Twitter

PROCESS OF LEARNING ABOUT TWITTER

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet! Remember that old Rockin Robin song?
Well I searched for it and someone else has made a Twitter version, shucks.
Why not listen to it as you read my post:





Why should I Twitter? It seems like a cheesy tool where people tell each other what they are doing every minute of the day.
Is that not a waste of time?

My Twitter account is fairly new to me. Well I suppose it is new to most people as it was only invented 3 years ago. As I said in my last blog posting, it is the #3 site for social networking…3 years to make it to #3 ain’t bad.

If you want to follow me, I am loriwilliams77. I signed up to Twitter for the purposes of this course. To be honest, I'm not sure I will use it much after this course but I appreciate being introduced to it. I will be able to say I've tried it and can relate to my students who use it. Before I make a decision, though, I should give it a fair chance…

Twitter is a popular microblogging tool or form of communication in which users can describe their current status in short instant messages via mobile phones, email or the Web.
Our course trailfire this week, comprised of 14 different sources (articles, blogs, wikis, videos), provided me with a great overview of Twitter and how it can be used. I particularly liked the conciseness of Mack D. Male’s slideshare Twitter 101. Mack happened to be the 985th person in the world on Twitter. Can you beat that?
Like many others, he uses the Tweetdeck application to put contacts into groups for easier management. He suggests that newbies get familiar with the lingo of Twitter. I am now familiar with many of the terms, and was blown away by the number of Twitter words there are. Here are some of the words Mack suggested people learn and how I would define them:

tweet: the post of 140 words or less that you make on Twitter.

retweet: to post a message again.

twoosh: a perfect post of 140 words - “swoosh!”

hashtags: topic with a hash symbol (”#”) at the start to identify it. (eg. #edchat). For more info, check out How to get the most out of hashtags.

tweetups: meet-ups between Twitter users (yes, it's true.)

I also became familiar with Twitter for Beginners and The Beginner’s Guide to Twitter.
Okay, so maybe it’s not a COMPLETE waste of time…

From following some brilliant people like David Warlick and Joyce Valenza, I have noticed that they aren’t usually tweeting about what they are doing. Instead of telling the world they are eating lunch or brushing their teeth, they are usually sharing what is on their mind or providing links to great sites. This led me to think that instead of asking the question, “What are you doing?,” the little box where you type your update should ask the question, “What are you thinking?” or “What has your attention?”

In the article Why we twitter: understanding microblogging usage and communities, the authors discuss that "people use microblogging to talk about their daily activities and to seek or share information."

Now that we know what all the tweet is about, let's take a look at the implications it has for us personally and professionally.







PERSONAL USES


The words of Mack Male rang in my ears: "Follow local people."

Research led me to Twellow, the Twitter Yellow Pages. Then, as Mastermaq suggested, I began my search for local people.
I’m now following some local educators and Web 2.0 tool enthusiasts as well as the City of Nanaimo which tweets about upcoming local events and other local info. I am also a follower of our local newspaper, the Nanaimo Daily News, which gives regular local news updates.


Who knows, I may even end up at a tweetup one day. Ok, so that is probably not going to happen. But, you never know.

Then I uncovered a little Twitter nugget called Twiggit. Twiggit is "an automated service that lets your friends on twitter know what articles you digg." I picked up on the strange spelling of 'dig' and pursued this. I signed up at the Digg site. Here, I can search for articles by topic. If I find one that I like and want others to see, I can click ‘share’ and the link to the article is posted as a tweet. Cool!
My first attempt at this I found this article that I dugg and shared it:
Twitter Marriage Proposal: Bloggers In Love: http://digg.com/d3hY6g?t
Now this Twitter tool I like. A lot.
Usually other people are telling me what the latest news is. Now I can tell them. And I don't even have to turn on the TV.

There still is a little voice in the back of my head though saying be careful. I think Twitter has to be used with some degree of moderation. It is easy to get sucked into the world of having a constant flow of messages coming through your phone, email and wherever else you are connected. Personally I'm not going to connect Twitter to my phone. I think that would be too much for me. I do own a Blackberry, yes, but don't want to be sucked into the Blackberry world that some people are in. I go out for dinner and see people texting everywhere. I want to enjoy the person's company that I'm with without my phone going off constantly. So I will tweet wisely.
Also I have noticed that many people go through periods of time when they are always tweeting and then they just stop. Just like that. How long will I keep tweeting? Maybe I will stop after this course. Only time will tell. First, though, I want to know if it would ever be useful to use as a teacher or librarian.






