Archive for the 'Facebook' Category

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What are ‘Emerging Technologies’?

Published on 25 November 2009 in Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

With regards to MSF&R Youth Engagement I consider the use of Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, podcasts and social networking to be ‘emerging technologies’.

Although these ideas have now been around for the last couple of years and have been embraced by some, it is only recently that these technologies have been recognised as potential tools for educators and implemented into the educational system. Therefore I strongly believe that despite these technologies being well established in our lives, the inclusion of them in education is still emerging.

Firefighters and Social Networking

Published on 24 November 2009 in Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

Screengrab of Pc Ed Rogerson's twitter page, Ed Rogerson

PC Ed Rogerson is one of a growing number of Police Officers using social networking whilst out on patrol. He uses Twitter to give local communities updates of where he is patrolling, information on incidents he has been involved in and advice. Quoted from the BBC, he said “It works on a far more local level than the force-wide Facebook group…It’s local to Harrogate and our problems.” By using technologies that residents are comfortable with and use frequently he can engage and communicate with them effectively. Having a local officer providing the information it also gives the community ownership of the updates and a sense of belonging. PC Rogerson maintains that this is not a replacement to traditional methods of communicating with the public but is to be used alongside other methods; “Doing either in isolation might be fine, but by doing both we can spread that warning even further.”   

Social Networking could be used in a similar way to communicate and engage with the public in the Fire Service. Firefighters could communicate with the public via Facebook about what they have done on their shift, the areas they have visited, advice specific to the area they cover and updated information on that particular area. The residents could then also respond to the Fire Fighters and ask them questions or advice which hasn’t been covered. This open communication would build relationships between the Fire Service and the public and encourage engagement, utilising technology which is fast growing and already embedded into many people’s lives.

Don’t Assume… Ask!

Published on 23 November 2009 in E-Safety, Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

I have created a questionnaire to assess young people’s computer skills and internet safety knowledge.

The purpose of this is to compare the results of a group who are just finishing a Princes Trust Course to those of a group next year that would have been exposed to emerging technologies throughout the course. Another purpose of the survey was to confirm which social networking sites are most popular and how the students access the internet and e-mail.

 The questionnaire was given out to nine Princes Trust students aged 17-23. I hope that when I compare these results to the next group, a clear difference will be visible in internet skills and capabilities using technologies.

One of the questions was ‘Which Social Networking Sites Do You Use?’, if students used more than one they were able list them.

 graph 1

The findings shown below clearly show that Facebook is the most popular site and that more people do not use any at all than use MySpace, Bebo or Twitter.

 I also asked how the young people access the internet. Over half of the students had a PC at home and a third had their own laptops. The use of the internet and Facebook is increasing on mobile phones and some of the students used their game consoles for the internet.

 graph 2

 Other interesting results included; over 75% of the students used hotmail for their email and 33% of the students didn’t have access to the internet at home.

This backs up our idea to set each student up with a professional e-mail address not only as some hotmail addresses can be unsuitable but also so that those without the internet are not excluded from applying for training, information and employment online. With many companies using e-recruitment and e-mail as contact it is important that are students have the right skills and knowledge to do this.

My results also showed that many of the students lacked computer skills that a lot of young people would take for granted and are essential when applying for training or employment. By incorporating computer skills into the programme the students would leave with invaluable experience and knowledge that will help them progress to the next stage of their lives.

Improving Students Computer Skills

Published on 18 November 2009 in E-Safety, Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

An issue that was discussed with Princes Trust staff, Richie and Jade, was when the young people are required to produce a CV and to search and apply for training and employment online. The staff struggled to do this in the time they had due to computing facilities and the lack of experience the young people have had using computers. We discussed the idea of assessing the students existing skills at the start of the course and helping them to improve to a standard level; having the ability to use the Microsoft Office, Internet and E-mail. This would not only help with the production of a CV but also equip the young people with essential skills they need to go to further education, training or employment.  

Google Mail

Furthermore we discussed the type of email addresses that the students have and use on their CV’s and application forms. In the past staff have found these e-mail addresses to be highly unsuitable for potential employers, it was therefore agreed that a useful exercise during the course would be to help the students to set up a personal e-mail address for professional distribution, for example Google Mail, with which they can then use to apply for training and employment. They can also continue to use this once the course has finished. This would not only help the young people in the future but would educate them on the importance of how they present themselves physically and virtually. This would also tie into e-safety, for example; how accessible their Facebook content is to the public.   

