Twitter for Teaching and Cognitive Apprenticeships

Twitter for Teaching and Cognitive Apprenticeships

Tom CaswellJon Thomas

Instructional Technology & Learning SciencesUtah State University

What is               ?• Free status update service• "What's happening?" in 140 characters or less• 20 million visitors per month• 19% of US Internet users• Messages = "tweets"

TwHistory: Historical Reenactments with Twitter

• Why Twitter?o People: represented by individual accounts o Communication: messages + timelineo Simplicity and ubiquity

"History is written by the winners."

 George Orwell

4 February 1944

Representing Historical Perspectives• Based on journals, letters, and primary sources

o Represent multiple perspectives • Participatory and collaborative• Students as information evaluators

o Cuban Missile Crisis Example

Future Directions for TwHistory

• Upcoming Reenactmentso 1847 Pioneer Treko Lewis and Clark expedition

• Researcho Primary source usageo Constructing & appreciating pluralistic perspectives 

• Improvements to TwHistory.orgo streamlining the authoring processo allowing reuse of existing reenactmentso sharing sources and lesson plans

Cognitive Apprenticeship

• Modeling • Coaching • Scaffolding • Articulation • Reflection • Exploration

(Collins, Brown, & Hollum, 1991)

Modeling Challenges

• Expert availabilityo Over My Shoulder Videos

(Dickey, 2008)o Telepresence (Edmonson,

2005)• Observing the expert

performance• Real world projects

Twitter for Modeling

• One-way follow• Follow experts• Unedited "snapshots"

o blogs vs. twitter• Provides a window into

professional practiceo similar to talk-aloud

Professional Uptake

• OSS developer community• Communication fields• Technology intensive fields• Marketing & business

Obstacles for Twitter Modeling

• Professional vs. personal tweets• Requires openness (may not be possible in all fields)• Relies heavily on technology/communication• May be limited to certain fields• May not be effective if forced

Future Directions

• Other Disciplines?o Scienceo Engineeringo Math

• Personal vs. Professionalo Will professional use increase over time?

Questions?

Tom Caswellcaswell.tom@gmail.com

Jon Thomasjonthomas1986@gmail.com

Please visit TwHistory.org"Those who forget history are doomed to retweet it."