Searching for "learning spaces"

Instructional Design

7 Things You Should Know About Developments in Instructional Design

http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-know-about-developments-instructional-design

Please read the entire EducCause article here: eli7120

discussion of IMS with faculty:

  • pedagogical theories
  • learning outcome
  • design activities
  • students’ multimedia assignments, which lead to online resources
  • collaboration with other departments for the students projects
  • moving the class to online environment (even if kept hybrid)

What is it?

the complexity of the learning environment is turning instructional design into a more dynamic activity, responding to changing educational models and expectations. Flipped classrooms, makerspaces, and competency-based learning are changing how instructors work with students, how students work with course content, and how mastery is verified. Mobile computing, cloud computing, and data-rich repositories have altered ideas about where and how learning takes place.

How does it work?

One consequence of these changes is that designers can find themselves filling a variety of roles. Today’s instructional designer might work with subject-matter experts, coders, graphic designers, and others. Moreover, the work of an instructional designer increasingly continues throughout the duration of a course rather than taking place upfront.

Who’s doing it?

The responsibility for designing instruction traditionally fell to the instructor of a course, and in many cases it continues to do so. Given the expanding role and landscape of technology—as well as the growing body of knowledge about learning and about educational activities and assessments— dedicated instructional designers are increasingly common and often take a stronger role.

Why is it significant?

The focus on student-centered learning, for example, has spurred the creation of complex integrated learning environments that comprise multiple instructional modules. Competency-based learning allows students to progress at their own pace and finish assignments, courses, and degree plans as time and skills permit. Data provided by analytics systems can help instructional designers predict which pedagogical approaches might be most effective and tailor learning experiences accordingly. The use of mobile learning continues to grow, enabling new kinds of learning experiences.

What are the downsides?

Given the range of competencies needed for the position, finding and hiring instructional designers who fit well into particular institutional cultures can be challenging to the extent that instructors hand over greater amounts of the design process to instructional designers, some of those instructors will feel that they are giving up control, which, in some cases, might appear to be simply the latest threat to faculty authority and autonomy. My note: and this is why SCSU Academic Technology is lead by faculty not IT staff. 

Where is it going?

In some contexts, instructional designers might work more directly with students, teaching them lifelong learning skills. Students might begin coursework by choosing from a menu of options, creating their own path through content, making choices about learning options, being more hands-on, and selecting best approaches for demonstrating mastery. Educational models that feature adaptive and personalized learning will increasingly be a focus of instructional design. My note: SCSU CETL does not understand instructional design tendencies AT ALL. Instead of grooming faculty to assume the the leadership role and fill out the demand for instructional design, it isolates and downgrades (keeping traditional and old-fashioned) instructional design to basic tasks of technicalities done by IT staff.

What are the implications for teaching and learning?

By helping align educational activities with a growing understanding of the conditions,
tools, and techniques that enable better learning, instructional designers can help higher education take full advantage of new and emerging models of education. Instructional
designers bring a cross-disciplinary approach to their work, showing faculty how learning activities used in particular subject areas might be effective in others. In this way, instructional
designers can cultivate a measure of consistency across courses and disciplines in how educational strategies and techniques are incorporated. Designers can also facilitate the
creation of inclusive learning environments that offer choices to students with varying strengths and preferences.

More on instructional design in this IMS blog:

https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2014/10/13/instructional-design/

MakerSpace in the library

Library Makerspaces: From Dream to Reality

Instructor: Melissa Robinson

Dates: April 6 to May 1st, 2015

Credits: 1.5 CEUs

Price: $175

http://libraryjuiceacademy.com/114-makerspaces.php

Designing a makerspace for your library is an ambitious project that requires significant staff time and energy. The economic, educational and inspirational rewards for your community and your library, however, will make it all worthwhile. This class will make the task of starting a makerspace less daunting by taking librarians step by step through the planning process. Using readings, online resources, discussions and hands-on exercises, participants will create a plan to bring a makerspace or maker activities to their libraries. Topics covered will include tools, programs, space, funding, partnerships and community outreach. This is a unique opportunity to learn in depth about one public library’s experience creating a fully-functioning makerspace, while also exploring other models for engaging libraries in the maker movement.

