Making the Most of Twitter

Tweet

Tweeps

Tweetup

Twitterstream

Handle

Hashtag

Retweet

If you know the meanings of these words, then you must have a Twitter account. The list of words are words specific to the Twitter community and words that we learn as we go. The words alone tell a great deal about Twitter as a tool. First of all, it is a fun tool. It has a sense of humor.  The words are even fun to say. But it is more than that. For so many of us, Twitter has been the link to a Professional Learning Network we didn't know existed.   It is amazing what can be said in 140 characters.  We can spread news of a new baby, distribute a professional article we like, share a photo from a parade, inspire with a quote and more.  Twitter is a tool that can do all in just 140 characters at a time. Will Richardson states, “It’s the blend of the professional and the personal that makes Twitter such a cool tool on so many levels. Some people have described it as a “sixth sense” in terms of the network: you feel more a part of the larger conversation, more a part of the community.  (p. 87)

I have heard Twitter defined in many ways. Wikipedia defines it as:

a website, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., which offers a social networking and microblogging service, enabling its users to send and read other users' messages called tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the user's profile page. 

My favorite definition is one that I heard from Lee Kolbert in a presentation at November Learning's BLC10. She described Twitter as "The teacher's lounge where you get to decide who gets to come in and who gets to stay."

People join Twitter for various reasons but most come to realize its power rather quickly.  Twitter is a tool that provides a way for us, as educators to learn and grow.  In Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, Will Richardson explains, “Following  other educators on Twitter creates a 'network at my fingertips' phenomenon where people ask questions and get answers, link to great blog posts or resources, or share ideas for projects as they go through the day.  For many, it’s becoming a running river of conversation and ideas that has cemented their connections to the community and made the network even more palpable.” (p. 86)

I have been a Twitter user for exactly two years. I began with a Twitter account at an NCTE conference in 2008.  My process was a long one and I described it in an article last year.   I have built my network and am learning from more and more amazing people.  I chronicled my use of Twitter in my early stages in an article for Choice Literacy titled, Addicted to Twitter: How Did It Happen?.  

Since writing the article, my Twitter group has grown over the last few years and I rely on it consistently. In order to push myself to learn more during this study, I wanted to figure out ways to get more out of the conversations that are happening. Because the list of people I follow has grown, I have no good way to keep up with all of the good information being shared. It is time for me to better organize and take advantage of some of the tools available to help me manage Twitter better.


Learning to Participate in Focused Conversations



I have listened in on groups talking about "Twitter Conversations", "Book Parties", etc. I could not figure out how those could possibly work when everything seemed so sporadic.  So, I decided to join in on a Twitter Conversation that happens on Sunday evenings called #Titletalk.   I learned a lot and was amazed by the depth of conversation.


Here is how it works. At a certain time (8:00 on Sundays for #Titletalk), people who want to join in, get on Twitter. The facilitators, Donalyn Miller (@donalynbooks) and Paul Hankins (@PaulWHankins) usually sends out a tweet with the topic and hashtag (#) prior to the event.  The October topic was "Challenges and Successes to Leading Kids to Books."  Participants create a search for the hashtag and you can follow the conversation. I usually participate via Tweetdeck and the column with the #titletalk search collects the conversation. The key is that participants must hashtag each comment that is part of the conversation.  The other part I love about this is that you can revisit the conversation because it is archived on a wiki. The address to the wiki is http://titletalk.wikispaces.com/3+October+31%2C+2010. It is a great resource and a great way to have a more indepth conversation on a particular topic.

 I have since found other ways people are using Twitter to dig in to deeper conversations with their tweeps. I enjoyed this series, "Sir Ken Robinson Answers Your Twitter Questions".   Ken Robinson is answering questions he receives with a hashtag on Twitter. He is posting videos with his thinking on various questions that have come to him with the hashtag









Learning to Better Organize My Use of Twitter


When I started Twitter, I followed a few people and I added as I found new people who seemed interesting.  It was very manageable for a very long time.  But then I found that I had to organize my tweets. I began to use Tweetdeck a while ago as a way to organize my tweets. Because I didn't always have the time to read tweets from the hundreds of brilliant people I was following, Tweetdeck allowed me to organize the people into categories and my tweets were organized in that way on Tweetdeck. So, I could keep my personal friends from home in one column and librarians in another. I could create as many columns as I needed. This works out most of the time.

