrastructure, and patience.  Personalized learning takes teacher time for all the required front-loading of lessons and units in preparation for students that pre-assess themselves ahead of others, and the teacher's courage to loop back to more traditional structures if the class is not progressing as they should.  And yet, even though the moon has only grown full twice since our Chromebooks have been deployed, the future of education is already becoming the present for Shelby County.

Have Comments about blended and/or personalized learning?  Please share below.