Social Networking, Second Life, and VR

The power of social networking and virtual worlds is exciting yet scary on several different levels. Facebook has taken over as the #1 social networking site in the world.(Rox)  Never before in history have average ordinary people been able to communicate with hundreds of others instantly like they can now. From my perspective when Facebook became wildly popular about 4 years ago, people posted just about anything that was on their mind.  Embarrassing photos of people were extremely commonplace.  While there is still a lot of photos of people doing things they probably regret, I think we have reached a point where people have seen there can be real life consequences for insensitive and embarrassing posts.  Therefore, people are beginning to act more responsibly before posting in general.

A few years ago, I had a photo taken of me at a Christmas party where I had spilled water on my shirt and was holding a red plastic Solo cup.  At the same time I was a high school soccer coach. 

A friend posted a picture of me at the party. A colleague saw the photo and peceived that I was drunk with beer spilled all over my blue dress shirt.  He asked me take it down.  I explained that it was just water and he said he didn’t care.  It could be perceived as if I was drunk at a party and the kids I was coaching could have seen it and it could turn into a mess. As a result, I took it down and avoided any potential controversy. 

The power of social media combined with people’s perception can really be harmful. In hindsight, I think it was a good idea for me to pull that picture down even though it was innocent in reality. I think this relates to Ferdig’s thoughts in his article on Examining Social Software in Teacher Education. Ferdig states that, “We need best practice on how to utilize these technologies for teaching, learning, and social networking while keeping students safe.” In some sense I see that these best practices are being developed through experiences and over time.  While I am not aware of any handbook that is out there that lists the Best Practices of posting, I see that people are beginning to become wiser as to what they should and shouldn’t post. One of my old college buddies posted a comment that states, "I can't imagine the pictures and posts there would have been if camera phones and Facebook were around when we were in college...we'd probably all be in jail."  I thought, wow! that statement sure rings true for a lot of people but it also makes me contemplate. I wonder if because Facebook is so powerful and there is now an everconstant fear of being exposed, maybe kids don't do ALL the stupid things we did back in the day. Maybe the thought of Big Brother watching prevents students from misbehaving. That's an entirely different blog for a different time but I do think it's an interesting thought.  

Getting back on topic, I think teachers could play a critical role by educating students on how to use social media responsibly.  Facebook can be a very valuable tool but students need to remember that perception is everything and posting irresponsibly could do serious damage to their real world lives. One positive learning aspect that Facebook could provide is in any type of business class.  For example, if students were in a marketing class they could do a project on using Facebook effectively to advertise their product for free or see if there is any value in paying for ad space that is focused on their target market.  I also see that FAcebook could be used effectively for planning school events.  Even now my entire 20 year high school reunion will be planned using Facebook exclusively. 

I agree wholeheartedly with Ferdig when he states that "social software provides opportunities, both bad and good, for our future teachers and for their students. It is crucial that the educational technology and teacher education community understand how these tools can be, and are being, used." Or as Peter Parker's Uncle Ben stated in Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility." Although that phrase is pretty cliche, it does hold true.  When people have the power to speak to hundreds of other people anytime they wish instantly, it is important that the messages are thought out ahead of time and won't warrant unwanted negative consequences. 

I also read an article that goes in details about Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world where people create an identity in the form of an avatar and can manage the life of their virtual character that lives in a virtual world.  I signed up for Second Life about 3 years ago.  I played with it for a few hours ago and then dropped out.  It wasn't because I didn't think it was cool or that I didn't like it.  I dropped out because quite frankly the game intimidated me.  Very quickly I was able to see how entrenched I could become into this virtual world. (I once spent about 3 weeks locked in a room conquering Legend Of Zelda :) ) I walked away from Second Life for fear of becoming addicted thus neglecting my real world responsibilities. 

In spite of my personal fear of Virtual World games, I do think they have a lot to offer for those who could balance their real lives and their virtual lives well.  I have enough trouble managing my time in this first life, I couldn't imagine having a second life too! In the article, Second Life: an overview of the potential of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education it discuss how people can actually visit different medical clinics and learn real world solutions within the game.  For example, there is a virtual medical center where students can receive a cardiac auscultation training that allows visitors (clinical students) to tour a virtual clinic and test their skills at identifying the sounds of different types of heart murmurs. 

