Casey,
I actually use it to text students to remind them about course items. I use remind101.com and it is great.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
David,
That may be true. I don't think microblogging fits every course. It may be you using it to communicate with your students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Eileen,
Yes, and that is where your students are; on their phone. I like that it restricts to 140 characters. . . but that fits my course outcomes.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I agree with the concept of *succinct* and consice by the limits pf space in microblogs. However, in my English classes, I try to emphasize that in the *real* professional world, they do need to understand writing as a bigger platform than 140 characters.
Mark,
I agree with you. We had the discussion yesterday about the damage to the succinctness of writing done by making students write 500 words or 1000 words. They don't see the importance of the writing they only see the need of words, any words. (Just my thoughts).
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
One of the main benefits of using microblogging in the classroom is instant feedback. Another great way to use twitter is for students and the instructor to continue discussion after a class has ended. Another is tweeting announcements to students. Students could also tweet the instructor when they have completed an assignment so the instructor could grade it. I really like the suggestion made in the course to possibly use microblogging to set up a poll and I was thinking that possibly the results of the poll to date can be shown. Also twitter might be used to get feedback from students as to how the course is going. To summarize, microblogging allows students to engage by enabling them to provide feedback and participate in conversations. This method of communication might even help a student who is shy participate in class.
Jeffrey,
There are several polling websites that will provide that benefit. Many LMS's will have that functionality also.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jeffrey,
There are several polling websites that will provide that benefit. Many LMS's will have that functionality also.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Microblogging can be a beneficial way to get content directly to a student quickly and in a straightforward manner. Often, we as instructors may provide detailed explanations of content, assignments, etc. within the LMS. This provides the details that are needed but often students need prompting to push them along the right path (timeliness, focus, etc.); microblogging can be beneficial for providing this type of push. It also gives students the opportunity to interact in a manner that many may be comfortable with, as more students tend to use microblogging and other social media tools in their personal lives so finding ways. Implementing this in a class means that students can directly apply their interest in the social media options along with their interest in the content. This can also help boost interest for some students.
I am seeing papers that are not grammatically sound and wonder is social networking has something to do with this problem. We want student to demonstrate their understanding of key concepts, theories, and terms but yet answering the question is what they are most interested in doing. It is difficult to get students to understand that they need to write with some level of critical thinking not just simple provide a response. This may be the reason for the word requirement, so they answer all of the what, why, where, when, how questions.
Tanya,
I like your thinking. It does change the environment of the online course. Sometimes that helps. Remember when the teacher showed a film in grade school? It may not been the best film but it changed the routine. Now, with all of the technology aspects including microblogging you can change the environment and engage students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Sloan,
When you do the microblogging you can set standards that require good grammar and punctuation, and good writing. This will prepare them for the needed to be professional in other social media such as LinkedIn.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I understand the benefits of text and tweeting language, but I am concerned about the number of people who forget how to speak and write in proper English
Joan,
I hold students accountable for their proper communication. That is part of the grading when I use this type of assessment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Mark:
Great point. Sometimes I think our students believe that their world is the "real" one and the other doesn't exist .As a former English teacher, communication (effective) is the key to a successful conversation, albeit a blog, a discussion.
Carla,
You are right! Even when students are blogging they should be held to communication expectations. I make students email me in appropriate grammar and punctuation. I want it to be a good habit!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The benefits of microblogging activities within online courses is countless, in my personal opinion. Since messages may be less than 200 characters, SMS, instant messaging with clients and in real time, the higher education community has really sparked a high interest in this tool, in the classroom.
Text categorization for two types of microblogging questions asked in the classroom include relevant and irrelevant questions. "Empirical results and analysis show that using personalization together with question text leads to better categorization accuracy than using text alone. It is also beneficial to utilize the correlation between questions and available lecture materials as well as the correlation between questions asked in a lecture (Cetintas, S., 201l).
Reference
S. Cetintas, Luo Si, H. Aagard, K. Bowen, M. Cordova-Sanchez, "Microblogging in a Classroom: Classifying Students' Relevant and Irrelevant Questions in a Microblogging-Supported Classroom," IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 292-300, Oct.-Dec. 2011, doi:10.1109/TLT.2011.14
Andrea,
Thanks for providing a reference. I use it to teach succinct communication. It is a great tool if used appropriately.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The true benefit comes from the ability to manage time within words and meaning. In the hospitality industry or any industry for that fact, time is of the essence and getting your point and objective across in a meaningful manner without confusion is a huge key to success.
As technology continues to speed through all industries our decisions and leadership abilities have to keep up as well!!!
Martin,
True, how many times do people IMS to each other in the course of a work day. Students need to develop the short succinct writing to help them professionally.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