PROFESSIONAL USES

Steve Wheeler provides a list of ways for teachers to use Twitter in the classroom in his post Teaching with Twitter. Some of these ways include tweeting in a foreign language, in role as a character or person from the past or with penpals from around the world. Also following a famous person for current events, collaborative story writing, notifications, and having students write precise summaries of chapters or articles (in 140 characters or less of course) are all great ways to use Twitter.

I like the idea of holding an opinion poll with the class where votes and ideas can instantly be gathered. Teachers could also use it to point out interesting things happening in their classroom, pose a question to the group or explain what’s coming next…tweet, tweet, tweet.

Check out Steven Anderson's favourite Tools for the Twittering Teacher.

There are also many ways that librarians can use Twitter. “For example, a library could share all kinds of news that patrons want. Short messages can tell people about events such as readings, lectures, and book sales; newly available resources; or changes in the building hours. One message a day or one a week could share a tip on finding or accessing information online or in the building. Twitter posts can link to interesting news stories about literacy or about libraries. When appropriate, the posts can link to a library's own website and blog for more in-depth information.” (Milstein 2009)

In the article 20 Ways for Librarians To Use Twitter (Cole 2009), there are even more ways outlined. The most useful of these 20 in my opinion are:

- To announce and recommend new books
- Post a book of the day
- Share studies of interest
- Link to the library’s website and to book talks
- Make connections with other librarians


If teachers want to find other educators on Twitter to follow, there is a Twitter4Teachers Wiki that lists teachers Twitter names and grades/content areas they teach. There is a page with hundreds of librarians that are currently using Twitter.

In his book, Will Richardson discusses how "following other educators on Twitter creates a 'network at my fingertips' phenomenon where people ask questions and get answers, link to great blog posts or resources, or share ideas for projects as they go through the day."

Teachers can also follow the hashtag #educhat to discuss a new educational topic each week. Read more about this on The Cool Cat Teacher Blog. Also watch the video #Edchat: Join the Movement which discusses this conversation between educators who want to connect and make a difference. Every Tuesday from 12-7 pm (ET), you can participate in the discussion by adding “#edchat” to the end of your tweet! There's a new conversation topic each week. I found a few educators from the edchat conversation and am now following them.


As always let's battle out the pros and cons and see which one wins...

CONS

- Security becomes a problem when users post shortened URLs in their posts. Because Twitter only allows 140 characters in a post, URLs pose problems for users, so they often use URL shortening services. "When you see [a shortened URL] you don't know where it's going to take you," says Ben-Itzhak in the article 'Maltweets' Pose Threat to Web 2.0 Users. Users may be directed to a site infected with malware, viruses, and other dangerous downloads. Make sure your security software is up-to-date.

- “Twitter IS a massive time drain. It IS yet another way to procrastinate, to make the hours fly by without getting work done, to battle for online status and massage your own ego. But it's also a brilliant channel for breaking news, asking questions, and attaining one step of separation from public figures you admire. No other communications channel can match its capacity for real-time, person-to-person broadcasting.” - David Pogue

- Carol Cooper-Taylor outlines some of the other “Negatives People Will Throw At You.”


PROS

- If you want to defend Twitter, Carol Cooper-Taylor's blog gives you “Some Positives to Throw Back” at the nay-sayers:

1. Easy to organize meetups.
2. Great for running an opinion poll.
3. Captures students' attention and gives them a focus.
4. Builds an instant “backchannel” in the classroom.
5. Provides news updates faster and more often than other sources.
6. Allows users to see what status messaging can do for an organization.
7. Great for collaboration and giving daily opportunities for learning.
8. Useful for professional development.
9. Easy way to connect with parents for feedback purposes.


- Mack Male hails Twitter for: being easy to make new connections, having a wealth of information posted every second, being the best source for breaking news and for allowing people to make a difference.

- Michael Hyatt gives us 12 Reasons to Start Twittering.

As you can see, there are actually many ways to use Twitter in the classroom. Who knew?
Better go tweet about this...
Stay tuned for next week when I will post my blog about blogs!



Articles:

Cole, S. 20 Ways for Librarians To Use Twitter. Library Journal (1976) v. 134 no. 11 (June 15 2009) p. 25

Milstein, S. Twitter FOR Libraries (and Librarians). Computers in Libraries, 10417915, May2009, Vol. 29, Issue 5