The educational potential that virtual world can provide for students is amazing and limitless.  Students could go on virtual field trips, scavenger hunts, exhibitions, etc... Teachers could create assignments instructing their kids to visit different locations and take certain online quizzes.  The big benefit of this is that cognitive learning would most certainly occur and students would be very engaged in the activity.  The boredom factor would be minimal.  The challenge in my opinion would be more on the psychological level.  I think we need to be sure that all students are able to clearly differentiate the differences of real life vs. virtual.  While this sounds absurd, today's virtual world's are extremely realistic where relationships can occur, friendships develop, and often times the line between virtuality and reality can get blurred.  I think teachers should definitely implement and use Virtual Worlds, but should proceed with caution. 

Ferdig, R.E. (2007). Editorial: Examining Social Software in Teacher Education

Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 15(1), 5-10.

Maged N Kamel Boulos et al.(2007)Second Life in medical and health education, Health Libraries Group. Health Information and Libraries Journal,24, pp.233–245
Lenhart, Amanda & Madden, Mary. (2007) Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks. Pew Internet & American Life Project.
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/211/report_display.asp


Rox, Albert. (2011) Top Social Networking Websites. Affiliate Netwroking http://www.affilatenetworking.com/top-social-networking-sites/

Engagement Theory

The Engagement theory states that the best way to accomplish learning is through meaningful engagement by the students with the material through group interaction, and tasks.  The principles of the engagement theory do not implicitly state that technology MUST facilitate the learning, however Kearsley and Schneiderman acknowledge that the theory is intended to be applied towards technology based learning.   Greg Kearsley and Ben Schneiderman developed this theory in 1999. 

I selected this topic because aside from the technology component, the basic principles relate directly to my job as a soccer coach.  Since I’m not a teacher, it is difficult for me to relate some of the theories to the classroom because I haven’t yet had the opportunity to apply these theories in the real world.  In  other words, I haven’t had a chance to learn these theories “experientially” yet. 

A soccer field is my classroom and the players are my students.  I am fortunate enough to coach children from ages 6 up to 19 so I get to really be able to see a broad spectrum of children and their cognitive levels at each different age.  Sometimes I forget my 7 year olds aren’t 19 years old and I need to remind myself that it can be more difficult for the younger kids to be “engaged” in what we are coaching/teaching. 

The engagement theories three principles are:

1.       Occur in a group context (like a soccer team)

2.       Are project-based (each game or season could be considered it’s own project with specific goals set for accomplishment.)

3.       Have an outside focus (We truly believe the sport of soccer is helping to build character and skills that the kids will need in the real world. IE: Competition, morals, ethics, etc…)

I find that when coaching Seniors in high school, the level of engagement is extremely high.  They all want to be there.  They worked extremely hard to get to where they are and are very focused on accomplishing goals.  Being engaged in the group is almost taken for granted.  It is for this reason, that I enjoy coaching at the higher levels more than any other level.  The younger 6 and 7 year old players are at the opposite end of the spectrum.  While I believe they are still a lot of fun to coach, it is sometimes very difficult to have them engage in what is going on.  Some players lose focus and really have no interest in what is happening.  Many players are out there because their parents want them to play but the kid could care less. 

I think this coaching example above relates to the classroom because teachers at all levels have the challenge of finding ways for their students to become interested in the information that is being taught.  Kids don’t have a choice in most cases of what they are being taught.  If a student doesn’t care about learning about the Revolutionary War, for instance, too bad!  If Revolutionary War is a part of the curriculum, then the child needs to learn it because the student will be graded on the material.  I believe the teacher can be instrumental in facilitating learning based on how tasks and projects are assigned and created for the students.  Integrating technology into these tasks will only ensure that students are engaged and enhance their learning experience.

Technology can be used to change the boredom factor or disengagement that may occur in traditional learning.  For instance, reading about the Revolutionary War in a text book was extremely boring to me as a kid.  I never felt the need to learn anything more than what I knew I would be tested on.  Then I watched the Patriot with Mel Gibson.  Now I was engaged.  TV is an older form of technology but still this was the medium that got me interested in the Revolutionary War.  Video enhanced my interest.  In the engagement theory a teacher could assign students the project of watching a video of the Revolutionary War and comparing the Hollywood version with what the text book states what happened.  A group project could be to fact check the movie using other internet sources.  The students would need to be engaged in the movie, the text, the online research and in group communications.  All in which would result in learning the truth about the Revolutionary War.  Contrast this example to reading a chapter about the War in a Social Studies book and answering the Chapter In Review questions about it at the end and then let me know which students learned more and who will retain more.

