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Twitter and Teachers:
Expanding the Learning
SpaceEnza Antenos-Conforti
Montclair State University, NJ
Follow me: @iVenus (my PLN)
@profeac& @profenza
(teaching handles)
Image credit: http://www.distance-education.org/Articles/Top-75-College-Education-Tweets-133.html
http://www.americandialect.org/index.php/amerdial/2009_word_of_the_year_is_tweet_word_of_the_decade_is_google/
What Is It?
Many have criticised tweets to be “banalities” and “mindless”
Why and What Do We Tweet?
• Tweets are a source of information; people in certain places, at certain events, sharing at a global level
Tweets his way out of an Egyptian jail (U of California-Berkley student, James Buck—April 2008)Earthquake in China (May 2008)Landing on the Hudson (US Airways Flight—Jan 2009)Earthquake in Italy (April 2009)Mumbai Terror Attacks (Nov 2009)
Twitter and Haiti
Where Do We Start?
Joining the conversation is easy…Select a username / create a password / provide an email address
My Twitter Page
The last thing youmicro-blogged:a.k.a. a tweet
Where you update/ tweet
The Timeline with your following
Populartopics
Deciding Who to Follow
By geographical location?By influential status?
By common interest?
http://www.twibes.com/group/WorldLanguages
Let’s tweet
• Tweets are self-perpetuating
generative
authentic
• Tweeps / Twitterers (users)interpret input
produce output
engage in conversations
Twitter term: Mention (aka Reply)
• The @Replies feature was introduced because we noticed lots of folks putting the @ symbol in front of Twitter usernames as a way of addressing one another.
For example: @biz what are you drinking in your avatar? (It's a soy latte.)
• @username also now in the middle of tweets as a way to simply reference another account
Twitter term: Retweet
• Sharing and crediting sources
Twitter Search: Retweet
Twitter term: Hashtag
• Create groupings by adding context and metadata
Tweeting to…
• Create a personal learning network—i.e., follow people who share your interests by reading their tweets about
blog posts
news & events
videos & music
other followers (who then you begin to follow)
The positive spiral of Twitter as a social network
The Teacher’s PLN
• A Personal Learning Network is essential to implementing Web 2.0 technologies to teaching
• Conversation and interactivity are organic with members of the PLN
Teaching with Twitter
• Create a Twitter handle for academic use only
• Use class time to have students create their handle, follow classmates and tweet for the first time
• Prompt them initially to have them feel comfortable with Tweeting
• Develop your best practices for course objectives
Teaching & Learning with Twitter
Class chatter Classroom communityGet a sense of the WorldTrack a WordTrack a ConferenceInstant Feedback
Follow a ProfessionalFollow a Famous PersonGrammarRule Based WritingMaximizing the Teaching MomentPublic Note PadWriting Assignment
Source: AcademHackwww.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/
In & Outside of the Classroom
BEYOND• Have them talk about
themselves (recycle grammar and vocabulary)
• Have them investigate topics related to syllabi content
• Have them investigate language use (vocabulary building)
IN• Have them brainstorm ideas
and post them
• Get instant feedback on topics using it as poll device using hashtags
• Allow them to ask questions and get feedback instantaneously from a larger language community
Some Great Ideas!
http://www.slideshare.net/travelinlibrarian/twenty-five-interesting-ways-to-use-tw
Hands-On Tweeting
• Here’s what to do:Tweet something to share two (2) things about yourself (personal, professional, etc.)
Include the hashtag below (#BCTech)
Click on the hashtag in your tweet and read what others have tweeted
Reply to the tweet of two (2) other twitterers