Twitter Lists


But when I try to divide my groups into the smaller segments I want, there are too many groups for the column set-up. So I decided to explore the idea of lists. Twitter Lists were launched in 2009 and Josh Catone explains them this way, "They offer a way for you to bunch together other users on Twitter into groups so that you can get an overview of what they’re up to."  


Creating a list is easy to figure out on your own.  First open the tab that says "Lists" on your Twitter sidebar.  Once you get into "Lists", you can then click on "New List" to create a new list.

The "New List" feature is at the bottom left.

A pop-up window then appears asking you for details about the list such as title, privacy, etc.

Then you can add people to your list.  

Each list allows you to pull up those people you follow.  Twitter Lists is a great feature for me to find what I am looking for now that my Twitter list is so big. 

Another feature of lists that I discovered was the ability to follow someone else's lists. I had trouble understanding this idea because it isn't as I first understood it. When I follow someone's list,   For example, I began to follow @mcleod's edtech list. I could follow it as its own list or add it as part of a list I've already created. This list does not mean that I am following the people in @mcleod's list. They do not show up in my Twitter feed. But I can have access to their tweets by going to the specific list.  


Lists are a big "aha" for me.  So often, I don't have time to visit Twitter or Tweetdeck in a week and I can't catch up. But there are certain people I follow whose tweets I do not want to miss.  I also tend to follow people with various areas of expertise. I follow librarians, technology specialists and children's literature experts. I will be able to think through these people and create lists that help me organize the information.    


Learning to Use Seesmic
Another big problem I am having with Twitter is organizing my accounts. Because I tweet from 3 separate accounts, I have had to sign in and out to send status updates and to follow others, and to read updates from various followers.  A friend told me about a tool called Seesmic. Seesmic is a tool advertised as one to manage social networks. This is a tool that is also available on iPhone and IPad, which is an important feature for me.


When you register for Seemic, you can go into settings at any time to add an account. 

My Seesmic account is then organized with all of the information I need for all of my accounts. I can read status updates from people I follow, create status updates from each account, go to lists, direct messages, mentions, etc.  This tool pulls everything together in one place.

I can follow all of my Twitter accounts in one place.

My favorite part of the tool is the ability to create status updates from each account separately in the same box. The box (below) allows you to write a status update and check off the account that you'd like it to be sent from.  So, if appropriate, you can tweet it simultaneously from more than one account at the same time. Or you can choose the account that you want the tweet to come from.  The box also allows you to add a link, photo, location, etc. so I don't need to have separate Twitpic accounts either.  

Seesmic allows me to Tweet from each of my 3 accounts in the same box.

Resources for Teachers
Twitter is one of the best tools for teachers that I have found. In terms of my own professional growth, I have learned more since I joined Twitter than I have ever learned. I have always participated in professional learning communities but Twitter allows me to expand my professional world and to learn from people anytime. 


For teachers to use the tool, they have to see the value in it.  In order to do that, I have found some resources that will help teachers get started. In my experience, the beginning of Twitter was difficult. I didn't feel like I was part of the conversation and I wasn't sure that I wanted to be.  But since then, I have found great resources to support teachers and I am keeping these in my Delicious account so that when teachers are ready, they will have access to the resources.  Delicious is starting to feel like a file cabinet to me--for resources for teachers.


I really liked Neal Chambers' video called "Twitter Kit". This gives an overview of not only Twitter but how it can help educators. It is a good combination of information discussed in a way that makes sense to people who are not yet part of Twitter.  There are a few follow-ups to this first video which are also helpful.  

There are also people who have collected lists of people to follow. Gwyneth Jones has a newbie-to-follow list as part of her Twitter List page.  I also like to take advantage of #FF (Twitter's "Follow Friday") in which people tweet out Twitter handles of people they recommend following.  This is another great part of Twitter--sharing networks with others has become part of the Twitterstream.

The Twitter4Teachers Wiki is a great resource that is always growing. It is a collection of teachers who tweet and they are organized by field/area of expertise. As I find new areas of interest, I find myself revisiting this site. For teachers new to Twitter, this wiki provides people right away that they can follow--they can begin to customize their list by studying the list and finding people who meet their goals for Twitter us.

