Tweets.

After watching some fellow tweeters on my twitter account, I see how fun and useful tweeting can be. However, it is kind of hard to understand what is going on sometimes on some pages. You have to scroll down to see where a conversation started. I see twitter being most useful for when people post links and quick references of information on an educational account. I like it for personal use as well, I can see how it is fun and people really feel connected to people that they know. I also thought it was neat how celebrities are using twitter. It makes you feel like you know whats going on.

Microblogging continued....

However, to the contrary of the learning experiences that microblogging is useful for, there are people who perhaps disagree. I read an article titled, “More on Academic Twittering: Breaking Down the Classroom Walls” which can be found at this link http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2825/more-on-academic-twittering-breaking-down-the-classroom-walls. David Parry has been a supporter of twitter and microblogging for educational purposes. It seems not everyone is on board with what he is saying. One quote from the article that stuck out in my mind was, “…these ‘new’ ways of socializing such as Facebook and MySpace are where students are forming their learning communities, ones which do not entirely, perhaps only minimally, overlap with their classroom experience. Thus to extend the walls of the classroom, make education relevant to all aspects of students lives rather than just what they do four-five hours a day we need to think of ways to extend the ways we form and foster learning communities.” However teachers are claiming that when they do form these networks of communication with their students, they will block them from their page. This is giving mixed signals in that students do not want to be networking with their superiors outside of school. Many students are using microblogging for peer socialization, not for education. But I think there are certain boundaries that need to be set, if there is something personal on your page that you don’t want anyone to see then you shouldn’t put it on or you should make a separate page for only your friends to view. The possibilities of learning opportunities with microblogging are so incredible it’s a shame to throw it away because students are not ok with their teachers or professors viewing their personal lifestyles on their webpage.

Microblog uses in the classroom!

After reading a couple of articles on microblogs, I have realized how many great ways they can be used in the classroom for education. This one article that I read, "Can we use Twitter for Educational Activities?" (Grosseck, Holotescu, 2008) had some really great insights. The article can be located at this link for your own reading http://www.scribd.com/doc/2286799/Can-we-use-Twitter-for-educational-activities. "People use twitter to communicate, to ask questions, to ask for directions, support, advice, and to validate open-ended interpretations or ideas by discussing with the others. Twitter has mashed up personal publishing and communication, the result being a new type of real-time publishing" (Grosseck, Holotescu, 2008).
Microblogging has the potential to create a positive impact on education due to so many ways of its uses. It can change classroom dynamics, it is easy to get information, keeps people connected that might never otherwise have met, it keeps track of conversations students carry on of a topic, requires summarizing, teachers can be available, it connects students to the real world and quiet students can finally be heard! Some of the more specific ways microblogging can be used in the classroom based on the article is that it promotes writing as a fun activity, fosters editing skills and the development of literacy skills. Questions and responses can be set to a group in the classsroom, it develops online discourses. Students can have an audience to their thoughts, feelings, ideas, etc. They can send notes, manage meet-ups for studying and group work. Collaboration across the school or even the country has just been made easier with microblogging as well! It seems the possibilities are endless.

Rss Feed

I joined bloglines recently and found some interesting educational blogs that I will find useful. One of the blogs is titled, "School Library Journal-Preschool to Grade 4". This blog reviews books in those grade levels including picture books and chapter books. You can go on and search for a book you might be interesting in purhcasing or even using for you class. The blog lists the price, a brief synopsis, lists the author and if it is fiction or non-fiction. I think this blog can be an excellent tool for any elementary teacher, especially if they are a newer teacher that is not familar with every children's book out there :) Here is the link. Check it out. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/community/Preschool+to+Grade+4/47073.html?nid=3263