Melissa S. Robinson is the Senior Branch Librarian at the Peabody Institute Library’s West Branch in Peabody, Massachusetts. Melissa has over twelve years of experience in public libraries. She has a BA in political science from Merrimack College, a graduate certificate in Women in Politics and Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a MLIS from Southern Connecticut State University. She is the co-author of Transforming Libraries, Building Communities (Scarecrow Press, 2013).

Read an interview with Melissa about this class:

http://libraryjuiceacademy.com/news/?p=733

Course Structure

This is an online class that is taught asynchronously, meaning that participants do the work on their own time as their schedules allow. The class does not meet together at any particular times, although the instructor may set up optional sychronous chat sessions. Instruction includes readings and assignments in one-week segments. Class participation is in an online forum environment.

Payment Info

You can register in this course through the first week of instruction. The “Register” button on the website goes to our credit card payment gateway, which may be used with personal or institutional credit cards. (Be sure to use the appropriate billing address). If your institution wants to pay using a purchase order, please contact us to make arrangements.

==============================

Making, Collaboration, and Community: fostering lifelong learning and innovation in a library makerspace
Tuesday, April 7, 2015 10AM-11:30AM PDT
Registration link: http://www.cla-net.org/?855

Travis Good will share insights garnered from having visited different makerspaces and Maker Faires across the country. He will explain why “making” is fundamentally important, what its affecting and why libraries are natural place to house makerspaces. Uyen Tran will discuss how without funding, she was able to turn a study room with two 3D printers into a simple makerspace that is funded and supported by the community. She will also provide strategies for working with community partners to provide free and innovative maker programs and creating a low cost/no cost library maker environment. Resources and programming ideas will also be provided for libraries with varying budgets and staffing. Upon completing this webinar, every attendee should be able to start implementing “maker” programs at their library.

3D printing, drones and wearable

CoSN 2015: The Emerging Tech That’s Transforming K–12’s Horizon

One year or less (2015–2016):

  • BYOD
  • Cloud computing
  • Makerspaces
  • Mobile learning

Two to three years (2017–2018):

  • 3D printing/rapid prototyping
  • Adaptive learning technologies
  • Information visualization
  • Learning analytics

Four to five years (2019–2020):

  • Badges/Microcredit
  • Drones
  • Visual data analysis
  • Wearable technology

The NMC’s interim K–12 Horizon Report can be downloaded for free.

The 6 Technologies That Will Change the Face of Education

Will students be wearing their tech in virtual classrooms in five years? Wearable devices, adaptive technologies, and the Internet of Things are just some of the new tech researchers say is shaping the near future of higher education.

In 1 Year or Less: BYOD and the flipped classroom.

“Employers and higher education institutions are finding that when given the opportunity to choose their device, users are saved from the effort and time needed to get accustomed to new devices and can therefore accomplish tasks with more ease and efficiency.”

“Flipped learning is seen as especially suited for higher education because the rearranging of class time gives students in large introductory lecture courses more opportunity to engage and interact with their peers.”

In 2-3 Years: Makerspaces and wearable devices.

Makerspaces have the “benefit of engaging learners in creative, higher-order problem solving through hands-on design, construction and iteration.”

“Wearable technology is poised to see significant growth in the coming years, spurring experimentation in higher education because the demand for wearables is seen to be coming in large part from college-aged students.”

In 4-5 Years: Adaptive technologies and the Internet of Things.

“Adaptive technology is seen as a means to break free of a “one-size-fits-all” approach to education and is suited well for online and hybrid learning environments, “where student activities are conducted virtually and can be monitored by software and tracking applications.”

The Internet of Things pushes information to learners from their surroundings. “For instance, a learner exploring a city with a rich historical past can explore their environment through an architectural, political, or biological lens, depending on how the surroundings are equipped.”