I also like this collection of 30 Essential Twitter Tutorials for Newbies and Experts. I like how specific the topics are and I find myself revisiting this list often even though I found it after I'd been a Twitter user for a long time.  I am intrigued by the idea of creating a website with Twitter updates and other ideas in this list. It is a great collection and you can jump in wherever you need to jump in based on your Twitter experience. Another similar collection is 

Everything You Need to Know About Twitter and Tweeting. Although this list provides some ideas for people new to Twitter, this is a good one to have on hand as teachers are looking to move forward with Twitter.

Implications for School

As part of this study, I began a Twitter page for our school library (http://twitter.com/reslibrary). I think Twitter can be a powerful tool for public relations and a great way to share news of the library. I am hoping that as Twitter grows in our community, it will become a great tool for communication. I agree with what David Stuart says in

What are Libraries Doing on Twitter? "Twitter posts can build relationships with the community and point users in the right direction for more specializd information."  I see Twitter as being a great tool for increasing community involvement and for building a relationship with families and the outside community. 

Final Reflections
In his book, Reach, Jeff Utecht says, "When do you officially have a network?  There is no magic number. A few people can be a network, or a few thousand. What makes it a network is when you start using the collective intelligence of others to find information, resources, and collaborate on projects.  The interaction between you and the people you have connected with,  or who have connected with you, is what creates a network. Once those connections are in place, you can start using your network to learn, hence creating a Personal Learning Network." (p. 36)

For me, Twitter has been a key to my professional learning network.  I don't know exactly when it happened or how, but I know I am learning more every day than I could ever have imagined. And I am learning from people I never had access to before. Twitter seems to be one of the best ways for educators to begin to create their own network. 

More Than Bejeweled: Social Networking for Learning

I am fairly new to Facebook; it was actually one of the last social networks I joined.  I avoided joining for a long time. I was happy with all of the other pieces of my Web 2.0 life, and I had no desire to add another, more personal piece. Most of my time online was spent networking and thinking professionally and I saw Facebook as a personal piece to this time-consuming world that I didn't need.  However, I changed my mind when I discovered Bejeweled Blitz.

Ranked with other Facebook friends

I am a Bejeweled Blitz addict.  I love to play Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook.  (If you have not tried Bejeweled Blitz, I suggest that you stop reading this post and go give it a try!)   I am not a gamer. I don't play Nintendo or games on the Wii.  I don't even enjoy board games. And, I honestly can't tell you why I love Bejeweled. But I do.  I have wasted more time trying to beat my husband's score in the weekly tournaments than I care to admit.

As I reflected on this week's study of social networking, I could not ignore this story of how it was I came to be a Facebook user.  Since I discovered Facebook through Bejeweled,  I have since discovered some of its other great features. As a member, I am able to keep up with relatives and see photos and videos I would miss otherwise. I have participated (quietly) in book talks and have become a fan of a few things.   But, something pulled me in that had nothing to do with the actual tool. A game with blitz and noise. This seems to be true of so many social networking tools I use.  I am pulled in for one reason and later find myself using it for something far better than what I could imagine.

This Bejeweled experience has helped me think through the reasons I join certain networks and the ways I move beyond the initial glitz. I think what I am learning about myself is helping me think through how best to support my students through social networking.   I am finding that my experience is not much different from that of my students.

We have been looking hard at their use of technologies at home and at school.  This fall, we did a GoogleDocs survey with our 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students.  We asked them several questions about their uses of technology at home and at school. We weren't sure how many of our students had computer access and how many of our students used technology regularly.  We wanted to look for patterns across our school. We were happily surprised to discover that most of our students have computer access at home and many spend time regularly on the computer.  But what we found was that most of the time they are spending on the computers is time spent playing games and visiting sites for entertainment.  Many are regular visitors to social networking sites like Webkinz while others play games daily on the computer.

 In his piece, "Five Socio-Technology Trends That Change Everything in Learning and Teaching" (p. 85 in Curriculum 21 by Heidi Hayes Jacobs), Stephen Wilmarth says,   "The new power of social media and networking technologies to teach is perhaps the least leveraged technology in formal education systems today.  Social networking technologies are powerful tools for enhancing the process of learning to be, of defining our identities." As I read and reread this line,  I was reminded of my Bejeweled experience.  Games often pull them into social networks and if we want them to expand the ways they use these networks, we need to help them see what is possible.

Moving Beyond Bejeweled with Social Networking

I have been a dabbler in many social networks for years.  I have become better at my use of Facebook although I still find that using it for personal reasons (family and friend connections) works best for me.
I am a member of several Nings. I have tried to use it for my professional learning but there are far too many distractors for me, once I get on the site.

