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27-May-09
The Power of Social Networking
Do you tweet, blog, or belong to a network? Millions of Americans already do and they are connecting, communicating and bringing change to the internet and society. Find out how new media is shaping our lives in Louisiana on “The Power of Social Networking” on Louisiana Public Square, Wednesday, May 27th at 7 pm.
BACKGROUNDWhat are Social Media?Social media refer to on-line tools used by people to connect to others electronically. Connections are made through the world wide web using social network sites (SNS) specifically created for this purpose. Popular sites include MySpace, Facebook and Friendster, which are free. The sites are supported by advertising embedded on the pages next to user-generated content, which can include text, pictures and video.
Social networks can be thought of as public or semi-public forums. They allow people to maintain or create relationships and meet on-line for conversation and collaboration. These relationships can be with one person, a few, or many people.
Click here for the full backgrounder.
Dr. Sheryl Abshire is the Chief Technology Officer in the Calcasieu Parish School System in Lake Charles, Louisiana. As a leader in technology integration, she has served as the catalyst to initiate the integration of technology into all curriculum areas throughout her school district, the state, and internationally. She serves on numerous national, state, and district committees focusing on the role of technology and curriculum integration in changing educational practice. She has been involved in diverse staff development programs throughout the nation and in Great Britain involving restructuring schools through the infusion of technology and curriculum enhancements. As a member of the ISTE NETS Writing Team and the Technology for School Administrators Writing Team she is deeply involved in infusing technology into standards based instruction. Additionally, she is a member of the ISTE Standards and Accreditation Committee working on the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Refresh Project.
Sheryl has a B.S. in Early Childhood Education, a M.Ed. in Elementary Education, an Educational Specialist in School Administration and Supervision and a Ph.D. from the University of New Orleans in Educational Leadership and Administration. She is an accomplished grant writer and regularly conducts institutes to fund innovative technology programs throughout the nation. A thirty-six year veteran educator, she has worked as a school principal, K-5 teacher, a library/media specialist, a classroom teacher, and as an adjunct professor at McNeese State University, Louisiana Tech University and Lamar University (2010).
Presently Dr. Abshire serves on the national advisory boards for Dell, Blackboard, eSchool News, Pearson Digital Learning and Scholastic Administrator. She is the Chairman of the Louisiana Department of Education Committee to Advance Technology Standards and since 1997 has served as Chairman of the Louisiana Technology Advisory Commission with the responsibility to oversee and approve proposals for the expenditure of over $200 million in technological advancements in the Louisiana schools. In May of 2009, ISTE awarded Dr. Abshire the first Public Policy Advocate of the Year Award for her decades of work promoting educational technology.
Whitney is a Marketing Assistant with a financial education firm specializing in “new media.” She is also a very recent graduate of the Manship School of Mass Communication with a degree in Political Communication and minor in Business Administration.
Whitney served as the press secretary for the S.O.S.-Save Our Schools campaign comprised of students fighting to eliminate the proposed budget cuts to higher education. S.O.S. utilized blogging and social networking sites to expand its message to colleges, universities and the community. Her past work experiences also include managing “new media” accounts for political candidates.
While a student at LSU, Whitney remained active in Student Government, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority and the Leadership LSU Class of 2009. In her spare time, Whitney enjoys volunteering with local organizations, studying the world of politics and watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Her future plans include obtaining a Masters Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and a juris doctorate.
Whitney is a life-long resident of Baton Rouge and graduate of Baton Rouge Magnet High School in 2005.
Monica Ford is a Computer Forensic Examiner for the Louisiana Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, High Technology Crime Unit. She is a part of the Internet Crimes Against Children (I.C.A.C.) Task Force which investigates Internet based child exploitation crimes. As a forensic examiner, Ms. Ford is responsible for the analysis of digital evidence to assist in the prosecution of individuals who commit crimes against our children. Ms. Ford is a cum laude graduate of Northwestern State University where she received a degree in computer information systems and she also holds a degree in psychology from Louisiana State University.
Having joined The Times during November 2004, Alexandyr Kent has worked as a public service journalist, movie industry reporter, performing arts critic, features writer and Preview editor.
In July 2008, he led coverage for the All Pedal, No Gas series on bicycle commuting, which earned a first place prize in the Lifestyles category of the Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Managing Editors’ annual contest.
Kent produces stories in many formats, including print, video and audio. He authors the Louisiana Movies blog. He also serves as field producer for Civil Rights: Then and Now. The ongoing multimedia series showcases interviews with Shreveport’s Civil Rights leaders.
Dr. Andrew Schwarz currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Information Systems and Decision Sciences Department in the E. J. Ourso College of Business Administration at Louisiana State University. He joined the LSU faculty in 2003 after receiving his Ph.D. from the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston.
From a research perspective, his research fits into three broad areas:
- Emerging Technologies (including social networks, Web 2.0, and Cloud Computing)
- End user adoption of IT (including sub-themes of acceptance, adoption, and use)
- IT Management (including sub-themes of alignment, outsourcing, and governance)
From a teaching perspective, his focus on social networking is reflected in the topics he discusses while instructing his undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students on IT management topics. He is also involved in Executive Education programs both at LSU and internationally, where he has taught in universities in Paris, Austria, and Germany. Beyond the classroom, Andrew engages frequently with the business community as a consultant, having worked with organizations such as IBM and Cutter Consulting on various research initiatives.
He is also involved in service to the academic community as the Vice President of Technology for the Association for Information Systems. Additionally, he serves as an Associate Editor for the European Journal of Information Systems and a Senior Editor for The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems.
Prior to his career in academia, Andrew worked as a Senior Project Director at a large market research organization. His clients included SAP, Baan, and HP, as well as other Fortune 500 firms, including Kraft, Kellogg's, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, the Coca-Cola Company, and Energizer. He received his undergraduate degree in Social Psychology from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida.
He and his family attend the Chapel in the Oaks church. He is married and has two sons and a daughter on the way.
Michael Xenos earned his Ph.D. in political science, with a concentration in political communication, from the University of Washington in 2005. From 2005 to 2008, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Communication arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2008, he joined the Louisiana State University faculty as an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the Manship School of Mass Communication and in the Department of Political Science. He is also a Deputy Director of the Public Policy Research Lab at LSU, where he directs the Manship School Media Effects Laboratory.
Dr. Xenos has research interests in political communication, civic engagement, public opinion, and new media. He is especially interested in studying the effects of new media on politics, and has published a number of studies exploring the ways in which new technologies and media forms may be changing how candidates, activists, and ordinary citizens experience the political world. For example, some of his previous studies have examined topics such as how congressional and gubernatorial candidates use the web to campaign for office, whether political comedy programs such as The Daily Show help citizens learn about public issues, and the effectiveness of efforts to reach younger voters through the web.
Some questions and comments may be included in the program.
