26 ways of looking at Twitter: Three frameworks for integrating technology in education

Edward R. O’Neill, Ph.D. January 4, 2012

1. #title 26 Ways of Using Twitter for Teaching & Learning: Using 3 Frameworks & In 52 tweets. With apologies to Wallace Stevens. #52tweets


2. W. Stevens wrote a poem "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." '26 Ways of Using Twitter' doubles down on WS. In 52 tweets = WSx4 #52tweets


3. 52 tweets at 140 characters per tweet = 7,280 characters. By my reckoning, that's over 1,000 words--quite a short lecture! #52tweets


4. True confession: I once had a p/t job writing movie reviews in the form of SMS messages. Sometimes I wrote them as haikus. #52tweets


5. #problem Two professors come to you. One teaches a lit course, one socsci. They want to use twitter. What do you tell them? #52tweets


6. #assumptions Twitter can't "make" anyone learn. Nor can any tool. Using it? Trivial. #zerosupport Using it WELL? *Much* harder. #52tweets


7. Here's how NOT to apply technology to teaching: discover the perfect theory of learning, then "just" apply it. #yeahright #52tweets


8. You don't have infinite time. There are too many competing theories. Standards of proof vary. "Application" is non-trivial. #52tweets


9. #obstacle Intellectuals believe almost religiously in abstraction. And they are mostly unaware of this fact. #52tweets


10. Instead of abstract vs. concrete, practical arts are often inductive: they make an instance from a type. #objectoriented #52tweets


11. Using learning technology is less about applying theory to practice & more about cloning learning tools that already work. #52tweets


12. 3 frameworks for cloning learning tools: #framework1 who reads? who writes? #framework2 main tool functions #framework3 #Gagne #52tweets


13. #framework1 Who writes & who reads? Instructors, pupils, both? Stuart Hall called this #encoding & #decoding. #culturalstudies #52tweets


14. #framework1 The instructor writes & students read. Prototypical instance: the lecture. #prototype #52tweets


15. We know a lecture can be tweeted: I'm doing it now. #reflexive #meta #QED #52tweets


16. #application The instructor tweets the #lecture--which students must then assemble. #lit #socsci #52tweets


17. #framework1 Instructors & students alike all read the same thing. The prototypical instance is: the textbook. #prototype #52tweets


18. Students tweet quotes from the #textbook to map highlights. #lit Students analyze twitter topics & trends as behavior. #socsci #52tweets


19. #framework1 Students write & instructors read. The prototypical instance is: homework. #prototype #52tweets


20. #application The instructor tweets questions which the students reply to in further tweets. #homework #lit #socsci #convo #52tweets


21. #framework1 Students read & write. This used to be called "cheating" or "passing notes." Now it's called #collaboration. #52tweets


22. #application Students tweet backchannel discussion in class; the instructor pointedly ignores this. #passingnotes #lit #socsci #52tweets


23. Students & instructors alike discuss, inside & outside the classroom. The #socialclassroom has no walls. #lit #socsci #52tweets


24. #framework2 Gagne detailed nine 'moments' in the teaching-learning process. #referencebyincorporation #52tweets


25. #gagne01 Gain attention. Student interest: "Why does this matter? What are the consequences of NOT knowing this?" #52tweets


26. #gagne02 Focus on the learning goal. Student interest: "What will I learn to do & how will achievement be measured?" #52tweets


27. #gagne03 Recall prior knowledge. Student interest: "What do I already know? Tell me how I am halfway there." #motivation #52tweets


28. #gagne04 Demonstrate & model learning. Student: "What does this look like?" Teacher: "Here's what you'll do..." #52tweets


29. #gagne05 Provide guidance on the learning process. "What will help me to learn this?"/"Here are some 'pro tips.'" #52tweets


30. #gagne06 Provide opportunities for practice. "Can I try this myself?"/"Heck yes--try it yourself." #handson #52tweets


31. #gagne07 Give usable feedback. "How am I doing?"/"Here's where you can improve." #actionable #minimal #minimalistparadigm #52tweets


32. #gagne08 Assess performance. "How did I do?"/"Here's what you did well...and not so well." #bigpicture #positivesfirst #52tweets


33. #gagne09 Enhance learning transfer. "What can I do now that I could not do before?"/"Here's where you can go next." #52tweets


34. #gagne01 #gagne03 The instructor tweets a question before class. Students reply with their own relevant knowledge. #52tweets


35. #gagne02 #gagne04 #gagne01 The instructor tweets links to real examples of the kind of work students will do--maybe a rubric, too. #52tweets


36. #gagne05 Students tweet each other while they learn--to alert each other about obstacles & roadblocks. #p2p #52tweets


37. #gagne06 For small things, students can #practice on twitter. #thesisstatements Or link to online work-in-progress. #52tweets


38. #gagne07 Instructors can tweet general #feedback--useful to more than one student. "Are you using the semi-colon right?" #52tweets


39. #gagne08 Don't tweet student grades--or comments that imply grades! But instructors can tweet about general performance. #52tweets


40. #gagne09 Students tweet after each lesson on themes like "how I can apply what I learned" or "where I see this in the world." #52tweets


41. #framework3 Learning technology performs known functions: #communicative, #exemplary, #evidentiary, #documentary, #aesthetic. #52tweets


42. #framework3 #communicative Technology amplifies messages: the p.a. system, the blackboard, the overhead are #prototypes. #52tweets


43. Teachers & students tweet with course & topic hashtags to announce & discuss outside class. #communicative #socsci #lit #52tweets


44. #framework3 #exemplary Technology can model a set of relationships: the map on the wall, a model skeleton are #prototypes. #52tweets


45. #application For a course on social relationships, Twitter itself could model social relationships. #exemplary #socsci #52tweets


46. #framework3 #evidentiary Technology can provide a data set to analyze: data sets, microscope slides are #prototypes. #52tweets


47. #evidentiary Twitter is the data set. Students research social issues using Twitter as a body of evidence. #socsci #52tweets


48. #framework3 #documentary Technology can record & document the learning process: recordings of lectures. #prototypes #52tweets


49. #framework3 #aesthetic Technology can condense multiple layers of meaning: a painting, novel or film are #prototypes. #52tweets


50. #aesthetic Twitter is an aesthetic platform. It's the logical place for the Future of the Epistolary Novel. #lit #52tweets


51. #concluding #learningtransfer Stanislavski invented a method for actors: an end to "inspiration." Teachers need the same. #52tweets


52. #concluding The blackboard & the lecture are already "learning technologies." Cloning these objects is a "method" for #edtech. #52tweets

26 ways of looking at Twitter: Three frameworks for integrating technology in education

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