Blogging and Twitter
Blogs
When the Graduate College started a blog, I was unimpressed. My thought was, "who would ever follow a blog from the Grad School?" After viewing the video and the handouts for this assignment, I "get it" now (and understand that blog is "web log" which I never knew where this term came from exactly). Personal "news" broadcasting can really assist in facilitating communication and uniting people with similar interests. I didn't realize blogging allowed for posting links, pictures, and comments among other things to facilitate discussions. I thought of it as an online diary of personal thoughts and messages on a one-way street rather than a global product used for group collaboration. I was blown away by the 70 million blog figure quoted in the video.
The handout on "online collaboration" showed me how blogs can be a source of connection between teacher and student with a way for the teacher to provide real-time feedback and interaction with students, parents, and other educators. Students can use a blog to collaborate on a project, share information and ideas, and connect with others with similar interests.
I again have to confess, I believed Twitter to simply be an egotistical avenue for celebrities and celebrity wannabees. "Why would I care when so-and-so went to bed or walked the dog?" was my thought. However, I now understand how powerful a tool Twitter really is and how it can be a great asset in education. Being able to tap into vast, global resources in real time can prove invaluable in the learning process.
I first had to learn the jargon and tips that were provided in the handouts and Plain English videos. I already knew some of them, such as "hashtag" and "tweet," but did know about the ins and outs of direct messages, replies, and other various features.From the presentation Twitter in K-8 Classroom - Globally Connected Learning by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, I learned how even younger students can learn the value of networking, etiquette and netiquette, as well as collaboration. I believe by introducing this idea early, students will grow up with the mindset of teamwork and collaboration instilled in their very being. It is or will become a way of life for them throughout their educational experience. In addition, teachers have an amazing opportunity to connect with students, parents, and other educators as never before. I loved the idea about tweeting what the students learned for the day, or connecting to hashtagged conversations relevant to the subject matter being taught.
From the two videos on Twitter in education, I learned some of the statistics about Twitter, including the majority of users (6 million) at the time of the presentation were females (53%) and in the age group of 18-34 (47%). This was not as much a surprise as was the fact that 52% of the users were in the combined 35-50&over category. In addition, in contrast to Facebook, I can get short, real-time information from news sources and join real-time conversations about subjects of interest to me.
I actually selected several suggested networks to follow on Twitter, including: The New York Times, NBA, NFL, Twitter Sports, Twitter Media, Jimmy Fallon, a couple of health related groups, and my professor. I chose the news and sports networks because with my busy schedule, I rarely have time to sit and read the newspaper like I used to. This will at least allow me to see what is happening and seek out the news and sports stories of most interest to me. The entertainment ones are just for fun! I plan on searching for some more specific groups such as ones devoted to dealing with ADHD students to help with my son. This can truly be invaluable to me!
Hi Michelle!
ReplyDeleteI really love your blog about twittering and blogging. I can relate to you in a lot of thing. I was so skeptical about twitter too and was not interested at all about blogging before. But, that all changes after doing the assignments. I learn how important and interesting blogging could be, and how blogging goes beyond political boundaries. It was interesting to watch this videos on izea.com too. These videos help me to see how working could be more fun now because of blogging, and how we could still be creative. I really never knew that blogging opens the door to readers to participate in the "news" as well. I think that is so important because, at the end of the day, we all love to be heard at some point.
I think the same about twitter too. I love that it is real and update news that is happening. As a matter of fact, Twitter is the best way to find out the real time my soccer team plays. I only have to go there and here on my wall, all these information about my team.
Other thing I love about twitter is the short tweets. Only 140 characters! It would be so much difficult if all the tweets were so long. But, it is really convenient that the tweets are never long.
I also believed that twitter was for people who wants to follow celebrities too , or crazy teens that were addicted to social media. I was so wrong because, as you say it, there is more young adults and adults that use twitter than early teens.
This assignment really opened my eyes about Hashtags as well. I never use Hashtags before but I am really thinking about creating a unique one that would mean a lot to me(it will not be too emotional though), that can stick around for awhile (we ll see) but I really have less fear now about all these twitter jargons. It was also good to read about some restrictions and advice about them. I think they make a lot of sense too. It help you to find the same category in a subject. I am a sport fan too! Good job with that blog!
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteMuch like you and Nidson, I was skeptical about using Twitter and found the user statistics in the videos to be quite eye-opening. I also have to agree with you about your learning that "blogging" can include everything from words to pictures and links. When I heard the term "blog," I just always assumed it was all about the words and not the collaborations that can take place between members.
I do like the fact that you pointed out the real time feedback that instructors can provide to the students. This is one of the things I have struggled with from both sides. The idea that you shared about continuing the conversation about what was learned during that lesson via Twitter is a very useful one. The limitation of 140 characters will definitely be a challenge for most students.
I too selected sports networks to follow simply because of the entertainment value. I never really understood the personal aspect of keeping others informed about my daily activities, like celebrities. Being in the Army, it is difficult to use social media as an outlet of communication because of the security risks. We regularly take cyber security and personally identifiable information training; both of which warn about putting too much information on these sites. But like you stated, things like sharing information about ADHD or other real life issues are invaluable to us. Great insight into the positive uses of blogging and tweeting.