Social Network Sites Need ‘Help’ Button

Published on 18 November 2009 in E-Safety, Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 1 Comment

In the UK headlines today major social networking sites have been criticised for not using the ‘CEOP Report’ button. This button is embedded into many websites and programs including MSN for young people to use to report any suspicious individuals or behaviour whilst using the internet. When this button was launched on Instant Messenger software, MSN in 2006, reports to CEOP increased by 113%. Every month the ‘CEOP Report’ button gets 10’000 hits, helping CEOP trace any harmful behaviour from bullying to paedophilia. The button links young people with a range of service from the local police through to Childline giving them the help and support they need and internet safety advice.  

 Nonetheless, Facebook and Myspace, are two of the most popular social networking sites that still do not have the button embedded despite the amount of young people that use them and the number of serious incidents that have occurred recently. Social networking site Bebo, has stood out and adopted the use of the button. This is a step forward for social networking, Jim Gamble from CEOP states that “Parents can be reassured because they know this environment is appropriately managed” but also “the predator, the person that goes on with harmful intent – whether it’s the bully or whether it’s the paedophile – they know when they see it that there is an active deterrent here.” Facebook and Myspace will now hopefully realise the benefit of embedding the button for the safety of their users and promotion of online safety. Last year Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service produced pin badges in the design of the CEOP ‘Report Abuse’ button for Safer Internet Day. This helped to promote the awareness of the button and to familiarise the public with what it looked like.

The button has since been revamped and has a new design; still using the same logo the text has changed from ‘Report Abuse’ to ‘CEOP Report’. With Safer Internet Day coming up in February we are currently looking in to what we can do this year to make a difference and make Merseyside safer online.

 

CEOP Button

New CEOP design on the left, the old design on the right.

Using Facebook in Youth Engagement

Published on 18 November 2009 in Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

My current thought processes are around Facebook being a resource which should be embraced and used within our Youth Engagement Programmes. It is inevitable that a great deal of debate will arise about allowing the use of Facebook in the workplace, however by using Facebook to engage with the young people from each programme we are able to form stronger relationships with the community and tackle issues via a medium that the young people of today are accustomed to.  

I am proposing that a Facebook ‘Public Profile’ should be created to represent Merseyside Fire and Rescue Youth Engagement. This is not the same as a private personal profile which is gives an individual’s details to the extent that they choose. A ‘Public Profile’ is similar to a home page on a website. It states who the page is about; an organisation, a food product, a rock band, and any further information that they wish to display; contact details, aims and achievements, their service.   Wikipedia explains a Public Profile as;   

Individuals or companies can create “Public Profiles” (Formerly known as “Pages”) which allows users to “become a fan” of the individual, product, service, or concept. Public Profiles look and behave much like a user’s personal private profile, with some significant differences. Public Profiles are integrated with Facebook’s advertising system, allowing Public Profile owners to easily advertise to Facebook’s users. Owners can send updates to their fans, which shows up on their home page. They also have access to insights and analytics of their fan base   

By having a public profile rather than a standard Facebook individual profile, it allows the creators, moderators and staff to remain private if they want. Those who become a ‘fan’ of the page or follow it will only be able to see the names of those who contribute to the page; they will not have access to their profiles.  

This public profile will act the central hub for Youth Engagement. Anybody can view this page, it will give information on the various programmes that MFRS run and how to get more information, apply and who to contact.  For past and current students, we shall create Facebook groups. A group will be created for each programme that is run i.e. Prince’s Trust, EARLY, Beacon. Within these groups subsections can be made for each team i.e. Huyton, Old Swan and Derby Road. The groups will be private and only those invited to join will have access. By having specific groups for each programme young people can become a member of the group and have access to the photos / videos that are taken throughout the course. Important information, reminders and issues can be mailed out to all of the group members. Furthermore, discussion can be created within the group. Past students can continue using the group so that communication can be continued for further guidance, track progress and create accurate statistics. It would also create the opportunity for carers / parents to see young person’s progress and activities they have completed and the option to contact staff.   