I believe technology can greatly help students to become engaged in topics they may have previously been uninterested in.  I use echnology by sending my players cool You Tube videos to get them excited about playing and working on their skills. Here's one of the videos I use.  Please click the link here and ask yourself, even if you're not interested in soccer, if this example of technology doesn't peak your interest...

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7moUSmw4xC8&feature=player_embedded 

I am having my BU14 team watch this video, and then challenging them to work in two groups that will compete against each other at the end of the season.  We will make a similar video where they have to show off their skills in their own "juggling wars." 

  

    

Social Media

This week's topic, social  media, was very interesting.  Especially since I work in the I.T. industy sometimes I catch myself thinking I know all there is to know about the technology that is out there.  This is not the case with social media.  My first introduction to to social media was probably 7 years ago with MySpace.  I created a page just to do it, but then rarely did anything with it.  I never got hooked on the value of it.  Now, I use Facebook and LinkedIn all of the time. 

I use Facebook for a photo repository and a way to quickly stay connected to friends and family.  I remember when I first signed up for an account I was amazed because within minutes of creating an account, I was flooded with friend requests.  I was awe struck by the "blasts from the past."  Before I could even understand how it worked I was reunited with former college buddies, ex-girlfriends, grade school classmates, etc... Unlike MySpace, with Facebook I immediately felt the power of social media.  Since that time, Facebook is almost taken for granted.  I check it daily along with LinkedIn but I am over the intial "awe."  I am currently working with a group of students planning my 20 year high school reunion.  We are using Facebook as the primary way to contact and spread the news.  This is so much easier than mailings and email groups. 

I also use LinkedIn for work purposes.  The most powerful tool within LinkedIn, I feel, is the ability to write and read recommendations about people and their services.  When looking for a tech to sub contract, I was able to go on LinkedIn and get a recommendation of a solid technical resource to write Visual Basic code for one of our clients in less than one day.  Before Social Media, this process would have tken weeks if not months. 

I am also using Diigo as a a class requirement.  I was not awe struck when I first signed on and quite frankly, I am still trying to understand the full value.  I signed up for a group called Classroom 2.0. I do like the group because it has over 4000 members.  There is a lot of activity within the group, however most of it is people posting links to sites I really am not interested in.  I worry that people may be posting links to unsafe websites on these groups and am wondering if Diigo does anything to filter unsafe links.  I was, however, able to find some valuable information at something called the TeacherBuzz.com.  This site had a word cloud on the main page, so it caught my interest right away.  This site provides the viewers with a lot of information that people in the field of educational technology can use.  For me, the jury is still out on Diigo.  I need more experience with this before I can provide a fair evaluation.

My primary concern with all of these other social media sites besides Facebook and LinkedIn is that they are not as mainstream.  I feel as if the main purpose of social media is to connect with as many people as possible, then it is important that the mass population is aware of and using the media.  While some of these other social media sites may have more functionality and a better interface than Facebook, they still lack the fact that they are not as popular.  Google+ is a great example of this.  I am a member of Google+ and love the idea of creating circles for communication with others, however, so few of my friends and family use it, so I rarely use it. 

It reminds me of the time when my parents bought me laser tag as a child because I thought it was the coolest way to play "guns" in the neighborhood.  Well, I was the only one with a laser tag gun, so nobody else could play with me.  :)  I ended up going back to my plastic pistol because that's what everybody else had. In most areas of my life I try to avoid being a part of the mainstream community, however, in the world of social media, the power comes from the popularity.

