I disagree with this article - first, there isn't sufficient data, and I think it all depends in how Twitter is used. I tend to think of Twitter as more of a collection space of ideas and links. What I think is flawed in the research is that Twitter doesn't provide context (source of previous knowledge) or sufficient data for the brain to chunk or organize. I think the author is comparing the effectiveness of a wrench and a hammer while viewing a nail.
I disagree with this article - first, there isn't sufficient data, and I think it all depends in how Twitter is used. I tend to think of Twitter as more of a collection space of ideas and links. What I think is flawed in the research is that Twitter doesn't provide context (source of previous knowledge) or sufficient data for the brain to chunk or organize. I think the author is comparing the effectiveness of a wrench and a hammer while viewing a nail.
This oped piece suggest that as educators," we are called upon to challenge the way students already think and guide them into new patterns or ways of thinking as required, in order for them to grasp central concepts and applications of learning. Collaborative technologies, while not central to the process, can help facilitate this core function of education."
I don't think the Kindle is the panacea of access as this article suggests - some healthy collection development in prior years may have made the device less of a "savior" for research. "We have to work with what we have" is a cop-out, in my opinion. What do you think?
This article makes a good point that I think I have missed sometimes in working with faculty. Before we encourage faculty new to Instructional Technology to use 21st Century technology as part of their curriculum we should encourage them to be participants in the technology. We should encourage them to subscribe to a blog/wiki/Podcast and be a participant so that they can better understand the tools usefulness in learning before they integrate it into their curriculum.
Some good steps. I think she missed the first step which is to define the need for the technology in the first place - what are the teaching/learning goals that will be satisfied/transformed through the integration of technology. Too often we start with the technology and forget the fundamentals of pedagogy.
" A recent survey of almost 2,000 teachers found that half think that using Twitter (and Facebook) in the classroom "is harmful to the learning experience." But, Los Angeles history teacher Enrique Legaspi disagrees with the naysayers. Last year he went to a workshop that discussed ways to use Twitter in teaching and now his students-even the shy ones-at Hollenbeck Middle School in East L.A. are speaking up more."