Journal 2: Join an Affinity Group and Share your Digg Stream

On Affinity Groups

The affinity group I have joined is Edutopia. I stumbled across them after viewing a compelling video on video games and learning. The video had the Edutopia watermark running throughout the piece. Curious, I went to their site and had a look around. After a short while, I felt I had an affinity to this group and joined...see what I did there?

You may view my profile on Edutopia here. It's the same rigmarole that is on the About Me of this blog. Nevertheless, check out Edutopia when you have a moment. I am subscribed to the following topics: "Technology Integration," "Game-Based Learning," and "Media Literacy." I'm looking forward to delving further, and collaborating with the Edutopia community.

Oh, Edutopia has the backing of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Bonus points: see if you can find all the Ewoks hidden throughout.

On Digg
WARNING: too much digging may lead to information overload. Have aspirin on hand.

I have been familiar with RSS, using Yahoo! as my reader. A quick side trip on wikipedia indicates that RSS (or a form of it) dates back to 1995.  I've only heard of Digg and never actually used it. I appreciate it's clean, intuitive design. It's easy enough to organize your tailor-made feeds information into folders. 

To have information come to me rather than vice-versa is an extremely convenient approach. We are consumers of vast amounts of information, the extent of which never-before-seen by previous generations. This is where it may get a little tricky. Have you ever signed up for a bunch of magazines or catalogs, and then later regret it as your mailbox bursts at the seams? With Digg, however, it is as easy to unsubscribe to a feed as it is to subscribe. 

I would never actually write that I dig digg. That would be too easy. So I won't. 

Question 1
Describe advantages to joining an affinity group? Can you think of any disadvantages? 

Answer 1
Reaching out and connecting with like-minded individuals may be helpful not only to one's personal life, but to their professional lives as well. Affinity group members have the potential in providing the support and resource we need at the time. It is also an opportunity for us to offer our services and reciprocate. As with anyone, being mindful and respectful goes a long way.

Question 2
Staying up-to-date in one's current field is essential, especially for those utilizing technology. The quantity of information can be overwhelming. How can you sort the information from the noise and still be on your game?

Answer 2
Staying organized is the key. We all have a variety of interests. Subscribing to all of them will result in a surge of information. Create folders by main topics. Nest folders within folders for any subtopics. And arrange the information accordingly. Learning does not occur during information overload.