TWITTER - Online

Unlike my friend, Kristi, when Twitter came out I was instantly intrigued. But not from an educational standpoint. I will confess, I was one of the first million to follow Ashton Kutcher. I got wrapped up in his competition against Larry King & CNN. And I'll even make another confession...I tweeted while attending a few Foo Fighters concerts. The overall appeal of Twitter lasted about 2 months and then slowly faded away. For me. Much like MySpace, I kept being called back to Facebook. Even with tools such as tweedeck that allowed me to maintain both FB and Twitter (and MySpace, LinkedIn and more), it became information overload and I had to back off.

In revisiting the idea of Twitter in online learning, I have to say that it makes sense to me. Many of the ways that Twitter can be used in the classroom can also be applied to the virtual world. Granted, tweets are limited to 140 characters, but a lot can be said if phrased creatively (and then there is always resorting to text talk which helps narrow down the number of characters).

How exactly can Twitter be used in online education?

• Communication - much like texting or blogging, Twitter allows the option to send direct tweets, which lets students communicate with other students and the instructor without having to share personal cell phone numbers.


• Collaboration - small groups can set up group applications by using Tweetworks.


• Take a Poll - another cool Twitter application that allows for feedback, PollDaddy.

Sure, there is a learning curve - just like any good Web 2.0 tool, an instructor has to be willing to take the time to figure out how to best utilize the features. And much like the Apple iPhone (which I do not have), it seems that new applications are being created every second. Such is the world of Twitter. It's not so much that following tweets will provide one with earth shattering knowledge, but the option to share links to newstories, real life updates, California state budget information as it happens or the latest football score makes Twitter a direct connection to here and now.

If you are an online instructor who is interested in checking out what Twitter has to offer, here are some tools to help get started:

• Twhirl - similar to Tweetdeck, this helps connect various social networks


• Quote URL - this site helps to group different Twitter updates from different people into a single page and then provides a permanant URL. This would be something that would show how much each member of a team is actually contributing, which is key with collaboration projects.


• TwitPic - this site lets users share photos (really a cool tool for those who tweet via mobile, but I'll leave that to Randy)

If you a student searching for words of wisdom, check out Twitter Professors for a list of 18 people to follow for a Real Time Education. While I do not personally follow any of those listed, the gentleman who wrote the online article makes a really good point: "Never before in history has it been easier to glean from the knowledge of others who will give it away to you for free."

What is Twitter about really? Status updates in the simplest of terms. But if used for the power of good, it is about the sharing of information. And with information comes learning. And the desire to share that information with others...and then they tell two friends, and so on and so on...

TechHeds Video Cast on Twitter - silly, but informative

I still have a lot to learn about Twitter, but the fact that we can post a question for all to see (those who follow and those who lurk) opens up the feedback possibilities to a whole new level. I came across a blog from an educator, and thought this is a creative way to track the various ways that Twitter can be used in education - Twitter Bingo. Challenge yourself - print out a copy of the Twitter Bingo card and have a go! And if you still can't quite grasp a visual on how Twitter branches out, check out Flowing Data, 17 Ways to Visualize the Twitter Universe.

Granted, my tweets are not worthy of an audience (yet), but if you are compelled to follow me, here I am http://www.twitter.com/mstai68 .