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Advanced Twitter Tips, Tricks and Tools

Have you gotten started with Twitter but now wondering what else is possible? What are hashtags? What are Twitter lists and how do get started using them? How can you easily post photos, videos, and links? What additional online tools and 3rd party apps can be integrated with Twitter to streamline posting of resources? I led this advanced hands-session at Faculty Summer Institute 2010 exploring the answers to these questions. The interactive online handout, resource links, and video archive are available. I also offered an introductory Twitter workshop at FSI with basic steps for getting started.

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  • Synchronous or Asynchrous Communication--Which Is Better?

    Synchronous communication occurs when people discourse at the same time with one another.  This can be done face-to-face or technologically through resources such as Skype.  Asynchorous communication occurs when participants in the discussion post their thoughts at different times.  The communication, thereby, occurs over an extended period of time with the chance to really take in the ideas.  Here are some additional resources for understanding the difference between the two:






    Which one is better?

    It depends on the situation.  Both are great for their own reasons.

  • Library of Congress offers online learning

    by Library of Congress

    NOTE: updated link below:

    On your own for professional development? Earn a certificate of completion by taking the Library’s self-paced interactive modules. Each multimedia-rich program delivers approximately one hour of staff development.

    http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/

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  • HTML5 and the opportunities of not having Flash

    Apple published a collection of demos as a showcase for the support of HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript on their mobile devices and new Macs. All of these demos work very well and fast with the Safari browsers on my iPad and Macbook.

    I have been thinking a lot about the lack of Flash support and the impact on the Learning field in recent weeks. Let me be provocative by saying that there is a part of me that has started to see this restriction as an opportunity:

    We would by now have probably done a "mass conversion" of millions of existing Flash based eLearning courses without paying much attention to the new device capabilities being offered. Instead, we are now somewhat forced to reconsider our options because our existing standards and tools cannot be applied.

    The demos above are not groundbreaking and do not leverage the device capabilities either but like every new iPad app I come across they did provide me with a different perspective and new ideas for potential learning applications.

    It does take an effort and the learning curve is steep but as fundamental is the impact on Learning we could have by coming up with a totally new set of Mobile Learning standards and applications. Don't you think so? ;-)

  • Higher Education's Big Lie

    In order for higher education to support social mobility, social mobility must be possible. This is increasingly not the case and questions are beginning to be asked about whether attending college and getting a degree is a key to success. Clearly, finishing with tens of thousands of dollars of debt to qualify only for low-paying positions is not the ticket. Higher education by itself is not sufficient to lift people out of poverty, and it is arguable that the way it is structured it actually thwarts that objective. But I want to argue, in a way the author of this article does not, that it is necessary. Even those people who succeeded without college had some sort of highly specialized knowledge. It may not matter how you get it - and there are certainly better ways than going tens of thousands of dollars into debt - but it is, nonetheless, absolutely necessary. Ann Larson, Inside Higher Ed, June 3, 2010 [Tags: none] [Link] [Comment]