My Twitter Adventure Reflections So Far

This week, I have been introduced to the world of Twitter and social media. Although I have seen various links and information shared about Twitter, I had never really felt compelled to investigate it to see how it worked. I am a complete novice when it comes to many of the various social media and Web 2.0 technology tools. In today’s society, it seems as though everywhere you look there are links to social network sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc., but I have never been one to really take an interest in these tools. Although I knew of them and a bit about them, the idea of constantly updating something to tell the world about me was something that I did not find very interesting and to be quite honest, I just do not have that much time in my day.

Nonetheless, as I have begun to explore the idea of Twitter as an educational resource, I am starting to see that there are beneficial aspects to using this tool.  It does offer the ability to receive, search, and post information quickly. As one classmate pointed out, you can follow breaking news via Twitter and communicate directly with individuals that you otherwise might not be able to connect with.

Another thing that I found to be helpful about Twitter, was the fact that many people in our class shared links to resources that I would probably not have found on my own. I have been searching different topics on Twitter just to see what is out there and it is interesting to see the amount of information that is shared. Sometimes you find things that are helpful and sometimes you find things that you just really did not need to or want to know. I can see how the idea of using Twitter as a communication and research tool in a classroom could be beneficial. Some of the reservations that I would have would be in regards to appropriate content and how I could ensure that both what my students read and shared was appropriate for the subject/ topic being studied and the age group involved. I am sure that as I explore Twitter further, I might find solutions for these concerns. I know that if others are using Twitter as an educational resource, they are bound to have addressed these issues as well and hopefully developed solutions.

While I can see some of the advantages and benefits to Twitter, I find myself getting frustrated at the idea that I sometimes might have more to say at one time than the 140 characters will allow. I guess that I could simply break it up into multiple tweets, but this is hard to do if you are sharing a link for information and the link takes up the majority of the characters allowed. In addition, I sometimes find the messages a bit hard to read and follow due to the incorporation of links and hash tags. I know that this is the designed format and in time, I will get used to it.

I am enjoying learning more about Twitter and the ways that it can be used in education. Although, I am still trying to figure out if it is something that I would use in my everyday life and at this point, I do not think so. Perhaps as I explore it further, my opinion will change. I look forward to learning more about Twitter and other Web 2.0 tools for instruction.