Gaming

I spent so much time playing some of these online games that I almost ran out of time to post this blog. My four year old daughter, Evelyn, played a lot of these games with me.  We started on the list of hyperlinks for assignment 5.3. The very first item listed is the PBS website.  Right away we got preoccupied with playing the Dr. Seuss game of matching similar shapes and patterns.  She loved it.  When I inssted that we stop playing so I could research the next online gaming site, she got upset.  That was until she saw it.  She very quickly became engrossed in one of the higher level brain games on the Sheppard Software website.  We played the bouncing balls game where you need to destroy round balloons in groups of three. She didn't fully understand it but still took to it and was very interested in the game.  Then I insisted we stopped because she had homework to do from her pre-school class.  We had to go over her "sight words." That's when I really noticed the difference in using games to learn vs. traditional learning methods.  As soon as I pulled out her sight word flash cards, she became uninterested and bored.  This gave me an idea.  I took her sight words and put each one on a powerpoint slide.  I then made a game of it and timed her to see if she could get 10 sight words correct in 1 minute.  If she did, I put a sticker on this card for her.  After about 20 minutes, she got it.  I was doing the same exercise as before essentially but since it looked like a game and was on the computer, she wanted to do it.

 I'm not a teacher, but I think this course has taught me that introducing games as a tool for learning is a great way to grab children's interest.  I wish that when I was a student there were more games as a method of learning.  I often became bored easily in social studies and had no interest in learning a foreign language.  I had a tough time figuring out how algebra would ever be used in the real world.  I just wasn't interested. But then I'd go home and play Legend of Zelda for 3 hours. Now there are games as interesting and as fun to play as Zelda but are also Educational. World of Warcraft is a great example of a game that is fun for kids but also educational in the aspect that games like these are complex, and include solo as well as group content and goals that are collaborative as well as some that are competitive. (Johnson 2011. 20) World of WarCraft is a Multiplayer Online game that allows several players to play together and against eachother at the same time.

We have a PS3 at our house and my kids play the EyePet game using the Move controller.  I never even thought of this as a form of augmented reality until this assignment.  But essesntially, EyePet teaches our kids how to take care of an animal by feeding, bathing and playing with this virtual animal.  It is very fascinating and the kids love it...so much so, that we were able to avoid purchasing an actual dog in leiu of our virtual pet.  (How's that for dodging a bullet! Ha!)   

Another site I found fasicinating was the Virtual Reality game called Teen Second Life.  This game is almost scary. This allows kids to recreate themselves and live in a virtual world.  They can socialize with other virtual people, get jobs, make money, attend partys, etc... One of the most appealing attributes to Virtual and Augmented Reality games according to Dennis Whatley, CEO of Breakaway LTD states is that it "they (students) can make mistakes without taking risks." (Edutopia) That may not be true with a game that is this real.  This Teen Second Life still has real life people using alias identities but mistakes can translate into their real lives.  These games become popular amongst teenage students who all know each other in school. Bullying and teasing can occur within these games, the same way it occurs in real life. This game is extremely realistic but I would caution teens to get too involved in this life because it could definitely lead to a false perception of reality when not playing in the game.  This type of virtual reality could take over a student's actual reality and consume their personality.  While it's cool technology, to me it scares me and I'm not certain it provides too much educational value.

Don't get me wrong, in general, I think thatVirtual Technology overall is a positive thing that should be implemented in schools.  Computer simulations and virtual reality offer students the unique opportunity of experiencing and exploring a broad range of environments, objects, and phenomena within the walls of the classroom. (Strangman. 2009).  I just think that there needs to be rules in place and enforced for students that participate in virtual gaming within the classroom environment to minimize risks that could transition into real life. 

The few types of video games that were out there when I was a child were not allowed in schools.  I remember teachers confiscating Nintendo GameBoys in the early 90's from students who brought them to school.  That mindset is changing.  Schools are beginning the transition from blocking web-based games to integrating them into their classrooms and curriculums. (Johnson.2011. 19)

 I think this blending gaming  with education is a wonderful thing.  In fact one of the reasons I am so interested in this major (Educational Technology) is because I see how technology can be used to make learning fun.  One of my biggest regrets as a student is that I never got interested in some subjects becasue it was typically just having to read and memorize facts out of a text.  I think games can really make learning fun for kids. 

References:

Johnson, L., Adams, S., and Haywood, K., (2011). The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report.