Beacon Course and Emerging Technology

Published on 4 November 2009 in Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

At the end of each session each Beacon student has a log book which they have to fill in stating details such as their favorite part of the day, what they learnt, how they feel and so on. The member of staff for that day also fills out a section for each week detailing how they felt the student did. These log books are in paper format and are reproduced each time a new group starts. When speaking to the staff about the feasibility of transferring the log books to digital format they all stated that they prefer paper format due to the short attention spans of the young people that attend the course and the lack of computing facilities.

The team leader Chris, has trialled SMS messaging in the past and found that it worked extremely well, especially to remind parents about the passout parade details at the end of the course and to remind students about any particular equipment or spare clothes they will need for the session. However due the high demand of his time he found it hard to keep up the service and continue using it. It is something however that he would like to reintroduce. If this became a scheduled part of each member of staff’s day I believe that it could be managed successfully.

When asked about an online facility which would allow students, past, present and future, to share experiences, they agreed it would be useful but would be weary of the security issues. It was agreed that Facebook is an excellent way to promote issues and create discussions as well as keep in touch with students due to its popularity, but the filtering and monitoring of content would have to be investigated fully.

Trip to Moel Famau

Published on 2 November 2009 in E-Safety, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

This week I joined John ‘Mogsy’ Morris from the Youth Engagement Team for a day. As it is half term for most schools across Merseyside this week, the team run a course called LIFE (Local Integration Fire Education). Based at community Fire Stations, the course runs across five days during school holidays, a time when diversionary activities are crucial. This is because Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service attend more deliberately set fires and encounter more antisocial behavior during these times. LIFE is designed to help young people understand fire safety, prevent arson, provide positive role models and help youngsters develop confidence, resilience, and self-esteem.
I joined a group consisting of ten young people aged thirteen to fourteen all from the same school in Speke. It was the second day of their course and John and I were taking them to Moel Famau in North Wales where we would meet Dave Garry, the Youth Activity Advocate.
John had arranged to meet the group at Speke Community Fire Station where the course was based. When we arrived in the mini-bus they were all already there waiting for us! Not surprisingly they had made a good start on the crisps and sweets they had brought for their lunches! They eagerly got into the bus and we set off.
When we arrived at the car park we met Dave Garry who gave the team a short talk about the area and some rules for the day such whatever we bring, we take back i.e. litter, and staying within ten meters of each other.
Whilst walking up to the top of Moel Famau we stopped a number of times and Dave would set up a problem solving activity for the group which relied upon teamwork. The first activity consisted of the group getting into two teams and being set apart by a certain distance. They then had to work together to get a cane from one group to the other without entering the ‘no-go’ zone. Each time they did it successfully the area in-between them got larger and larger. It was not long before the team realized that in order to succeed they needed each other and must communicate. These energizers not only distracted them from the “miles and miles“ they had left, but kept them keen as well teaching them valuable teamwork skills. The group learnt to listen clearly to Dave’s instructions, discuss the ideas and plan between themselves then carry out the task by working together and communicating.
The time we spent walking in-between the energizers was invaluable to me. I used this time to have one-to-one talk and also group discussions about emerging technologies. Because we were not in a classroom environment, the group talked openly about how they use emerging technology in school as well as at home. I was able to collect a great amount of information just by listening and talking to them.
All members of the group have and use Facebook regularly, mostly every day. They are extremely comfortable using it despite only being thirteen. When I asked about other social network sites they all agreed they use MySpace to listen to music but not as members and don’t use Bebo at all. The majority of the group had not heard of Twitter or did not understand fully what it is.
A number of the group members asked if I could create a Facebook group on which the photographs from the week could be posted so that they could show their friends and family and add comments to them. They thought that having a Facebook group would raise the profile of the course as well as show others what they did and the lessons that they learnt.
Whilst in this informal setting I was able to ask the young people about their Facebook profiles and how much they know about security and privacy of personal details. The majority of the young people knew not to put sensitive data such as phone numbers and addresses on their profiles; however they were not sure about how private their photographs were. This indicated that they had not received any Thinkuknow training or similar which, due to the amount of time they spend on social networking sites, is needed.