Father and Son Attending and Speaking at International WordCamps
William Jackson, educator, blogger and community activist
Sean Jackson, graduate students Florida State University
@wmjackson – Twitter
Growing numbers of public school educators, higher education
instructors and private school educators that are engaged in writing/blogging
and building dynamic content have turned to the WordPress platform
to post their digital content.
WordPress the open source application has allowed educators on multiple
levels to create and share dynamic content integrated with Social Media
platforms Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, video and
Podcasting elements.
Teachers are learning that traditional instructional lecture methods are not
working with their high tech students and mobile/wireless technology.
Applying technology is a must, grab student’s attentions that are already
immersed in digital environments. Teachers must adapt to integrating
diverse technologies into the learning environments to address the varied learning
modalities of their students.
Blogging, even video and microblogging is a way of using text, graphics
and video to share information on diverse digital platforms and build
valuable writing skills to enable and enhance the ability to create dynamic
content online.
Teachers in higher education are familiar with the “publish or perish”
requirements in demanding higher education careers and students in
higher education are facing this as well.
To keep engaged and active in posting and publishing educational,
technical, scientific and other types of information preparing for
careers in knowledge based fields.
WordPress powers more than 30% of the web pages on the web and this
is growing because of the security, flexibility and ease of learning. The
support for WordPress is phenomenal with local meetup groups and
online help that is both national and international. Creating “families”
of content activist and social activism on a global scale never
before seen.
WordCamps help develop the ability to build tech skill-sets,
develop intellectual content, support digital innovation,
web development, coding and knowledgeable teaching
to beginners of blogging and web development.
More students are creating online digital portfolios,
resumes and even curriculum and academic vitaes to apply for
online jobs that are in need of skills that even middle/high
school students may have. Technology is allowing even elementary,
middle and high school students to be Entrepreneurs starting
businesses and even I-trepreneurs that are coders, developers and
innovators with individual talents.
As an advocate for blogging and microblogging to build student’s
online reputation and digital footprint I continue to blog about
WordCamps, EdCamps, BarCamps and other events.
I have attended multiple WordCamp conferences; spoken at
WordCamps and Live blogged at several where I have gained
international attention. I have taken students from the historic
Edward Waters College to WordCamp Philadelphia, EdCamp
Tampa, EdCamp NABSE National Alliance of Black School
Educators and traveled with Emma Kent, research librarian of
Edward Waters College where we presented “How To Be Dope
On Social Media,” at WordCamp Washington DC, WordCamp
Jacksonville Florida, WordCamp Wilmington, North Carolina.
Traveling with my son, a 2015 graduate of FAMU and currently
a graduate students attending Florida State University.
We attended WordCamp Birmingham, Alabama and will be
attending WordCamp Orlando 2017.
It is key that community activism and community activist use
Social Media to share and magnify the voice of the voiceless
using technology. No one should allow just one source of media
to tell their story and create a digital persona of them.
Applications like WordPress can enhance storytelling and give
everyone a platform of expression and activism.
Find WordCamps – https://central.wordcamp.org
William Jackson – Twitter http://twitter.com/wmjackson
Instagram – http://instagram.com/williamdjackson