From the NMC Horizon Report 2015: Higher Education Edition

http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2015/02/11/The-6-Technologies-That-Will-Change-the-Face-of-Education.aspx?Page=1

Games in the library

Games in the library

bibliography and research

http://scottnicholson.com/pubs/index.html

Playing in the Past: A History of Games, Toys, and Puzzles in North American Libraries
Author(s): Scott Nicholson
Source: The Library Quarterly, Vol. 83, No. 4 (October 2013), pp. 341-361
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/671913

demonstrate the different ways in which libraries have used games, toys, and puzzles over the last 150 years through bothcollections and services
p, 342 Defining games –
p. 348 Games as the Subject of Collections\
p. 350A significant shift in academic libraries is a focus on providing services to students. Since agrowing number of academic publications both current issues and back volumes

are ac-cessible online through library subscriptions, the physical space of academic libraries is notneeded for collections of periodicals. The concept of the “learning commons”has become
popular on US campuses in the past decade; it combines traditional library resources and
the availability of library staff members with group work spaces, computer access and assis-
tance, and writing assistance to provide one place where students can get assistance with
course work. In addition, many of these learning commons also include cafes, social spaces,
and other support of the social lives of students, and it is in this role that academic libraries
provide access to collections of games.

p. 357 Another upcoming area of gaming in libraries is gamification. Gamification is the application of game design elements to a nongame setting ðDeterding et al. 2011Þ.

————————————-

Nicholson, S. (2013, June). Exploring Gamification Techniques for Classroom Management. Paper Presented at Games+Learning+Society 9.0, Madison, WI

The concept of meaningful gamification is that the primary use of game layers is not to provide
external rewards, but rather to help participants find a deeper connection to the underyling topic

——————————-

 

More on games in education in this blog

https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/?s=games

https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/?s=gaming

https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/?s=gamification

30+ QR Code Resources

30+ QR Code Resources

http://www.themobilenative.org/2014/05/30-qr-code-resources.html

1. A Dummies Guide to QR Codes
2. QR Code Implementation Guide
3. Using QR Codes in the Classroom
4. QR Code Scavenger Hunt- Part Deux
5. QR Code Quest
6. Transliteracy- QR Codes and Art
7. QR Codes Help Paint a Deeper Picture Behind Art
8. Interactive Physical Education QR Skill Posters
9. QR Codes-Lesson and Resources
10. QR Codes in Higher Education
11. QR Treasure Hunt Generator
12. 40 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom
13. QR Code Lessons and Activities
14. All About QR Codes in Your Classroom
15. 44 QR Code Resources for Teaching and Learning
16. Your Quick-Guide to Using QR Codes in Education
17. Learning in Hand #25: QR Codes
18. Reflection Facilitated by QR Codes
19. Crazy for QR Codes
20. 18 Innovative Uses of QR Codes
21. How QR Codes In the Classroom Can Empower Student Voice
22. 7 Fun Ways to Use QR Codes in Education
23. 3 Fun Ways to Use QR Codes for Language Learning
24. 51 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes to Support Learning
25. QR Codes and Student Centered Learning
26. QR Code Roundup
27. QR Codes Explained and Ideas for Classroom Use
28. How to Incorporate QR Codes in the Classroom
29. QR Codes in the Classroom
30. QR Codes for Differentiated Instruction
31. Twelve Ideas for Teaching with QR Codes
32. Have You Started Using QR Codes in Your Classroom Yet?
33. Cybraryman’s QR Code Page
34. QR Codes in Education- Livebinder by Steven Anderson

Library; what should be…

Amidst discussions at LRS and forthcoming strategic planning –

The LinkedIn Higher Education Teaching and Learning group has a discussion started:

“The library as space is becoming more important, even as students are able to log on to databases from wherever.”

based on the the article

Spikes, Stacks, and Spaces

from Inside Higher Ed blog: https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/spikes-stacks-and-spaces


  • Julie Steward
    Julie

    Julie Steward

    Instructional Designer

    University libraries are increasingly the ONLY place on campus that has quiet spaces, since cell-phone conversations are ubiquitous. I think a professional shushher would be a nice touch to any library. Either that, or zero-talking floors and okay-with-some-noise-floors alternating.

