Sadly, not in this case, I'm afraid. Though, it was at least entertaining.
In a discussion I've been having with some of the more active members of ASTD-OC's discussion group on LinkedIn (free membership required), I commented about some uses for Twitter in support of learning. The thread was in response to a question Janet asked about what some of the applications might be for Twitter in supporting learning.
Here, I shared some thoughts about the potential for including a twitter-like widget within existing applications like edublogs and pageflakes. And how, along with third-party apps that enhance the dialog a bit more than simply tracking tweets on the Twitter web site, I've personally been able to use it for knowledge sharing, Q&A support, extending professional networks and informational pulse-taking.
In that sense, I'd categorize the examples above as practices supporting informal learning. But, from a formal learning perspective, I was hard-pressed to find concrete examples.
With the exception of what edublogs
is trying to do, the closest examples of using Twitter to support
formal learning structures was the approach in some of the breakout
sessions at the recent REBlogworld.
Though I wasn't able to attend this year, I followed some of the discussions about how presenters used Twitter, along with a special mnemonic called a hashtag in Twitter-speak, to solicit questions/answers and comments from the audience. That audience included both members in the conference and some of those who were offsite keeping up to speed via the live blogging and v-logging that some of those in attendance were performing.
A couple of days ago, Current TV did something similar during the second Obama-McCain debate. During the live debate, Current TV displayed a live Twitter stream. Tweeps (Twitter people) commenting on the debate were asked to append a hashtag that allowed the producers to filter only those tweets that were destined for their stream. It was a good concept, but unfortunately didn't rise to the level of learning support I would have hoped. Though, I'd have to say it did meet my expectations.
My expectation was that I'd see a lot of chattery noise. You know, comments about the red carpet; whether or not Obama gets his advice from playing board games; or whether or not McCain was determined to start a war with Russia. (Yup, saw a lot of that.)
As for anything I'd say constituting true learning support -- I'm afraid I didn't see it during the debate. (I s'pose we could debate what I mean by "true" learning support and some might argue that all dialog, no matter how chattery, teaches something. But, work with me here.) I'd classify much of what I saw in Current TV's Twitter stream the other night as really falling more closely in the category of entertainment. No surprise there. After all, it was live TV.
That said, I think Twitter, as a medium, is still a viable learning support tool. But, just as with all the tools at our disposal as instructional designers and trainers, whatever concrete examples present themselves should be considered as just one tool in a larger war chest.
What do you think? Have you used Twitter in some of your learning activities? If you know of some examples, please share with a comment or a link.
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