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Using Twitter to Make History.. and Create the Future. Twitter in the Classroom
August 9th, 2008
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by Warren Whitlock · Filed Under: Twitter · Twitter Videos · Twitter in Education
@mwesch used social media tools to turn what could have been a boring university lecture class into an experience that harnessed the power of students knowledge, connections and imagination.
His views on education are refreshing. The outcome from the class is fascinating.
While watching this video, I kept thinking of more ways that a small group of people can do more than we had imagined.
I look forward to seeing your comments about how you will use this in your network, relationships, groups, business and life.
Please put your @ handle in your comment so we can follow you on Twitter.
I wish tech was more advance when I was in school! my kids are gonna have it so easy, interactive, and fun!
@taiwanbrown
@TaiwanBrown
The tech is available to you. I watched this video, and one other by Dr. Wesch and feel like I’m back in University.
WARREN, This link doesn’t relate to your teitter request!
I’ve been talking about the type of “Meaningful Connections” described in this video today.
This had led to several discussions on Twitter and elsewhere this morning.
The most “heat” came from a discussion about the URL I was using. Seems I was having some characters cut off.
Funny, today we still spend more time talking about the technology than using it. Imagine what we’ll all do when we get comfortable.
This has amazing implications. It’s about teaching and learning, but how could it apply to art? To marketing? My brain hurts a little.
My brain hurts too. What an amazing concept and use of the current technology available this second. What a way to learn and what a way to teach. @grantgriffiths
Thanks Warren for posting this – I have been a teacher ever since I can remember. I chose NOT to teach in schools because they are so dysfunctional and don’t support learning. And this was true in the 60’s & 70’s even as it is today. Perhaps it’s worse today because education’s approach basically hasn’t changed.
It’s so nice to see refreshing new ideas on how to teach people to think – which after all, is the real purpose of education.
It’s also nice to see the world becoming the educational environment again. Which again, is the way it’s supposed to be. Everyone has something to contribute, and the new media gives plenty of opportunities for that contribution.
Perhaps this will shift people into recognizing that “education” and “learning” are really lifetime experiences that keep us relevant in the world and in our own lives.
As a “society”, connection is truly key. Without relationship (human or otherwise), there is nothing.
Thanks again!
@KatieDarden
Warren,
I was able to connect to this hours ago so I don’t know how the link didn’t work. I emailed the link to my teacher friends and not one complained. I see my friends are shy about joining the conversation online because they didn’t comment here.
Even though some of my personal contacts have joined Facebook and Linkedin, they still haven’t used twitter. Just think what could happen if even more colleges and university faculty used twitter to learn about their students. The instructors could adapt and teach with fresh passion.
Joy~
Jeanette
twitter: @jeanettejoy
Warren,
Our last son at home is 14 going into 10th grade next month. I’m going to show this to him and my wife tonight on the subject, the Internet is much more than playing games.
As parents we need to educate our kids and ourselves about how to find information and share it in meaningful ways with others in our sphere of influence and the groups we are involved in. He has given me some great ideas about how that can be done.
@Henry_Griner
http://whoishenry.com
Most of us grew up in the age of MASS.. mass production, mass distribution and mass media. Now we are using technology to go back to one to one communication, but with a lot more connections.
I know how bored I was in large university classrooms 20 years ago.. I can’t imagine how hard it would be for today’s kids.
Are university’s obsolete? Maybe not, if we build communities like this.
We are trying to change legal education via Web 2.0 here:
http://solopracticeuniversity.tumblr.com
Great video.
@scartierliebel on twitter
Geez Warren!
As Always – Great and insightful information! Thanks for sharing and keeping us ‘in the loop’. I am SO glad our life paths crossed, especially after having had time to speak with you for a few while @ #ROP. You are truly a Giving and Heart-Centered person, someone I’m proud to say I am acquainted with.
Warmest Regards
@JimZaccaria
WOW! I am, for the moment, speechless. (Enjoy the moment, it won’t last long, LOL)
There are numerous resources listed in this video which I have not yet explored, so my take-away #1 is that there’s still a LOT more interesting and fun stuff “out there” that I can access and utilize.