  • Andrea KiralyAndrea

    Andrea Kiraly

    Information Specialist, Visiting Lecturer at University of Szeged

    Today university/academic libraries have “all-inclusive services” and they are places for social life, too. In my point of view it is very important for libraries to be always ready for changes, to be regenerative, and to find new ways including the needs of next (Y, Z?) generation. A library is a third place, “a place to be”. And study. With librarians behind the scenes.

    Russ B. likes this

  • Russ BarclayRuss

    Russ Barclay

    Visiting Professor at Campbellsville University

    I note many university libraries have become bistros complete with internet access and quiet rooms for students and student teams to meet and work.

    …And, of course, there are books and databases. Whether students attend to those assets is an open question for me.

  • Sharon BlantonSharon

    Sharon Blanton

    Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Hawaii Pacific University

    I had the opportunity to spend some time in a local high school library yesterday. It was a hub of activity with a class in session, students browsing stacks, small group activities, and numerous meetings. I thought it was great to see so many students collaborating and having fun. The students were very engaged.

    Stephen L. likes this

  • Laura GabigerLaura

    Laura Gabiger

    Professor at Johnson & Wales University

    Top Contributor

    It seems important that Matt Reed mentions both the group study areas and the individual quiet spaces in a library. In the past, university libraries tended to be places for individual quiet work. But as Russ and Sharon mention, students have meetings in libraries to work on group activities. If we pay attention to developments in higher education, student work will be increasingly collaborative rather than individual, interdisciplinary rather than narrowly focused in one disciplinary area. In the USA we can find these values set forth in places such as the AAC&U list of high-impact practices, where collaborative assignments and projects are recommended:http://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/hip_tables.pdf

    Some experts recommend that the most valuable things students can learn to do is work on problem-solving with other people who come from diverse backgrounds.

    Libraries may need less space for stacks as printed books and periodicals are replaced with digital storage, but the need for meeting rooms and collaborative study areas may increase. And of course a coffee shop on the premises definitely helps.

    Stephen L. likes this

  • Dr..Myrna FernandoDr..Myrna

    Dr..Myrna Fernando

    Professor 1 at Technological University of the Philippines

    What is the bearing of a library as a Learning Resource Center if not significant to the students. I think it speaks so much on the learning impact not only by the students together with the faculty. This is also the reason why the area of Library is included in institutional/programs accreditation.

50 Shades of Mobile

50 Shades of Mobile

http://www.themobilenative.org/2012/09/50-shades-of-mobile.html

Smart phones (MLDs)
1.   SMCS Mobile Learning Technology
2.   The Mobile Learning Portal
3.   Learning in Hand
4.   Cybrary Man’s Mobile Learning Page
5.   100 Mobile Tools for Teachers
6.   Breaking the Cell Phone Ban
7.   Go Mobile 4 Learning
8.  Tool for Learning or Distraction?
9.  50+ Tips and Resources
10. Learning2Go
iPads
11. iPad Apps Separated by Subject Area
12. iPad/iPod Resources
13. 102 Interesting Ways to Use iPads in the Classroom
14. Middle School iPad Apps
15. iPads in Education Wiki
16. Mobile Learning Integration
17. Apps for Special Needs
18. 50 Resources for iPad use in the Classroom
19. iPad in Education Resources Worth Exploring
20. 39 Sites for Using iPads in the Classroom
21. 32 iPad Tips and Tricks
22. i Educational Apps Review
23. iSchool Initiative
Blogs
24. Cell phones in Learning
25. The Mobile Native
26. The Mobile Learner
27. Going Mobile
28. Mobile Learning
29. mLearnopedia
30. Mobile ESL
31. Learning in Hand
32. Ubiquitous Thoughts
33. m-learning is good
34. The Mobile Learning Edge
35. @Ignatia Webs
36. K-12 Mobile Learning
37. Mobile Learning 21
38. Float Learning
39. mLearning Trends
40. mLearning: Beyond the Digital Divide
41. The Innovative Educator
42. The m-Learning Revolution
43. Learnlets
BYOD/BYOT
44. BYOD in the 21st Century
45. A New Vision for Mobile
46. BYOD Toolbox
47. BYOD “Food For Thought”
Videos
48. GoKnow Mobile Learning Videos
49. Thoughts on the State of Mobile Learning
50. Why Mobile Learning

The Teacher’s Guide To Twitter

The Teacher’s Guide To Twitter

 http://www.edudemic.com/guides/guide-to-twitter/

Create, Don’t Just Consume
Connect and Network
Share Your Resources

Guide To Education-Oriented Twitter Hashtags

Guide To Education-Oriented Twitter Hashtags
http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/education-twitter-hashtags-730×1805.jpg

Getting Connected

With these tips and tools, you’ll be able to get connected with the people that matter most to you on Twitter.

