Blogging & Twittering

Obviously this first post has nothing to do with my interest in abolishing the death penalty but to our first assignment, so, with that in mind, here I go!

Blogging  represents both a widening and narrowing of news. According to the video "Blogs in Plain English" the approach to news in the 20th century was limited to specialists - in this case journalists - who decided what was news. In addition, news encompassed very broad topics and the watcher/reader/listener had no input. Blogging allows users to become the journalists and decide what news to share in topics that interest the blogger, hence making her/him the new specialist. According to the 2010 Horizon Report collaborative efforts such as blogging allow for commenting, sharing, and idea building in what I would call a constructivist learning environment. The article notes that in the workplace collaboration is highly desired and as such blogging's collaborative nature becomes an invaluable tool to foster collaboration among our students to prepare them for the "real world."

Twittering was always a strange thing to me and frankly still is! I have to admit that I would never have created a Twitter account if it was not a requirement. That said, much of what I commented on in terms of collaboration with blogging also applies to Twitter but in a much more tightly focused arena. The educational value of Twittering (and blogging) is that both take the learning environment out of the traditional learning environment and into a wider collaborative milieu in which students can respond synchronously and asynchronously as noted in the Horizon article, the online communication tools article, as well as the Tweets for Education videos. The video cited and example where, by using Twitter, a number of students collaborated on a story. Because of Twitter's 140 character limit, students had to keep their contributions tightly focused. I cite this because I believe it is central to the constructivist learning environment in that constructivist learning thrives on the very real notion that each member of the learning community is both a teacher and a learner. Study after study reveals that such learning is the most efficient and most rewarding. Twitter also allows for real time updates on courses, perhaps a band one is following, or crucial news events to name a few. Like blogging, Twitter allows sharing of ideas and content and as such promotes constructivist learning as well as the discovery of serendipitous learning moments that systems like Blackboard cannot because Blackboard takes place for the most part - if chat is disabled - in an asynchronous environment. Perhaps a better example of this "asynchronousness" would be WebCT - long may it rest in peace.

In both instances, the real value of blogging, Twittering, and other online tools provide a well rounded educational experience that moves away from what I would term "cultic." Yes I sense eyebrows raising at such a strange term. Allow me to explain please? I would argue that the old traditional classroom was a "cultic" environment in that it was something students participated in at certain times and in specific physical spaces. Think of the notion of mosque on Friday, synagogue on Saturday, and church on Sunday and I think you get the picture: you do these things at a certain time and place. Online learning environments allow and encourage learning to take place at all times possible and feasible which if you really think about it occurs all the time - even when we are fast asleep and dreaming. So it may be that on a Saturday night i have a burning question to ask or perhaps I have found an interest bit of news and I need to share it right then as opposed to waiting for 4th period History of Religion on Monday. I can share that idea as it has occurred at that moment. Obviously, the opposite holds true as well in that someone could tweet me with a question and thus collaboration once again occurs as does its necessary byproduct we call learning.

I chose a number of networks on Twitter partly because I want to see if my involvement in it will change my attitude about it. So the networks I chose reflect my own interests which again has been cited as important in all of the videos and readings. My networks include those for musicians as I am a keyboard player and singer and they include: Korg USA, Roland Corporation, and Kurzweil Music Systems. I am also a sleight of hand artist so I chose a few networks from the nefarious world of legerdemain. As a music listener I chose networks on Twitter devoted to The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Finally and most importantly as a human rights activist I chose The Death Penalty Information Center as it is the definitive clearinghouse for information on the death penalty as it is practiced nationally and globally.