MET:Microblogs in the classroom

ETEC 510

This page was originally authored by Darren Mitzel & Michael Singh 2011. Edited by Kimberly Wagner 2012. Tumblr section edited by Marie-Hélène Bacon 2012.

Blogging is a valuable Web 2.0 tool in today's classroom. Microblogging enables real-time interactions between users, using different devices,technologies and applications. The intent of this list is to provide educators a list of potential blogging services that can be used in an educational setting.

Overview/History

See History of Blogging here.

Will Richardson, a self-proclaimed "blogologists," says the strength of using a blog is the ability to carry on asynchronous conversations with others. Blogging is also a tool that has made web publishing a give-and-take exercise, a revolutionary approach. The use of blogs can be used with any age group, however students with limited computer skills will not benefit due to the lack of maneuvering around the Internet.

File:Blogscreenshot.jpg

blog screenshot

Typically, a blog consists of a header and two to three columns. The center column is often home to the most recent post (text entry) by the author. Blog comments can often be found immediately under the post to which the comments refer. The newest posts appear first, and all posts include both a title and date. The archive houses older posts and comments. This archive usually appears in the left or right-hand column. In this way, the author and interested readers can visit related blogs from one central location with ease.

Blogging is not meant to replace the act of reading or writing, but be used as a medium to present work and give students the opportunity to have an online audience. Also with a blog being asynchronous, feedback from others can be immediate. In a basic sense, blogs provide a convenient platform to document experience, publish thoughts, and express feelings. They offer ample opportunities for us to project ourselves socially and emotionally. [4] In a study of 37 pre-service teachers over their 10-week practicum, it was found that the use of blogs positively affected the depth and breadth of student reflection. This was compared with the journals written by students in the previous semester, the blogs appeared to be more analytic and evaluative.

Microblogging is a Web 2.0 technology, and a new form of blogging that lets the users publish online brief text updates, usually less then 140-200 characters, sometimes images too. The posts can be edited and accessed online,or sent as SMS, e-mail or via instant messaging clients. Usually the microblog authors embed its posts as a widget on blogs or sites.

Platform Examples

Kidblog

File:Kidblog.jpg

Kidblog is a blogging service designed for elementary and middle school teachers who want to provide each student with their own, unique blog. It's powerful tools allow students to publish posts and participate in discussions within a secure classroom blogging community. Teachers maintain complete control over student blogs.

Watch How to Set Up a Kidblog Account {{#ev:youtube| UKhMeHcCG_8}}

Posterous

Description needed. There are several educational implications for this tool.

Twiducate

File:Twiducatescreenshot.jpg

screenshot

Twiducate is a social networking site that was developed by teachers to create a safe environment for students to blog, network and improve on their internet skills. This service only allows teachers and students of a particular class to view posts, thus creating a private network for a safer online learning environment. Here are 35 ways to Twiducate in the Classroom.

Watch the Twiducate commercial. {{#ev:youtube|NNwuQXKaQO8}}

Twitter

File:Twitter-logo-002.jpg

Twitter is a free Web 2.0 social media used for social networking, microblogging, and knowledge building that enables its users to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages using the computer or smart phone, and as tweets via text messaging. People write short updates, called "tweets," of 140 characters or less which can include links to another site, photo or video. There is also the option of retweeting which is reposting someone else's tweet to your own followers. Your tweets are posting to your profile, sent to your followers, and are searchable on Twitter search. There are 14 elements of a tweet that are deconstructed on twitteroid. Twitter members can connect with friends, follow their friends' updates, and post their own updates for their followers. A public direct message can be sent by adding the recipient's @username to the tweet. There are numerous educational applications of Twitter for learning.

File:Twitter-screen.png

Direct Messages

Direct Messages (DM) or "Direct Tweets" are private Twitter messages. If someone is following you, you can send a direct message from the web via the "message" link on the profile page. You cannot send a direct message to a user who is not following you. Educators and students can contact each other through direct tweets without having to share cell phone numbers.