  1. Follow experts: Get useful information from other experts in your field.
  2. Twitterholic: With Twitterholic, you’ll be able to find the most popular users on Twitter.
  3. Make friends with your competition: It may seem counterintuitive, but connecting with your competition can help keep you in the know and well networked.
  4. Twitter Fan Wiki: Find a directory and more in this wiki.
  5. Don’t follow too many new people at once: Follow too many people without reciprocation, and you’ll come off as a spammer.
  6. TwitterPacks: Check out this tool to locate people according to their interest group.
  7. WeFollow: Find people by industry or hobby using WeFollow.
  8. Follow back: When you discover new followers, be sure to follow them back if they are interesting or offer value to you.
  9. Keep your follow ratio balanced: Follow too many people without being followed back, and you will seem spammy, but if you have lots of followers that you don’t follow back, you’ll come off as snobby.
  10. Localtweeps: You can use this tool to filter tweets by zip code.
  11. Participate in Twitter events: Be a part of #followfriday, #musicmonday, and similar events to be a part of the community.
  12. Geofollow: Search for others in your location with this site.
  13. Twitterel: With Twitterel, you can find users with common interests.
  14. Twinfluence: Use Twinfluence to discover users with good reach, velocity, and social capital.
  15. Twellow: Use Twellow to find Twitter users based on category.
  16. Twitter Snipe: Twitter Snipe will auto follow users based on your niche.
  17. Talk to people about their interests: Show that you’re human by discussing things that are important to others.
  18. Follow your followers’ followers: Check out the follow lists of people you find interesting and connect with them.
  19. Be patient: Amassing Twitter followers doesn’t happen overnight. Be patient, and you’ll build a group of valuable followers.

Search

Put Twitter’s massive amounts of information to work by using these search tips and tools.

  1. Twitority: This search engine offers results based on Twitter users with authority.
  2. TwitterLocal: Search for tweets around a specific area with the help of this tool.
  3. Use keyword tricks: Take advantage of the advanced search option on Twitter.
  4. Use quotation marks: If you’re looking for a specific term, put it in quotation marks to get better results.
  5. Twithority: With Twithority, you’ll find Twitter search results with authority.
  6. Use hashtags: If you come across a useful hashtag, click on it to see what else you’ll find.
  7. Subscribe: Keep up with useful keywords and hashtags by setting up an RSS subscription for them.
  8. Pay attention to trends: Stay on top of the latest in your field by seeking out and participating in trending topics. For instance, students enrolled in political science degree programs may want to follow trending topics related to upcoming local and state elections.
  9. Retweetist: Retweetist shares popular trends, topics, and people using retweets on Twitter.
  10. Tweet Volume: With this tool, you can find out if your keywords are popular on Twitter or not.
  11. Tweetmeme: Check out Tweetmeme to learn about retweeting stats for articles on Twitter.
  12. Twitt(url)y: Find out about hot news with this tool that sorts URLs by how frequently they are mentioned in tweets.
  13. Twackle: With this aggregator, you’ll be able to find news and more in a single destination.
  14. Twitter Sniffer for Brands: Twitter Sniffer makes it easy for you to keep track of conversations about you on Twitter.
  15. Twuoted: Find popular quotes with this site that follows the #quote hashtag.
  16. Tweet Scan: Follow Twitter conversations by keyword and category using Tweet Scan.
  17. Monitter: Stay on top of 3 keywords at once with this keyword search tool.
  18. Pay attention to timing: Monitor the most popular hours for your Twitter followers, then concentrate your most important messages in those hours for more effective tweeting.

Organization

With these tips and tools, you can keep all of your information on Twitter well organized.

