Create a personal learning network with Twitter

Presentation to UJ Tuesday MA meeting on 29 November 2010By Carina van Rooyen

Changing landscapes in learning

Teacher Learner

Teaching Learning

Content Activities

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Real space Virtual space Slid

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Formal and informal learning

Formal learning Informal learning

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20% 80%

Self-organised learning

Formal learning Informal learning

Self-organised learning

Students take responsibility for their

own learning

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Where do you get help from now?

• Supervisor• Other experts• Printed material in library• Internet• Co-students• Other

Where get info from?

Can you get expertise, support, etc. also from here?

Characteristics

• Content is free• Content is abundant• Content is varied• Sharing / collaboration is easy• Socially based• Network is valued• Peer critiquing• Personalisation• Open practices

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Constructivism

Learn by doing!To ‘learn’ is to practice and

reflect

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George Siemens www.connectivism.ca/

http://www.sciencedaily.com

We live in a techno-social world

Learning occurs inside and outside of people – we store our knowledge in

computers and in other people ~ George Siemens

Connectivism

In connectivism, learning involves creating connections and developing a

network. It is a theory for the digital age drawing upon chaos, emergent

properties, and self-organised learning. (Wikipedia)

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It’s not what you know but who you know

Community of practice

http://www.flickr.com/photos/antphotos/3489600094/

Group of people who share interest / craft / profession; in process of sharing info and

experiences learn from one another (Weller 2010)

Learning webs

From this .... ..... To this

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http://sm.irsd.k12.de.us http://blogs.silverlight.net

PLE

• Move from expert developed knowledge to collaborative forms of knowledge construction (Graham Attwell)

• PLE is environment for person to manage knowledge & connections

• PLE is tool intended to immerse yourself into the workings of a community

• This is how you practice being person with characteristics of that community, i.e. researcher Adap

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PLE & PLN (for professional development)

Personallearning environment

Personal learning network

Personalweb tools

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Source: http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2010/07/anatomy-of-ple.html

PLEs are not only personal web tools and personal learning networks. PLEs

are much wider than this, taking in experiences and realia, as well as learning through TV, music, paper based materials, radio &

more formal contexts

Learning content is not as important now as where (or who) to connect to, to

find it

PWTs are any web tools, (usually Web 2.0) chosen

by learners to support their lifelong learning

Functions of PLE

PLE

Find contentFind people

Create content

Organise content

Communicate

Discuss

Collaborate

Connect

Share content

Compete Reuse content

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Learning

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Twitter

• Connect with anyone anytime anywhere• 140 characters

What is Twitter?

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Status update

SMS

Instant messaging

Chat

Blogging

Twitter in plain English

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From @mweller

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Photo via: Weller 2010

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42903611@N00/387761039/

Filtering web

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Learning networks(Community of practice)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mythoto/1234638761

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WE are smarter than ME

Basic use

• Reply (@)• RT @• HT @ – heard through; original tweet by • If reword tweet by someone else (via @)• Direct message – private message

Hashtags

Our tag#ujma

Tagging so that searchable

URL shortners

• TinyURL.com• Bit.ly• Ow.ly

It’s all about who you follow…

…and being followed! Adap

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Finding the right people to follow

• Find people– Id people you admire in your research field; find them

on Twitter via Twitter Search– Read bios of people on Twitter to see if share interest– Explore their network / lists

• Scan Twitter lists/ directories– Listerious– TweepML

• Ask!

DO

• Use good language• Make it relevant• Share good resources• Ask questions and give answers/opinions• Think before you tweet• Be yourself!

DON’T• Use ALL CAPS (it is screaming)• Forget to credit those tweets that you are

passing on (RT)– RT makes people aware that you value their work

& build stronger network

THINK OF YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

• Professional identity• Privacy

E-safety

Participate!

Lurking in the beginning is acceptable

Link to Delicious

If tweet or favourite link, automatically updated in your Delicious account

– Packrati.us

It works!

Twank you!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS• Conole G 2010 The changing landscape of educational practice. Presentation to NADE

annual conference in Harten (Norway) on 18 November• Downes S 2010 Pedagogical foundations for personal learning. Presentation in January• Downes S 2009 Learning 2.0: Learning today and tomorrow. Presentation on 16 April • Ebner M 2010 Academic use of microblogging. Presentation at #AIECS10. Available online

at http://elearningblog.tugraz.at• Kadle A 2010 Elements for constructing social learning environments.

http://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2010/03/10/elements-for-constructing-social-learning-environments/

• Lingard M, McNeill A & Cann AJ 2010 Using Twitter in (higher) education. Powerpoint presentation at the ATL workshop at Nottingham on May 2010

• Pacansky-Brock M Your hybrid classroom: Will you change your paradigm? • Weisgerber C 2010 Tweet your way to success. Presentation to St Edward’s PRSSA Twitter

workshop • Weller M 2010 A pedagogy of abundance. • Wheeler S 2010 Communities, spaces and pedagogies for the digital age.• Wheeler S 2010b Learning management system and personal learning environment: A

bridge in the clouds? • Wheeler S 2009 It’s personal: Learning spaces, learning webs. • Images not acknowledged on slide was taken from Google Image