Assignment #1
Journal #3—Twitter as an Educational Tool
Twitter is another arrow in the quiver of educational tools. The facts support the numbers and popularity of Twitter, but is it actually a useful educational tool? As the host of the blog states, it isn’t a be-all-end-all to education in the classroom, merely another potential way to get through to the student, help motivate and make a connection.
My feeling is that Twitter would be an excellent tool for the class to communicate amongst themselves; for me as the instructor to communicate various topics of importance; and as a form of criticism with respect to my teaching and effectiveness of my lectures. If students are having trouble with certain subjects they could post tweets of their questions to one another. If they are concerned about an area of lecture or a topic that they can’t quite grasp, they can post questions to me. I could Tweet textbook areas they need to research more closely, maybe a video to watch or current events in the industry that students may be interested in. Twitter could be used as a way for the instructor to gauge the level of interest in a particular field trip. Answer sent via Tweets could be tallied and the majority wins. At the end of the week, students could tweet their feelings about the weeks subject matter and review my lectures for weaknesses. A teaching method discussed in PID 3250 Motivational Techniques was the technique of Muddiest Point. Students can take one sentence or two to quickly write down what then considered to be the “muddiest point”, that being the most difficult or least understood topic of the week. As a form of review or as a way to gauge the success of my weeks lecture muddiest point could go social media and apply to Tweets. Students could tweet their muddiest point and on the Monday I could use these tweets as the basis for review. Keeping tally of the muddiest points from class to class would also serve the purpose of helping to fine tune my lectures and make them more concise and universally understood.
Within the program of aircraft maintenance, students are taught the value and seriousness of safety and attention to detail. How could Twitter help me in my class with organization? After some time to reflect, I honestly couldn’t think of any aspect or area where I could implement it to make that area of instruction better. Could I use it to remind the students of upcoming assignments and exams? Absolutely, except for one fact. On the very first day of class I begin with an introduction to the course and myself as instructor. I also lay out every exam and assignment due date. Should the student forget is not my concern. What we are trying to teach once again is responsibility, organization, teamwork, and reliability. If I send out a Tweet every time an assignment or exam is due, then I am relieving them of the need to better hone those skills.
Using many of these newer social media tools to help the instructor or better the education is without a doubt possible. I could see the use for Twitter in the PIDP program, especially for those classes taught on opposing weekends of Friday night through Sunday afternoon. Tweets by the instructor to remind everyone of upcoming topics, things not to forget or venue changes are all excellent ideas, but e-mail works just as well. Then again, we are grown adults and as I stated in the previous paragraph, it is up to us to remember material and become responsible for our own learning.
Unfortunately Tweets also force us to limit our vocabulary and use many different symbols, essentially creating another language. Is everyone comfortable doing this? I myself have noticed a trend of poor grammar, terrible spelling, and incomprehensible syntax. My students range from recent high school graduates to adults well into their 30’s. I remind them that once they are working and have obtained their AME (aircraft maintenance engineer) license, any paperwork they carry out is considered a legal document and remains with the aircraft, engines, propellers or landing gear for its’ entire life. Neat, tidy, accurate paperwork is a must. Is Twitter going to encourage this or further lead to the general decline in standards, attention to detail and workmanship? To communicate quick snippets of information or let a group of people know about changes or updates Twitter could be of great value.
How it could fit into higher education or be of use to different teachers or subject matter would be up to the individual. Is the class interested in using this tool or taking on another media account? What about the demographic of the classroom? Is everyone comfortable using this tool, or being forced into it due to a majority vote in favor of? Todays’ student is required to have a computer, preferably a laptop for portability, a printer, multiple e-mail accounts and strong skills on how to use everything with regards to processing and moving information through various forms of hardware. Many in the younger generation are adept in these skills, but what of the ones who can’t afford some of these tools? What of the older students, an increasing demographic, who may be re-educating or updating skills and have not mastered these different technologies?
Beginning my latest career as an instructor has forced me to shift gears and attempt different teaching techniques with every new group I receive. Reflecting on my past year of lecturing and teaching, what strikes me as my most effective form of communication is talking to the students, learning their names and looking them in the eyes. At the end of the day, week or level, what I feel truly determines my success rate is whether I have made a connection and imparted my passion for what I teach into the subject matter. By getting to know every student in the class over the 8 weeks they are with me forces us to communicate. They will learn what it is that I value beyond test scores and quiz results. I will also hopefully see where they are struggling or having difficulties and then alleviate those barriers. I encourage them to visit my new blog, as it is used to show the potential for their newly chosen profession. Aside from that, e-mail me or leave a voice message if you need me or have questions. With the prevalence of information being thrown at us via television, internet, text, tweets, blogs, Facebook and others, I use my class time to leave all this at the door. Cellphones are forbidden in class for the obvious reason of distraction and the need to focus on me, the subject matter and your classmates. If the students can focus on me for 2 ninety minute sessions in the morning and 2 ninety minute shop sessions in the afternoon, I have witnessed that they tend to do just fine. Twitter may very well have its usefulness in many aspects of education, but if used in my shop or classroom it would need to be well thought out.
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