  1. Use a tool to manage Twitter: Don’t let your research get lost-use a tool to organize everything.
  2. Tweetdeck: Make use of this tool to organize tweets from various groups into easy to manage categories.
  3. Don’t try to read everything: You will be on Twitter all day and all night if you try to read every single tweet from your followers-just drop in when you can.
  4. My Tweeple: This tool will help you organize the people you’re following.
  5. Tweetree: See your Twitter stream in a tree with organized conversations using Tweetree.
  6. Make good use of alert tools: Make sure you’re not missing good conversations by setting up alerts that will tell you when friends and other Twitter users discuss keywords you’re interested in.
  7. Tweet Clouds: Analyze your keyword usage with this tool.
  8. Twitterator: Monitor groups of people while staying organized with the help of this script.

Authority Building

Follow these tips and use these tools in order to establish yourself as an authority in your field.

  1. Own your brand: Even if you don’t want to use your real name on Twitter, at least claim it so that no one else can use it against you.
  2. Be retweetable: Share tweets that others will want to retweet.
  3. Use popular tweets as blog posts: If you share a site or bit of information that turns out to be very popular, use it as a jumping off point for a blog post.
  4. Use your real name as your Twitter name: Be more personal and authoritative by using your real name.
  5. Respond: Don’t just sit in your ivory tower-talk back to the people who want to engage with you.
  6. Share your credentials: Let people know why you’re an expert in your field.
  7. Shake things up: Offer a good variety in your stream of links, blog posts, retweets, responses, and questions.
  8. Just don’t spam: Don’t do it-no one likes it, and it won’t be tolerated.
  9. Share information: Gain a reputation as an expert by sharing helpful links, resources, and more.
  10. Be sincere: Be honest and considerate in your tweets and replies.
  11. Find out authoritative keywords: See which keywords the authorities in your niche are using.
  12. Discuss what’s hot: Share your opinions and resources on what’s currently moving on Twitter.
  13. Don’t go crazy with links: Avoid using your Twitter account just to post links to your blog.
  14. Point out interesting information: Don’t just talk about yourself, discuss what’s happening in your field.
  15. Follow authorative accounts: Populate your Twitter neighborhood with people who have authority.
  16. Promote your Twitter URL: Share your Twitter name on your email, blog, Facebook, and other locations online so people can find you.
  17. Slow down: Don’t clog up your followers’ Twitter screens-keep your Tweets relevant and interesting, not inane and constant.
  18. Don’t always talk about yourself: Talk about more than just your own agenda.
  19. Be helpful: Spread goodwill by answering questions, introducing others, and offering recommendations.
  20. Reply to others: Get involved with the people you follow and engage in the Twitter conversation with replies.
  21. Show your personality: Show off the person behind the brand on Twitter.
  22. Use keywords: Use keywords that are important to your field to attract followers.

Getting Value

Follow these tips to make sure you’re getting value out of your Twitter experience.

  1. Networking: Meet offline with others in your field to get great value out of Twitter.
  2. Be useful: Give advice, resources, and more.
  3. Fill out your bio: Make sure people know where to go to find more information about you.
  4. Use Twitter on your blog: Keep your blog updated up to the minute with Twitter.
  5. Stop abuse in its tracks: Use Twitter to find out who is badmouthing you, and use action to stop it.
  6. Connect with complementary businesses: Find value in Twitter by getting connected with others that can support your business or niche.
  7. Enjoy ambient knowledge: With Twitter, you’ll be able to stay on top of news in your field around the clock.
  8. Listen: Just listen, and you’ll find interesting and useful information.
  9. Promote events: Use Twitter to promote live and virtual events like seminars, sales, and more.
  10. Ask for help: Get instant feedback by asking for help on Twitter.
  11. Meet your customers: Use Twitter as a way to interact with your customers, whether through the service or in real life.
  12. Listen to your critics: Find out what people are saying about you, then respond to it and act on it.