Take-away #2 is that anybody who teaches anything on any subject, and especially those involved in putting together seminars, summits, conferences, retreats (etc.) can use many of the systems for info delivery & interaction that this teacher uses in this class. I have so many ideas popping up in my head, I can’t write fast enough to get them all — so I’m going to watch this again tomorrow with the sole purpose of extracting specifics and getting them written down so I won’t rely on memory alone.
Take-away #3 is that without Twitter, I would never have been able to partake of this resource, so once again I am in awe of the power of this medium for information exchange.
Thanks so much!!!
Janelle the CCGAL
OMG. Amazing. I so wish I had todays technology when I was a kid. I love that we can always Google anything and find an answer. Or connect with like minded people all over the world.
Never in a millions years could I have imagined learning as I do today. What an incredible time we live in.
Donna Payne ~ the web coach
@thewebcoach
Extremely impressed here. I have been trying to formulate a method for adopting social networks into my orginization, and this gave me a lot to think about.
I think users of Web2.0 have had pipedreams of similar uses, but to see it all demonstrated in a classroom, and organized so thoughtfully is truly awe-inspiring.
This is Maoist education. Distrust the authority and feel that the information produced in a group of equals is more valued. More equal connections does not translate to greater knowledge.
That is an unsupported assertion. Meaningful connections between people is not the goal of education and means nothing if the quality of the information processed/shared is not considered and the mass amount of information on the net is not necessarily quality info. For example, many megabites are devoted to pornography. Look at how much really legitimate, academic sources are available on the web. Not many. Although, I grant you that it is growing.
Group annotation of a summary of Wallerstein does not substitute for an individual reading of Wallerstein. Which if they don’t like reading and they don’t like school and they don’t close the computer and get off Facebook and Wikis they will never read. Nor am I convinced that the majority of students are participating in the creation of the wiki. Most are skipping class and skimming the review sheet before the exam, I would guess.
I have to argue that this approach is not as revolutionary or impressive as everyone assumes. Apply some critical thinking to the presentation. The assertions are not supported by reality.
And, finally, the Margaret Mead quote has never been verified as coming from her. I don’t think if she did say it she intended it to represent the small group that conquered the world through empire-building. And the simulation hardly supports an alternative view. Like I said, apply some critical thinking.
Professor Wesch’s students may well “know nothing about how to use these things to learn and for critical thought and more than anything they rarely know how to use these things to create something interesting and new” (his comment about 25 mins into the video), but that doesn’t hold true in my experience in the booming home education movement. After all, nobody needs to be sitting in a lecture hall or classroom to use these things, do they? They’re totally mobile.
Not only has the Digital Revolution given home educators (actually everybody with an internet connection) the same learning tools professional educators have available to them – except we don’t have to ask somebody else’s permission to use them – the new Web 2.0 tools enable us to find out what professional educators are doing so we can do it too if we choose to.
For example, by watching videos like this one. Kind of ironic really.
Thank you so much for sharing this video. It was so inspiring! The references alone were worth the hour view. So much important information was shared for the University of the Future. Thank you!
I want to be in his class! This is so great! I am a librarian, and I would love to incorporate more social media literacy into my information literacy workshops.
@amylibrarian
http://twitter.com/amylibrarian
Perhaps we should start to focus on the new e-skills and e-competencies that Web 2.0 tools enable, and what new tools these competencies may develop?
Hi,
Congratulation for this valuable handbook.
I would like to share with you the article about Twitter in education – http://www.scribd.com/doc/2286799/Can-we-use-Twitter-for-educational-activities – written together with my friend Gabriela Grosseck ( @ggrosseck ).
Besides the groups of students with whom we use microblogging platforms during the classes, two months ago we have run an online course about microblogging in a private group of the microblogging platform http://www.cirip.ro . A presentation of the activities can be found on my blog at http://tinyurl.com/ciripro ( English translation http://tinyurl.com/ciripen ).
My best,
Carmen
@cami13
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The first 20 minutes were an eye opener for me as to the power of social interaction and the difference between that and conventional information sharing
@MarkClayson
Thanks again to Michael Wesch for creating an incredibly thought provoking talk. Thanks for sharing!
Paula
Really great video. We are just beginning to use twitter, and I am eager to learn how to best utilize the resource.
@SWcamp_Junkie
thanks for sharing the video!
@growK12
Awesome! I only wish I had something like this available at school/uni.
@BronwenZ
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Very, very cool. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work.