Carol Cooper-Taylor
- Largely basic intro – importance of setting up own profile, change background, icon, etc.
- Interesting because presented via Elluminate. A camera is also pointing at the group, but not much use made of the possibilities of interactivity, more of a traditional presentation.
- Connexions Directory. Via Jane CL4 – email to be added
- Interest areas found via the ‘search function’.
- Terry Freedman – amazing web 2.0 projects, Free book.
- Visible Tweets
Anthony McNeil
- Twitter – not dead – but “has a chesty cough”, ties into ‘VLE is dead’ debate of 2009… Ties into questions of pedagogy – we’re enthralled to charisma of social media – on social constructivist theory – need to be equally critical of these tool. Twitter (mojo_girl) – wants to see 1 x explanation of how used well, rather than 300 badly with n9o example
- Learn Higher – deliverables- evaluation of Twitter in HE – online from SCRIBD – staff/students guides & evaluation from May 2010
- Why Twitter above other social media – the most on-trend technology – convergence of social networking, mobile and micro-content… Interested in backchannel expereince at conferences wanted to pass on, and increase use
- Staff keen, student indifference/hostility…, another nail in coffin of ‘digital natives’ – embracing older ones (Prenski) – not forcing tutors to change practices… Engineering – a bad idea – social societies – appropriate, but doesn’t want to be forced for collaborative learning…
- Students didn’t engage with the activities that had been created, etc…
- Create account for module, and enc students to follow it, created a hashtag, so students can share/participate – choice, and a group on TweepML *appropriate in 2009. Can follow others in the group… Tied in with the VLE… Scheduled weekly activities… Students did Tweet, but only 104 over semester… early tweets about getting to grips with the technology. Facebook – position selves as needy/supportive, etc… on Twitter – setting themselves up as non-tech-savvy! Some quick tweets, but also good resource sharing *more than anywhere else/last year, but also some engagement with tasks… Certain amount of peer acknowledgement. Twit IQ – shows threaded interaction… Problems & queries – e.g. accessing online resources.
- Was it a success? In part, it was, module leader – good for ice breaking and social bonding in early weeks, but Tony less certain, most tweets in first couple of weeks, so numbers drop off… , 3 didn’t tweet, only 12 tweeted in double figure…
- Most students didn’t have a Twitter account prior to joining the module (12/16 who completed) – unsurprising, but very few who were positive about it… more negative views 0 FB – more apps, self0indulgent, boring compared to MySpace/FB, mostly indifference, just another social networking site, felt it was a celeb marketing tool… Great example of students using Twitter as a PLN, get feedback/learning/networking, etc. Early joiners then don’t know quite what to do with it… Twitter wasn’t v. social networky, but an extension of broadcast media culture… e.g. radio Djs. Had to think about it, not second nature… Students using Facebook as well – e.g. Facebook groups to organise social activities, etc. Twitter use not widespread amongst Kingston students, maybe 25% max, Fabebook the dominant Soc Nwk, they don’t participate, they broadcast, FB – more functionality… Twitter not accepted as curricular and don’t really use offline… Twitter marginal to HE, t;s dead there… [Lindsaydavies]
- Numbers dropped off, but how much tied in with what is going on with the class, not v. integrated into the module… How much was there a culture in the university? Done many projects with many other tools, but this is the only one that has bombed… School – single Twitter account, students can share what they are doing, and getting feedback from others, etc. Students join in – too much information? But only following, e.g. 18 other people, not interesting enough…
- Feeling – Twitter – status updates, no relationship… Facebook, can ‘like’, etc…. Useful to Tweet back into it… Depends on the groups you’re interacting with…
digital divide – we’re comfortable with being online, etc – whereas others are uncomfortable with sharing info… Others don’t understand that we are rounded people … ?! And that’s ok. Dig div – about access – biggest harrier – don’t see the point… Beyond that tipping point… They’re not thinking about prof ids – more online for social purposes. Changing how much we do/how online – changing things… Positioning that it’s not real life – it is!!!
Following 
“With the rise of Web 2.0 social media has exploded on the internet. It permeates almost every aspect of your internet experience. The biggest question here is how can we utilize social media to enhance our online and offline lives? I have always been interested in how social media can help teachers and students achieve more value and enjoy a greater, more interactive learning experience. Twitter, Facebook, and FriendFeed are just a few of the most popular social sites out there. The need for collaboration in the classroom and, indeed the real world work environment is and has been increasing at an exponential rate. In looking at the wide range of uses for these and other sites, two questions come to mind. Are we able to use these applications as tools for learning? What is the future of social media in an educational environment? For brevity’s sake, we will focus on three distinct applications of web 2.0, Delicious, Twitter and the new Google Wave. These will be used as an outline to show how social media can and is being used in the classroom.”
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