For me, Nings seem to fill the professional learning gap for me when it comes to online professional networks. Will Richardson, in his explanation of Ning (from Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom) states, “Briefly, Ning allows you to create your own free social networking site around whatever topic you want, complete with personal profiles, photos, video links, groups, discussions, blogs and more…For educators, the best part about a Ning site is that it’s totally self-contained-meaning all of that sharing and posting happens under one roof, and it can be totally private only to those whom you want to participate.” (p. 140)  


I agree that the strength of a Ning is the fact that it is self-contained. That is also its weakness for me.  Just as with Facebook, I get very distracted on Nings.  I joined the English Companion Ning when it was first created and actually began an elementary group in the Ning. I am a member of Classroom 2.0, Library 2.0 and Teacher Librarian.  I have been a lurker on all of these Nings, participating quietly when the discussion or event meets my needs. I have attended several Webinars sponsored by the librarian Nings and have learned a great deal. When I looked at my Ning account as I began to work on this project, I realized that I have actually created two Nings. Neither lasted for long.

I have become part of so many online communities, that I don't even remember all of them.

I have found that I love something about all of the social networks that I am part of. Individually, they all fill a need, but together, they become so overwhelming.  There is a great deal of overlap in these social networks in terms of people and learning but each also offers something unique that I hate to give up.  

So I entered this study with a few big inquiries:

1.  How might I  use social networking in a more focused way?  

I have come to the point in my exploration where I know I need to do more. It is time to move past the dabbling stage and begin to be more focused in my use of social networks.  I don't want to quit any of the social networks I am part of but I feel that I need to commit more strongly to one or two in order to utilize them well.

2.  Which social networking tool around books makes the most sense for me, personally?
Which social networking tool around books makes the most sense for my students?
I have joined Goodreads and Shelfari and have looked at a few other social networking sites around books.  These sites intrigue me but I can't figure out which one makes the most sense for me personally and which makes the most sense for students?

3. How can we build on our students' use of technology at home to move them beyond playing games and using computers for entertainment?  Knowing what I know about the power of social networks, how can we move our students to use the Web 2.0 to support their learning as well as for entertainment?

Because I am part of too many social networks and because some of the networks already fill certain needs, I wanted to focus on a piece that I have not yet figured out . Although I love to share and talk about books, I have not put in the time necessary to become a contributing member of a social network focused on reading. I have joined both Goodreads and Shelfari but have not put much time into becoming involved. My thinking is that a social network around reading could help me focus my learning (both personal and professional) and be a way to support my students in moving beyond games to more academic uses of social networking.  I believe that if we are strategic in our use of these tools with ourselves and with children, we can extend our work as real readers.

Social Networking Book Club Experiences
I have joined several book groups as part of the social networks I belong to. One of the first book groups I joined was on the English Companion Ning. This ning offers book groups monthly and the book is usually a professional book around the teaching of English/Language Arts.  The unique piece of this book club is that the author of the books are all part of the Ning and each author facilitates the discussion around his or her book.

The author of the book being discussed begins and facilitates the conversations on the English Companion Ning.

This summer, I was invited to join a Facebook Book Club that was organized around a professional book I had coauthored. I didn't participate but it was interesting to see how the discussion worked.  This group was designed for teachers as part of an assignment for a college course/workshop. They were answering specific questions based on an assignment.

A Facebook Book Group as part of course credit.

I joined the Goodreads Newbery Group a while ago and find myself paying very little attention to it.  The group chooses a book to read each month-one that is a Newbery Award possibility. Because I have not kept up my Goodreads account, I don't visit the site often so I don't participate in the conversation. I use the list as a resource when I am deciding what to read next.

Books that the Goodreads Newbery Group is reading.

Shelfari Groups
After studying the groups I had been part of, I wanted to learn how to make the most of groups on Shelfari. I joined Shelfari this summer with teachers from my school, knowing that we would invite students to join this fall. We wanted to play around with the tool and build our own shelf so that we were ready to begin with kids once school began. I worked this summer to build my shelf but I hadn't explored what was possible. Since the students in our school are using Shelfari, I knew I needed to spend some time learning more about its features--beyond merely adding books to my shelf.

