BLOGGING
Blogging is yet another technological outlet for letting people know your thoughts. A blog can be an online journal for your personal life, or a way to share information and ideas with those who share the same interests. Blogging makes sharing ideas entertaining and effortless and starting a blog is very simple. The video clip 'Blogs in Plain English' states that the use of blogs creates a 'community' of sorts with those who participate. There is great value and relevance to incorporating blogging into classroom curriculum. Teachers can use this form of technology to engage the students in blogs with students in other schools, states and even countries. They could have students create blogs at the beginning of the school year and end with a contest for the 'Best Blog', 'Most Commented on Blog', 'Most Creative Blog', etc. Most kids like to be able to use technology to express and 'brand' themselves.
Blogs in Plain English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1
TWITTERING
Twittering is a form of micro-blogging. By answering the questions 'What are you doing?' in under 140 characters, people can stay connected in a way that has never been seen before. What I find most intriguing are the statistics presented in the YouTube videos 'Tweets for Education' that indicate 52% of 'tweeters' are age 35 and older. With that said, can twittering be a useful communication tool in
K-12 classrooms? There is a lot going on inside of a students head, and it's hard to discern what they are learning and how they are applying what they are learning. Twitter can give insights to what a student is thinking and what they have learned and that can help educators make teaching more relevant.
Twitter in Plain English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o&feature=player_embedded
I set up my twitter account for the first time - I would fall into that '35 and older' category. I thought I would follow News Channel 11 for news feeds and Barack Obama for a peak into the life of a president. Should be interesting, as my first tweet was one word - 'AMEN' in repsonse to an Obama tweet “There’s nobody who can’t serve. Nobody who can’t help somebody else.”—President Obama speaking at an
Happy blogging and twittering! (or is it tweeting?)
I too fall into the 35+ club and have had little need to use twitter or blogs for personal use. My personal point of view falls into the category that everything I do does not need to be shared or is uniquely relevant in todays society.
ReplyDeleteThat being said I see fantastic applications of these technologies in the classroom. Much like texting has done in movile communication, the learning environment has been transformed into a more collaborative place of inclusion. Communication has become more fluid with tecaher-student and student-teacher as well as student-student and student-'expert'.
I am finding moreso nowadays that we as educators need to educate our students about these technologies and the positive applications that they can be used for. Otherwise they're just spouting out personal information for God-Knows-Who to catch digitally...
Agreed - not everything needs to be posted - I do not care what kind of sandwich someone is eating at a particular point in time! There is a definite need for 'netiquette' training - not only for students, but for adults as well. When you are in the checkout lane at Wal-Mart - hang up your phone and pay attention to the cashier!
ReplyDeleteTechnology is great, but it is making our society extremely rude and disrespectful......
I Like your Blog! Very creative.
ReplyDeleteI have seen information about micro communities of users. This is great for the classroom, and you're right, the students take on their own training and development, and show each other. I learn so much from them as they interact with the computers, and then with collaboration to work through problems. There is a pitfall to these communities. some users tend to lose their ability to engage new people. They can't relate to others as well as before they cacooned themself in their computer community.
Marketing is proving to be benefitting from social media. Businesses are experience growth when they offer social media communication for their clients, customers and employees. I can see how twitter would be huge for tracking shipments.
Too much tech?? I don't think our kids should be so self-absorbed. They are all over the mobiles, but can't answer the phone. I think it sets the kids up for a letdown later. They depend so much on their friend's/peer's opinion of them, and what people say about them online. I have no idea how much that would have bothered me if I had an online identity problem, I bet I would have hated it.