DM's behave more like tweets than emails: Any action of the sender of a DM will also affect the recipient of that DM. As the recipient of the DM, you have the ability to delete it; the messages you delete also disappear from the sender's sent tab. Conversely, deleting direct messages you have sent will also delete the message from the recipient's inbox forever.

The number next to your DM's tab reflects the number of direct messages in your inbox. If this number has changed recently and you have not deleted any of your messages, remember that the sender of the DM has the ability to delete message from your inbox. These messages are not mysteriously disappearing or getting lost.

Favourite Button

Click on this button to save a tweet forever; otherwise, it expires after three weeks. You can save your own tweets or the tweets of those you follow. These tweets can be revisisted by going to your Profile and clicking the "Favourites" tab.

Hashtags

Once you have numerous contacts and follower in Twitter, it is easy to get lost in the myriad of tweets. The use of "Hashtags" allows for the sorting of tweets into categories which is similar to the way information is tagged or categorised within search engines. Any word can become a hashtag by simply placing a hash symbol (#) in front of the word. Although hashtags are not an official Twitter feature, they can be found on the Twitter search page.

Searching

If the Twitter search box is returning too many results, you can use the advanced search page by clicking "Refine Results" on the search page. On the advanced search page, apply search filters like a Twitter username or hashtag. The website Topsy is even more useful for a more focused tweet search because you can also specify a date range and filter out a specific keyword.

If you need even more information on the functions of Twitter, the most comprehensive guide available on the subject is Twitter for Dummies (2009). As well, there are numerous Third-Party Twitter tools that can be used to enhance the educational uses of this platform.

Tumblr

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Tumblr Dashboard

Tumblr is a microblogging platform allows users to post text, images, video, links, quotes and audio. Users can 'follow' other tumblelogs, make their own tumblelog private or communicate with other users over content of interest. Tumblr's most prominent advantage is its customizability and ease of use, which makes it ideal for experts coders and novices bloggers alike.

The following video shows how simple it is to set up a Tumblr account:

{{#ev:youtube|vTRGPKU8SlQ}}

Ways to use Tumblr in the Classroom: (for a more in-depth look at these activities, please refer to the ETEC 510 Tumblr Wiki article).

1. Teaching and learning basic web design
2. Sharing assignment drafts and peer editing
3. Communicating with peers from other schools about common interests to reinforce literacy skills
4. Monitoring student work through the 'follow' feature
5. Displaying projects with varied media content
6. Creating a classroom website with links to the course syllabus, assignments, reminders and classroom event updates
7. Creating a resources hub for sharing relevant links

Notes

Stop Motion Video Sarah Fitzpatrick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHjHc84K6BI&feature=youtu.be

References

Alexander, B. (2006). Web 2.0: A new wave of innovation for teaching and learning? Educause Review, 41(2), 32-44.

Brown, Nathan, et al. “Using Microblogging Platforms for Educational Purposes.”BloggingPro, 30 May 2013, www.bloggingpro.com/archives/2013/01/21/using-microblogging-platforms-for-educational-purposes/. Colgan, C. (2005). Computer Blogs: Boon or Bane? Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, v71 n4 p57-63.

Deng, L. & Yuen, A. H. K.(2011). Towards a Framework for Educational Affordances of Blogs. Computers & Education, v56 n2 p441-451.

Fitton, L., Gruen, M. and Poston, L. (2009). Twitter for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. e-Book. UBC Library.

Grosseck, G. & Holotescu C. (2008) Can we use twitter for educational activities? Unpublished paper. University of West Timisoara, Romania.

Grosseck, G & Holotescu, C. Teacher Education in 140 Characters - Microblogging implications for continuous education, training and personal development. Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences, Volume 11, 2011, Pages 160-164

Manzo, K. (2009, Oct). Twitter Lessons in 140 Characters or Less. Education Week, v29 n8 p1.

Mitzel, Darren, et al. “Microblogs in the Classroom.” Microblogs in the Classroom - ETEC 510, 4 Mar. 2012, etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Microblogs_in_the_classroom.

Sung, C. (01/01/2014). Encyclopaedia of social media and politics: Microblogging Sage Publication.

Zawilinski, L. (2009) Hot Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking. Reading Teacher, v62 n8 p650-661.