How To Connect With Students On Twitter

  1. Don’t require that students follow your account.
  2. Commit to posting at regular intervals. 
  3. Vary the time of day of the posts.
  4. Post links to content that is user friendly.
  5. Know your audience’s interests. 
  6. Don’t just retweet, generate original links. 
  7. Suggest people, organizations or magazines to follow.
  8. Be personal. 
  9. … yet avoid the overly personal comments. 

Twitter Rules Every Teacher Should Know

Rule #3

If you’re adding the Twitter logo to some marketing materials, here’s how to properly format it all. Same goes if you’re just adding in the Twitter Bird to other materials. Useful to know.

twitter advertising guidelines

Rule #4

Always capitalize the T in Twitter and Tweet. Seriously. That’s a little-known rule that basically everyone doesn’t follow but it’s worth trying to remember!

A Useful Twitter Cheat Sheet

A Useful Twitter Cheat Sheet

Twitter Tips For Students and Teachers

See Also: A Visual Guide To Twitter For Beginners

  1. Actually complete your bio. You’ll get more mileage out of your Twitter account if you actually create a profile that says something about you, offering potential followers information about your interests, professional or otherwise.
  2. Learn the basics. Learn the basic terminology for Twitter and the major functions it can perform by doing a little reading on helpful social media blogs beforehand. You’ll thank yourself later.
  3. Get some style. Before you send out your first tweet, decide what kind of tweeter you want to be. The London School of Economics and Political Science offers up three major styles here so you can learn more about the subject.
  4. Learn from others. One of the best ways to learn how to use Twitter is to spend some time seeing how others have set up and been using their accounts. Luckily, there are tons of other academics on Twitter to learn from.
  5. Don’t be mean. The Internet is full of people who are all too happy to say some pretty harsh things, but just because they’re incredibly tactless doesn’t mean you have to be. Never say anything on Twitter you wouldn’t want people to find out about, or wouldn’t say in any other situation. If people are hassling you, ignore them and move on.
  6. Announce that you’ll be joining a hashtag chat or conference. If you’re going to be tweeting more than usual, let your followers know in advance so they can choose to tune out if they’re not interested in your live tweeting or chatting.
  7. Actually respond in a reasonable amount of time. If someone asks you a question or directs a tweet your way, respond as soon as you can, just like with email or any other digital communication, especially if you’re using Twitter in your courses.
  8. Be gracious and say thank you. A little bit of gratitude goes a long way on Twitter. If someone helps you out or shares your research, don’t forget to say thanks.
  9. Make mistakes. No one is perfect, and if you’re new to Twitter you’re probably going to have a few gaffes along the way as you learn the ropes. That’s OK! Don’t let it slow your enthusiasm for using the social site.
  10. Start your own hashtag chat. Twitter chats have exploded in popularity in recent months, so get in on the trend while the getting’s good. Start your own chat on an academic topic, or chime in on other bigger existing chats for a chance to network.
  11. Find and use some hashtags. You’ll make it easier for others to find your tweets if you add a few relevant hashtags here and there.
  12. Do ‘Follow Friday’. Every Friday, Twitter explodes with suggestions on who to follow. Offer up your own and you may just end up in someone else’s suggestions.
  13. Share the stuff you’re reading. Reading a story on a site like Edudemic? Found an amazing article in pop-science about your research field? Share it! If it’s interesting, it’ll probably get retweeted and passed around, and you might just interest a student or two to boot.
  14. Reach out and connect with someone. Not everyone you connect with on Twitter has to be in your field or even in academia. In fact, you might enrich your research and your professional life by reaching out to other fields and professions.
  15. Do some backchannel talks. Whether you have students post to Twitter during class or ask them to share comments during a presentation, these backchannel talks can help facilitate conversation and provide a record of a shared learning experience.
  16. Create your own classroom hashtag. One way to keep classroom tweets organized is by having a shared hashtag that all students use. Just make sure no one else is using it!
  17. Connect Twitter to Moodle or Blackboard. You can help push students to interact using Twitter by adding a Twitter widget to your Blackboard or Moodle site for the class. Follow the instructions here to get started.
  18. Don’t mandate your students follow you on Twitter. Don’t force students to follow you on Twitter unless it’s part of the course. Let them decide to follow or not.
  19. Be happy (see #5 above). You don’t have to be super serious on Twitter to earn students’ respect. In fact, loosening up could just help improve your rapport with your students.
  20. Live-tweet a conference or event (see #6). Share your conference-going experience by tweeting updates about it throughout the day to your followers.
  21. Share some of your lesson plans. Educators and academics can come together to share and collaborate on lesson plans quite easily using Twitter.
  22. Collaborate with other teachers / parents / students. If you find you have similar interests with another academic, use Twitter to work together on research ideas, classroom solutions, and other topics.
  23. Collaborate with other classrooms in your school, district, or another country.Why work alone when you can connect with other college classrooms? That’s just what many college classes are doing these days.
  24. Host reading discussions. Holding a reading discussion over Twitter gives everyone a chance to chime in, even shy students who might not otherwise speak up.
  25. Actually use Twitter for writing assignments. Want to teach your students the art of brevity? Assign them poetry or prose to be written on Twitter.