Edutopia: Schools Use Games For Learning and Assessment. (n.d.)
 http://www.edutopia.org/computer-simulations-games-virtual-learning-video

Strangman, Nicole., Hall, Tracey (2009), Virtuality/ Simulations
http://aim.cast.org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/virtual_simulations 

Open Content and Ethics

The issue of open content and copyright on the internet is huge especially in the arena of education.  It is important for teacher's to make sure they are getting the proper rights to be able to utilize copywritten material because to not get those rights would be a violation of ethics.  Since teachers are role models to so many children, violating copywrite laws is simply unethical and should be avoided. 

However, getting copyrights or permission to use certain materials, books, software, can be a tedious chore and is sometimes not worth the effort.  For example, I'd love to show my soccer players some clips of the World Cup Highlights to demonstrate proper technique.  However, for me to get the written permission from FIFA to actually do that is almost not worth the effort and needs to be planned out in advance.  Plus if there is cost involved to acquire the permissions or the material, that usually makes it unaccessible.

This is where open content can be very valuable.  Open content embraces not only the sharing of information, but the sharing of instructional practice and experience as well. (Johnson, et al, 2011, pg. 22).  This allows people from any location to build upon each other's ideas and to learn from one another.  I believe people should get due credit for what they deserve but I also think that if people would be willing to share their knowledge and allow others to acquire it and further develop within the framework of open source/ content online, then the sky is the limit.  Open content provides a platform for all people to collectively help each other, and that is a good thing.

CC0 or "No Right Reserved", (as opposed to "All Rights Reserved")enables scientists, educators, artists and other creators and owners of copyright- or database-protected content to waive those interests in their works and thereby place them as completely as possible in the public domain, so that others may freely build upon, enhance and reuse the works for any purposes without restriction under copyright or database law.  (About CCO).  This allows people to simply say...this content is for the public domain.  Take this and do with it whatever you want.  I think of CCO as asimilar to planting seeds.  Someone puts an initial idea or concept out there and then allows anyone else to run with it with no strings attached.  The issue here is that there is a reluctancy for people to want to put out this type of information for the well being of the common because there is very little or no  money in it.

It is a complicated situation all the away around because developers spend a lot of time and effort to develop databases, content and material and they deserve recogniton and funding for this work effort.  However consumers are not going to pay to utilize that content when someone else provides similar technology and makes it available for free.  The Open Content market has made competition fierce in the world of software. Users can download Open Office for free and get almost all of the same benefits that Microsoft Office offers or pay Microsoft close to $400.00.  For what?  OpenOffice.org 3 can be downloaded and used entirely free of any licence fees. ("Why Open Office")

The bottom line is that Open Content is a fantastic concept overall that increases the ability for people to work together to create the unimaginable.  Overall, Open Content is great for keeping costs down to consumers and for sharing knowledge with anyone who wishes to acquire it.  However, there are still some issues with the nature of Open Content because the funding is so limited, developers of brilliant ideas are typically going to want to make big money by selling their product instead of releasing it to the open source market. 

Advertisers may be one solution for this dilemma.  Corporate sponsorships pay for ad space on websites and within apps.  This money can help pay the developers and the hosting costs associated while still being able to get the software into the hands of end users for free or very little cost.  Other solutions may be for developers to release free versions of their software but to charge for any add-ons that specific companies may desire.  Companies or independent consultants can also charge for training, installation, technical support or customization of the software.("Open Source Software")

References:

About CCO-No Rights Reserved. (n.d.) retrieved from http://creativecommons.org/about/cc0

Johnson, L., Adams, S., and Haywood, K., (2011). The NMC Horizon Report:

2011 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Open Source Software. (n.d.) retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software

Why Open Office?. (n.d.) retrieved from http://www.openoffice.org/why/ 

In The Clouds

Kerpoof is a multimedia scholastic web site created and owned by Walt Disney.  This site allows teachers to create lesson plans, gather new classroomideas and provide a place for students to draw, make movies, work on math, science and other subjects in a fun creative online atmosphere. Kerpoof makes their website fun for kids but also takes education seriously by adhering to National Education Standards.  Kerpoof ws attractive enough that I had a tough time researching it because my four year old daughter kept climbing on my lap wanting to "play" on the web site. 

Learnboost was another site I checked out.  I'm not a teacher so I don't use a grade book but someone I know recommended this site.  After reviewing this it seems like a very user-friendly site that will allow teachers to post grades, create lesson plans, communicate with parents and more.  The best part about this site is that it claims to be free.  I have added this site to my favorites and will explore it first hand throughout this semester. 

