Comments on: Twitter as a metaphor for learning

By: ldtchr

ldtchr — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:46:24 +0000

What a powerful and inspiring comparison. I consistently find it amazing to hear from a range of adults, including teachers, the deficits in our students just as they themselves are saying things like, “Oh, I didn’t get that the first time”, or “I lost that memo”, or “Do we really have to…..”. Adults (who are good at their jobs) do not hesitate to question things when they are unsure, or question decisions made, or at least try to have them clarified. Why is it that we do not always create that same environment for growth and skill development for our students?

By: Tim Thompson

Tim Thompson — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:56:34 +0000

Good points above. My thinking is that different people do better with different modes of learning. My guess is that adults who have a broader base of prior knowledge and are adept at finding and taking in new information will get more out of tools like Digg and twitter. They are used to grazing quickly over newspapers and internet stories and making associations.

I enjoy twitter because I can control the volume and relative quality of information that moves comes in, and usually have a pretty personal connection to it. I have all but stopped using RSS feeds because it just takes too much time. The difference with Twitter is that you have have no expectation what you will discover when someone posts a link, and it’s often new. Of course, twitter users are usually people who are interested in social networking in the first place, and I think that’s why number and quick growth of social networking tools is explosive–connections making more connections among people who want to experiment.

If you want kids to learn to learn in an unstructured, intuitive way, then twitter could be a good tool, especially if they are following peers (and educators who know who their audience is). If you prefer controlling the content of education, then twitter may waste more time than it is worth.

By: Kim Flintoff

Kim Flintoff — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 04:07:11 +0000

homophily is a potential hazard in any social community – academic, hobby, intellectual, political, etc… one of the great things about tools like twitter is the disruptive capacity – its so easy to challenge and subvert group think… homophily can only operate in climate where someone isn’t willing to take a risk…

By: Cheryl Oakes

Cheryl Oakes — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:56:47 +0000

It isn’t just twitter. I’ ve been experimenting with many Web 2.0 tools for a couple of years. Always, I try out a tool, play , explore, then look for the purpose. Purpose to use it in a project, with a teacher, with a student. If I don’t find the purpose, then I move on. Maybe someone else will find the purpose and I will come back. It is an experiment in learning. I like it. I don’t “blame” or “congratulate” the tool, I use the tool.
Thanks for a great post about making meaning.

By: Bonnie Sayers (autismfamily)

Bonnie Sayers (autismfamily) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:40:24 +0000

A nice perspective on twitter. I am learning a lot from the site regarding terms and new products and new ideas to write on for my site and I started a blog and learning the ropes. It does pull you in and I like using summize to search terms to find relevant tweets instead of the search function at twitter that takes forever to get thru and see who is active.

I imagine once homeschooling starts in Sep my time will be limited and for now just exploring it at various times of the day. I never knew what Blog Her was and actually have mixed feelings on it since there are some professionals who go there and others seem to party and I think that reflects bad on other mom bloggers.

I am mixing it up and networking and meeting and gathering data. Good post, made me stop and think about this new site I am spending far too much time at, but meeting others at the same time.

By: Emma L. Devlin

Emma L. Devlin — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:16:24 +0000

Very interesting post. I’ve seen the same as Christian Long – isolated groups of like minded people who really have nothing new to share because they all think alike to begin with. I hope this changes. People should not consider it automatically offensive to differ from others. I think it is through open discussions regarding our differences that we learn.

By: Maureen

Maureen — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:00:53 +0000

I love your “climates of possibility” view of a classroom. This is what all of us see when we first enter a classroom, and I suspect that it is what children see as they enter school. Reigning in these possibilities can only hurt, not help our own PD and children’s educations.

So what’s the climate on Twitter? Sometimes chaotic, sometimes meaningful discussions, or a link to a discussion that needs more than 140 characters.

Let’s just keep the possibilities open!