When I began blogging as an alternative to hosting discussion forums with my Web site, I had some initial concerns that I expressed in one of my first blog entries:
https://programhouse.com/wordpress/?p=23
Over time and with sensible refinement to the tools and techniques I use, I gradually became aware of the many benefits of blogging, especially to share ideas in an online journal format while supporting (moderated) comments as a means of promoting discussion.
In the various fields in which I work and continue to learn (education, instructional and informational design, research, writing, etc.), my blogging has been an important resource for me and those who follow my musings here.
It was inevitable that when micro-blogging came on the online scene (i.e., twitter, yammer), that I would consider it as well as ultimately adopt it. As Twitter was the first and foremost choice, I made my “nest” there (where you can follow my tweets):
http://www.twitter.com/docteled
I have made it a useful extension to my blogging by including reference and links to a corresponding blog entry here and using TweetMeme as a retweet tool for this blog (see under each post) as a way to achieve a “push-pull” strategy of online communication.
Over time, my initial strategy has evolved into a wider use of twitter to include following tweeters of interest, encouraging others to follow mine, and continuing to learn more about the techniques, tools, terms, and “twittiquette” of this innovation.
Among these considerations are my research interests in how people can either use this medium for their benefit (learning, social networking, business promotion, etc.) or become obsessed with their tweeting (and especially re-tweeting) to become distracted from their needs (a kind of tweet addiction that for which I am sure there is already a term coined by the knowing. 😉
As many of my blog followers are themselves tweeters or considering becoming one, I invite your brief comments on this micro-blogging service and how you use it, especially for your learning needs and interests.
Oh yes, if you enjoyed reading this blog entry as a tweeter, “retweet it” via the retweet button below. 😉
Doc
Personally, I use Twitter strictly in a professional sense, to follow notable thinkers in the instructional design field. I was turned onto Twitter when a Instructional Designer from the CIA came and visited our class last semester. He stated that Twitter was an excellent way to stay “update-to-date” on the new technologies on the horizon.
I have mixed feelings about the use of Twitter in the classroom; however much of the research I have been doing indicates that it is very beneficial in increasing the social presence of students in on-line courses. I think that oftentimes students feel very isolated in on-line classrooms- I am not an exception. With on-line classes, some of the day-to-day informal communication that exists in face-to-face classes is lost. That, combined with the very rigid functionality of blackboard leads to student disengagement – for some individuals on-line courses is a very lonely way to learn.
In an article that I read that justifies the instructional benefits of Twitter, it depicts the very linear communication model with LMS driven communication versus the simplified communication model that exists with Twitter. Perhaps removing some of the linear steps in the traditional LMS model will increase communication and collaboration.
On another note: I believe that Twitter (with the right strategy) can be used to capture some of the informal knowledge that is about to be lost once the “baby-boomers” leave the workplace. I also think there is great potential for Twitter and (Microblogging in general) for just-in-time learning purposes.
Hi Ryan, thanks for sharing your insights on the use of micro-blogging such as twitter in online courses and for the more informal and social learning in a professional context. I agree on your condition “with the right strategy,” as this form of online communication is not intrinsically instructive in these contexts unless we make it so.
Not in my room! There is a time and place for everything. Twittering will not be allowed in my high school classroom. Students will be too hard to manage to keep on task. I post the assignments on the board and my web page. If students need tweets to remind them, then I am not doing my job as an educator. Teaching students about due dates and time management is part of my job. If I had to send twitters and tweets every time some assignment is due or over due, then I would have time for nothing else. So there will be no twitting or tweeting in my class room!
Hi Tina, I understand and agree. Unless our use of available technology actually provides a positive return on our efforts, for us as individuals, it is of no use. Although there are probably too many tweets (and re-tweets) out there in the twittersphere ;-), I think that many of those tweets are providing some means of learning support – even if it is informal and social (outside of our formal settings).
Twitter, by means of tweeting, may be a tool that is effective in building student interest and engagement. Does there currently exist within the bounds of schools an equivalently safe and affordable means for building discussion and interaction?
Hi Doc,
I suppose if I had an account on Twitter, I may have been able to add my opinion on the whole lot. I do have a Facebook account as well as a Yahoogroups. As I said, I can see the concept being used in the educational technology fabric, but because of the abuse of the system, you will tend to see less schools (well here in the Caribbean at least) see such more as a distraction, and not necessarily a tool.
I like to concept of tweeting and I agree with that this is one way of staying abreast of technology. I also like the 140 text limit because I think it encourages getting to the point.
Tweet can be useful in our K-8 environment between administrators, teachers and parents. I can see tweets being sent to parents to remind them of half days, school closings, upcoming meetings etc. My son’s teacher sends emails with homework reminders and upcoming projects, quiz/test to both my son and myself. I think I would rather a tweet and not have to worry about clogging up my email inbox.