Google Docs for Educators is a great way for students to be able to create word processing documents, spreadsheets and presentations without the expense of having to purchase Microsoft Office. Once the dcuments are created, they can be posted in googles cloud and anyone with the proper credentials may log in and access anything that is being shared with them.   Google Docs requires an internet connection and that's it.     

Prior to this assignment, I was not very familiar with any of these sites.  I am not an educator so I don't use any of these for educational purposes.  I do have to sell against Google Docs & Apps from time to time which is a tough sell.  Try selling an Exchange server to someone when they can get just about the same functionality for very little cost using GMail through Google Apps.  The Cloud has become my number one competitor.  I work for a very small local I.T. company that sells support for network systems.  Oftern times when clients move to the cloud, therre is only a need on the clients end to have an internet connection and that's it.  Hardware expenses have gone way down and the need for high processing PC's isn't nearly as prominent.  Plus typically if there is any software support needed, it'srovided by the cloud host, like Google ot Kerpoof.  This means my company doesn't get nearly as many support cals as a result.  Our answer is to shift our support structure to also offer cloud based solutions as a reseller, however, this isn't nearly as profitable and brings in less business.  Whiles schools and businesses shift to a cloud computing model, it does save on I.T. expenses, the problem I have is that means less money for me.

Blogging and Twittering

The purpose of this blog site will be to provide a forum for local area soccer coaches to discuss topics related to youth soccer.  The purpose of this specific post is to fullfill a requirement for my EPTP 5550 class and discuss the value of blogging and twittering.  I felt as if I needed to create a blog I wanted to create something that could be useful in my life outside of our classroom.  This blog will allow me and other coaches to provide advice for each other, share notes, and help each other work through similar challenges.

Blogging with other professionals in your field give people the capability to share knowledge with each other and communicate ideas and information.  Being the administrator for this blog allows me to control the topic of discussion and monitor the comments that are posted to ensure posts are appropriate and beneficial for all memebers.  I'm also able to control who is a member and who is not a member so that way people who post comments that are derrogatory or slanderish, can be removed easily. The value of the blog is tht it gives people on online interface where members can provide valuable feedback and then can refer to that information by just going online at any time they need to access it.  Through creating my own blog, I am also able to link to other bloggers sites and work together to pass on information exponentially as links to other blogs and social networks grow.  Having a blog is like having your own personal news station that you can broadcast whatever information you want.  The key is to keep the information relevant and interesting so members stay interested and visit often. 

Twitter is also a form of social networking that has erupted over the past few years.  As a coach, I use Twitter to communicate to my followers when practices or games are cancelled due to weather.  This allows me to broadcast information to multiple people within seconds.  When we are going to have a fundraiser, I am able to communicate details and links via Twitter to all of my followers.  In addition, I am able to connect my Twitter to Facebook.  That way when I send out a Tweet, I am also posting to my facebook wall.  This just provides one more layer of communication for those people to see what the latest news is that I'm sharing.  As a soccer coach, when a game was cancelled we used to have a phone tree.  I would call my manager, my manager would call the captain of the team, the captain would call the first player on the roster and that player would call the next and so on.... This method was unreliable and often resulted in parents showing up to games because they never got the message.  With Twitter, now I send out one Tweet, it goes to all of my players and it take less than 1 minute.  The only issue I continue to have is that so many people are still unwilling to sign up or use Twitter.  So to accomodate those parents, I do three things to communicate cancellations.  I post it on oour home page on our website.  I email it to everyone on the team and I Tweet it.  Between the three methods, there is no reason the parent's should not have received the necessary information on time.  If they didn't get it the fault lies on them.  The best part of this is that I don't have to make a signle phone call.  Calling parents to cancel practices often gave parents an opportunity to discuss their beef with the team.  While I don't mind having those conversations, it was not efficient to have those conversations with 15 other phone calls to make. 

I am following the USMNT, the U.S. Men's National Team.  This allow me to keep up to date with the U.S. Team's lastest scores, highlights and news.  Staying in the loop at the National level is important.  As the USMNT hands down info, I can then pass that on to my followers if the information is relevant and helpful to our cause.