The Teacher’s Guide To Twitter Hashtags

Are you looking to figure out exactly which Twitter hashtag is the right one to follow? There’s no shortage of options and it can feel overwhelming. Sure, there’s the popular #edchat and #edtech hashtags most of us follow. But what about the more focused tags that you’re missing out on?

#edapp

educational apps

#elearn I’d suggest using this rather than the longer #elearning
#flipchat chat platform for flipped classroom educators. See here.
#flipclass platform for those interested in the flipped classroom.
#flippedclassroom Obsolete. Use the shorter #flipclass. All about the flipped classroom
#gbl game-based learning
#globalclassroom Good for finding global collaboration / connections, sharing #globaled practice. Official chats run monthly over 3 days. Click here for schedule
#ipadchat name speaks for itself. See here.

A Quick Start Guide to Participating in Twitter Chats

A Quick Start Guide to Participating in Twitter Chats

http://www.guide2digitallearning.com/blog_tom_murray/quick_start_guide_twitter_chats

This past week, I had the privilege of introducing US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, as a guest moderator for #edtechchat, an educational Twitter chat that I founded with four members of my personal learning network (PLN).  Over the course of 60 minutes, almost 2,000 people from around the world, shared about 10,000 tweets in response to the Secretary’s six questions related to being a Connected Educator.  Secretary Duncan (@arneduncan) and his Office of Educational Technology (@officeofedtech) deemed October “Connected Educator’s Month” for the second straight year.  To close #ce13, Secretary Duncan used the #edtechchat forum to engage in conversation with educators from all over the world.

In reflecting on the chat, many people asked how to get started, and how to possibly follow such a quick flow of information. For one, 10,000 tweets in an hour is by no means typical; but then again, neither is the opportunity to interact with the US Secretary of Education. Although this particular chat with the Secretary may be an extreme example of what possibilities can arise when connecting with others online, each week there are over 160 chats that occur.  Virtually all topics are covered in some fashion. Whether you’re a 4th grade teacher (#4thchat) in Maryland (#mdedchat), a principal (#cpchat) in Arkansas (#arkedchat), a new teacher (#ntchat) in Rhode Island (#edchatri), or a parent (#ptchat) connecting on a Saturday (#satchat), there’s something for you.

This Quick Start Guide to Participating in Twitter Chats was created as part of the Digital Learning Transition MOOC (#dltmooc), an online “Massive Open Online Course”, developed by The Alliance for Education (@All4Ed) and the Friday Institute (@FridayInstitute) as part of Project 24 (@all4edproject24).  Feel free to download and share the Quick Start resource to help educators get started.

Furthermore, the Official Chat List was created by Chad Evans (@cevans5095) and me (@thomascmurray), with help from our good friend Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1). This resource (shortcut: bit.ly/officialchatlist) is a comprehensive list of the educational Twitter chats that take place each week.

Start small. Choose a chat that peaks your interest. Lurk, listen, and learn. When you’re ready, jump in head first.  Grow your PLN and get connected through a Twitter chat this week!  Your students will benefit.

– See more at: http://www.guide2digitallearning.com/blog_tom_murray/quick_start_guide_twitter_chats#sthash.W1DPfmY1.dpuf

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