Twitter, Another Way for Education

The Network is always with you. That's true. I found wherever I go, I could find the logos of Twitter or Facebook. This kind of Internet tools plays more and more important role in people's daily life. It seems that it's hard for people to get rid of this invisible net. 


I enjoyed A Twitter Love Song. It shows the influence of Twitter. Especially, what impressed me most was that it provides lots of tweets about the advantages of Twitter. Some people said Twitter can provide her with positive feedback and support, plus fun and variety. And some people think Twitter connects him to hundreds of people smarter who share, and it reduces the isolation of the classroom. I like these tweets. And these tweets, to some extent, could also express what learners' need is. They want positive feedback, suggestions and connection with other people besides their classmates. 


From those tweets, I get some ideas about how to make use of Twitter in my future classroom. First, I would like to use Twitter as a "question corner". That means students can tweet their questions, and anyone who knows the answer can reply it. Not only is it a good way to deal with students' question, but also intrigue their interests in learning. Second, I would build a "communication bridge" among parents, students and me. For example, after the class, I could comment the students' performance and give them some suggestions or feedbacks. And I can also leave messages for parents how their children make progresses in school. I think that makes students and their parents trust me, and then building up a good relationship among us. 


As the author of What About That Twitter Thing pointed out, Twitter seemed to be the “best Professional Development” tool ever  invented. Indeed, there are a great number of educators or professors who have Twitter accounts and tweets what they think or some education news. From those tweets, I could know some famous or experienced educators' thoughts, which can give me some inspiration about education, and then improving my teaching. 


Network is really a huge net which connect with us together. Therefore, under this circumstance, it is better for teacher to use these Internet tools in today's classrooms.

Learning Revolution

    Nowadays, the distances among people are becoming shorter and shorter due to the technology, which results in our global village.  Not only can we chat with our friends no matter when and where, but also we know what happened at the other side of the earth immediately. The change of our life determines the change of learning style. As Siemens (2005) pointed out,  over the last twenty years, technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn. So in my opinion, a learner of today is like a bee.

    As we all know, bees cannot survive if they live alone, to some extent, which is like our learning today. In the video, Siemens said "our learning today is one of forming networks with each other".  In this network, learners can get more information which they may not acquire in the classroom. I have benefit a lot from that. When I prepared TOEFL test,  I searched a blog which is like a discussion board for those who want to study abroad. From it, many learners showed their learning experience of TOEFL, which provided me with some shortcuts and let me know how to prepare that test. What's more, that blog also gives me some information about how to survive in the abroad. I enjoy this kind of learning. From social network, we can get more than academic knowledge.

    On the other hand, the social network gives us more opportunities to practice our ability to have a dialogue with other individuals. Like bees, which use their ways to tell others where food is, learners of today also need a media to communicate with their peers, teachers or others. As Siemens mentioned (2005), informal learning is a significant aspect of our learning experience. Formal education no longer comprises the majority of our learning. Learning now occurs in a variety of ways - through communities of practice, personal networks, and through completion of work-related tasks. When we communicate with others, we also grow our knowledge, understandings and ideas. Communication is a way to externalize knowledge.

Article: Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
Video: The Impact of Social Software on Learning