Journal #4: Microblogging

I decided to explore microblogging mainly because I had no idea what the heck it was. As it turns out, microblogging is a form of blogging that can be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group of individuals. I came to discover that microblogging is really just a term that describes things we already do everyday. It includes things like text messaging, email, Twitter, EdModo, Facebook, and many others. I was interested to find out that many of the Classroom 2.0 discussions on microblogging pertained to finding a way to make these services useful in the classroom. At present, it seems that teachers have mixed emotions about the practicality and usage of such things in an educational setting. Some discussion participants offered ideas on how to utilize microblogging to increase student learning, but most of the ideas seemed like forced attempts to integrate new technology gadgets rather than finding a way to actually make them useful in the learning process. As with all new technology, it will probably take some experimentation and student feedback before teachers get a handle on how to get the most out of these new applications.