"Learning is a continuous conversation among many participants" as stated on page 86 of our reading. I felt as if this sentence was the most important of the reading. The entire chapter could be wrapped up into this one sentence. Chapter six of our reading focused on the social web where web users are able to reconnect with old friends, keep in touch with family, or create new connections with new people with common interests.
The text beings by talking about Twitter which is a “miroblogging” tool that is on the rise among web users. Using twitter can help people stay connected by "following" each other. A Twitter user posts short blog-like posts that can either simply update others on their where abouts to asking a complex question where others are able to give their input. I have also heard of Twitter being used by professors or teachers in their classroom for posting assignments and questions. One could also post their ideas about the assignments where other classmates could give the answer. I also think it would be very interesting for teachers to set up Twitter in their classrooms and be able to "follow" classrooms all around the world and see what others are doing. Twitter could also be used for teachers to stay connected and share their ideas with one another. In this reading social bookmarking was also brought up, such as what we use in Education 331: Delicious. The text explains how social bookmarking can be used and what it is good for. When finding a useful website one can add it to their Delicious account and use "tags" to keep their sites organized. A useful tool with having a Delicious account is that others are able to look through each others accounts to find websites that might also be useful themselves. Both Twitter and social bookmarking are useful for teachers as well as students to keep connected to one another.
I had never really thought about being a Twitter user before reading this chapter because I always thought it was somewhat of a creepy site where anyone can "follow" you and know your daily schedule. After reading this chapter I was surprised at how many different ways a teacher is able to use it in their classroom. In my classroom I will actually consider creating a Twitter account where I am able to post assignments for my students to see. I would also suggest to my students that they also create an account because they are able to see assignments as well as ask questions for either me to answer or in which their classmates can answer as well. I will defiantly set up my own Delicious account and encourage my students to do so as well. This way as a teacher I can get ideas of useful websites from other teachers, and my students are also able to get useful websites from one another and myself. Sharing ideas in learning and teaching is important, it helps us all stay connected to one another and by using Twitter and social bookmarking we are able to do so.
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