Microblogs – Technology Summary
Microblogs are small pieces of digital content – whether text, pictures, links, or short videos – posted on the internet. Microblogs are blogs that are restricted to 140 characters per post. Social networking facilities allow microblog users to follow other people, to be followed by others, and to reply or to send messages directly to them. Once a microblog is posted, the message becomes instantaneously available on the main page or “sent” to other users who are “following” that user. Microblogs are optimized for social connections, allows for continued conversation outside the classroom walls, and provides an easy way to update students on course logistics.
Advantages
- Facilitates informal communication (Aspden & Thorpe, 2009)
- Students can participate anytime, anywhere from a variety of devices and Web 2.0 technologies (Aspden & Thorpe, 2009)
- Can overcome transactional distances that exist in on-line courses (Martin, 2009)
- Supports collaboration and offers immediate and direct feedback (Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2009)
- Requires students to write concisely for an audience (Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2009)
- Allows students to connect with a professional community of practice and to maintain on-going relationships; students can connect once the course is over (Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2009)
- Distinguished professionals can be followed in a particular field (Siemens & Tittenberger, 2009)
- Instructors can steer the intervention in the learning process of individuals and groups (Martin, 2009)
- Can be used to enhance traditional lectures using mobile devices (Ebner, 2009)
Disadvantages
- Can be extremely time consuming and possibly addictive (Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2009)
- Possibly encourages bad grammar because posts have a character limitation (Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2009)
- Can sometimes be distracting to students when used during a class lecture (Ebner, 2009)
- Individuals who are involved in large networks can easily be overloaded with a large amount of information (Jay, 2007)
- Teachers who make themselves available using microblogs are “on-call” 24-7, which can lead to intrusion into his/her private life (Grosseck & Holotescu, 2009)
Best Practices
- Before directing students to use a microblog, instructors should always model optimal use and establish relevance for the students (Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2009)
- Instructors should share examples of appropriate ways to engage professional microblogging communities outside the boundaries of the course (Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2009)
- Students should be encouraged to share their knowledge, work, and discovered resources (Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2009)
- Dedicated course accounts should be setup for each class, which will allow the instructor to track and collate messages (Honeycutt & Herring, 2009)
- Students should be encouraged to keep their messages public to ensure transparency (Martin, 2009)
- Instructor should demonstrate to students how to stream messages using RSS feeds, which will save time because students will not have to log-in to view messages (Ebner, 2009)
Apply this technology
How to Implement
 
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Twitter and tumblr are two example microblogs. Some social network sites may also include a microblog feature such as the “Update Status” feature in Facebook. With twitter you can follow, or be followed, by other twitter users. Your messages, called tweets, are limited to 140 characters. You have the option to add a photo or your GPS location to your tweet as well as include links in your tweets. Tweets are public but you do have an option to send a private (direct) message to a follower. You can organize your tweets chronologically and by groups that you create. You can also search tweets to find out what others are saying on a topic or who is being mentioned. |
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This Common Craft video explains why people use twitter. Twitter provides a means to let other people know what you are doing in a 140 characters or less. Your followers get to know you better by knowing how you spend time. Businesses and education use it to let their customers and students of upcoming events. |
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This Common Craft video explains why and how to use trending topics and hashtags to learn more about what’s going beyond your friends. Twitter tracks trending topics by how often a word is used so users can follow what’s being most talked about. Additionally, by using the hashtag # before any word in your tweet, you can create a searchable keyword that others can find and tweet about. In essence, you start and promote a set of tweets about a singular topic. If enough people add tweets to the topic, it becomes a trending topic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGbLWQYJ6iM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLDDC401BBB94913F5 |
Real World Examples
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A history teacher from the University of Texas at Dallas talks about how she integrated Twitter in her class of 90 students to give each student an opportunity to voice their thoughts, especially for those who would not otherwise openly share. |
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A high school teacher shares how he uses Twitter in his class to promote class participation especially for shy or misunderstood students. |
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This animated video provides a nice summary of the different uses of Twitter for a teacher. |
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This animated video summarizes how a teacher could use Twitter in the classroom as well as a means to connect with their fellow professional community members. |
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A high school science teacher shares how he uses Twitter in his class, again noting how this supports the quiet student. |
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A high school band teacher explains how to use Twitter as a reminder system that will post your messages directly to the student’s phone; the students don’t need to be logged in to Twitter to get the message. |
Practice
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Be aware that Twitter updated its look and features in 2011 so many existing ‘how to’ videos are now outdated. This video is based on the new 2011 interface. http://www.youtube.com/user/EngagingEducators?blend=14&ob=5#p/u/0/tAeacCDSfpU |
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Go to the Twitter home page to sign up for a new account. |
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Twitter also provides an online help center that includes a section on Twitter basics to help you get started. |
