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