Twitter

Twitter is a micro-blogging concept, connecting people around the country and the globe. With 140 characters at your disposal, some would argue that at least a little thought needs to go into the messages. Twitter allows you to link to websites, images and video, making it a truly multimedia application.

Micro-blogging is a form of multi-media blogging where users can send short text updates, photos or audio clips. You can publish messages to be viewed by anyone or to a restricted audience you have identified. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means including SMS, the web, email or third party applications.

Micro-blogging on Wikipedia offers further explanation and links.

Individual users decide whether Twitter is used socially, professionally or with students. Users can ‘follow’ and be followed by whomever they choose. With the ability to have some control over audience and total control over content, the user builds a ‘social network’ to suit their needs.

Ways to use Twitter:

• Questioning and discussion – with teachers, lecturers, classmates. Twitter allows the user to continue the conversation beyond formal discussion time, both during and after class,
• Track a pro - open a dialogue with a professional or expert for a chosen career or to support inquiry learning.
• Writing together - explore collaborative writing asynchronously. Projecting a mood or picturing a scene for the reader within 140 characters can be a real challenge.
• Note taking/note making – use Twitter to make notes and jottings during class or share the fruits of your research.
• Linking- Twitter makes it easy to share useful websites and videos to support learning.
• Hashtags- using hashtags makes it very easy to share and discover notes, links, comments and suggestions.
• Global dialogue - you don’t have to limit your project collaboration or class discussion to the students in your class. Open up the dialogue to students from around the world.

Using Twitter with students is not without its challenges. The open nature of Twitter means there is potential for un-moderated communication between students and the wider community. Twitter identifies 13 as an appropriate age for Twittering.

Terry Freedman discusses some of the issues around student use.

Collaborative writing case study

Many Voices is a collaborative writing project designed by George Mayo, an 8th grade English teacher at Silver Spring International Middle School in Montgomery County, Maryland, He created a Twitter account and invited his students, and students from around the world, to add a sentence or two to the ongoing story through tweets. Mayo then used Lulu to publish the resulting story for his students.

Manyvoices Wiki offers a snapshot of the story produced and more current projects.

Getting Started

• Go to Twitter and click the ‘sign up’ button.
• Follow the onscreen prompts as Screenshot 1 shows, inputting ‘Full name’, ‘username’ and creating a password.
• Use the ‘find friends’ tab at the top to search twitter as Screenshot 2 shows, begin building your network. Users can either Browse for friends, Find friends using Gmail, Yahoo, AOL or Linkedin accounts, invite new people, or search for them on twitter.
• Screenshot 3 shows the layout of your homepage. You can write your tweets in the ‘what’s happening’ box, reply to a friend or re-tweet something they have said. It is also possible to add urls to a tweet.
• Screenshot 4 demonstrates how #ulearn10 has been typed into the search function on the right hand side and now all tweets that contain this hashtag can be viewed. You can include the hashtag in your own tweet and have it appear in the search.

There are several applications available that allow users to make more efficient use of twitter. Some of the most commonly used are listed below:

Tweetdeck – a multi platform application for managing a twitter account.

Twirl - a social software desktop client.

Twitterbar– a Firefox add-on, so users can Tweet from their browser.

Twitterrific – a MAC interface for Twitter.

Twitteroo- desktop updating for PC users

Todays Meet - encourage the room to use the live stream to make comments, ask questions, and use that feedback to tailor your presentation, sharpen your points, and address audience needs.

Other suggested applications