I implemented twiducate as an experiment. I have been reflecting a lot about the blogs and how to use them more effectively and one of my thoughts was that the students were using the blogs for short messages rather than blog articles. So, I searched out some microblog platforms that I could experiment with. My goal was to implement short messages as a different genre and then refocus the blogs into a more indepth writing. Something like having students writing notes to each other and having them write essays about their learning. They are two different forms and you can model the differences when you show the effect on audience and purpose of the author for each form. Keeping in mind that my students are emergent and transitional literacy learners, both forms will be approximations. I have looked at several different microblog platforms. Here is my delicious link to other options: microblogs. Not sure why I chose twiducate except that it was extremely easy to use and implement. I did not provide a lot of instruction on how to use twiducate, rather I took the approach of seeing how they would use it.
I have always monitored the account for inappropriateness but had not really looked at it closely to evaluate the actual writing recently until today. I had to really chuckle at the ways they are using it. I had actually thought that the enthusiasm for twiducate would have died down. Surprisingly no. But interestingly, they have been conducting their own experiment on how to use this form, what to write to this audience, and questioning each other's purpose. Buttercup in particular has been calling the other students out on their purpose. Several students had been writing hi to each other. To which Buttercup questioned:
TELL HER LATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
why is everybody saying hi to one another???!!!
She aptly responds to others questions but is clearly getting frustrated with the use of the microblog to say a simple greeting. She's looking for richer conversation. After about the sixth posting of hi, she responds:
WHY!!!!!!!???????
Looks like its time to intervene and see if we can come up with a purpose for twiducate/ microblogging. Looking forward to the discussion. Think we will start with "why?"