I took some time to learn about groups in Shelfari and I found quite a few that were more like Facebook Fan Groups than discussion groups.  Any member of Shelfari can start a group and many are.  But I looked at about 10-20 in various categories and many did not include much in terms of discussion. In Shelfari, it seems more like a status thing--to join as a way to show you are a fan of something.  Some groups are designed to recommend books but that seemed repetitive since the entire site is designed to do that.

It was easier than I thought to start a group on Shelfari. I am in the process of creating a Newbery Book Club to run from Jan 2011-Jan 2012 and I think taking advantage of a tool kids are already using might make sense. So I thought I'd learn to start a group by starting one that we might use for that club.  

In order to create a new group, there is a tag called "Groups" under the user's profile tag.  This pulls up the groups you are a part of and also invites you to create another group with the click of a button.  

Once you decide to start a group, there are a few questions to answer including the group's name, category, etc.

Then you can set the participation guidelines for this group.  This step takes some thinking.  This is not only about who can join the group and how but it is about who can see the group.  This is important for teachers depending on their district's policy. I wanted to make sure I was meeting our policy by keeping things private so I took a bit of time reading these categories carefully.   I want all members to participate but there are definitely good options that make these Shelfari groups great for schools as well as adult book clubs. There are many choices for the creator.

Once you create a group, it is your responsibility to invite others to join and to begin the conversation.

As the group administrator, I have the option to invite friends. I was happy to see that I could invite members of Shelfari as well as people who were not yet members.  I could also customize the invitation that I wanted to send out.

There is also a form that allows me to send out group announcements. This seems like a great feature for updates, etc. so that they don't get lost in discussions, etc. 

Goodreads Groups
I then moved to study groups in Goodreads. There are many, many active groups on Goodreads.  The site seems to be built for good discussions. 


 It was also very easy to create a group in Goodreads and I was able to choose the privacy levels as I was in Shelfari. 

One feature that I especially liked in Goodreads was the choices I had in how to get my discussion. I could choose to get them in digest form, in individual emails or neither.  These options lend themselves to quality discussion as people are committing to keeping up with the conversation.

You Are What You Read by Scholastic

Scholastic launched a new site to celebrate books. This one is very different from the others out there in that it asks you to choose only 5 books as your "bookprint".  These 5 books should be the books that influenced you the most.  By browsing the things other members have on their bookprint, the intent is to get conversations going. The site is clear that there is a five book limit so this makes it very different from other sites where readers share their current reading.

There are features that are fun to browse.  Celebrities like the Jonas Brothers have included their Bookprint. Members can find which books are mentioned ofen. And there is a "pass it on" feature that encourages you to share books you love with others.

The site organizes the most listed books so you can see those that are listed by many people.

Pass It On! encourages members to share books they love with others.

Reflections
After looking at these three options, I am convinced that Goodreads is the best option for conversations around books.  The members seem committed to authentic conversations and  there are many ways to participate.  Shelfari seems to have the potential to support good book talk but many of the groups tend to be more like fan groups at this point. For Shelfari's discussions to be worthwhile, a committed facilitator is needed.


Because I am a reader and because I have joined social networks, I can see the benefits that social networking around books has. When I think about my own learning, my Ning conversations around books were the most influential. Because the Ning is already created by members who have similar needs and beliefs, the book club groups have depth that I haven't seen on other sites.  Having a facilitator and a focus for the discussion also enabled depth in the discussions. As a reader and professional, I have decided that the English Companion Ning is the best place for me to become part of a community of readers talking about books. Personally, I will commit to becoming more involved in those conversations again. Personally and professionally, the Ning Book Clubs provide the best option for me.

When I think about my students, I know I want any online community to provide learning beyond something merely social.  I think it is possible to take advantage of the socialness of these sites to build collaboration and learning.   It was interested to read a recent comment by Doug Johnson in a piece called Don't Confuse Social Networking With Educational Networking. He says, "

I’ve come to the conclusion that we should stop using the term social networking to describe the kinds of collaborative online learning experiences we’d like students doing as a part of their formal education. The term connotes recreational or frivolous use of Internet resources."  

Although I am not sure we can stop using the term, I do agree that it has a certain definition that limits its uses in schools.  I think if we want our students to move beyond the recreational and frivolous uses of internet resources and move past things like bejeweled, we will need to find tools and ways to use them that support learning and collaboration in ways that go beyond social.  

When I think about using Social Networks around books with students, I have to think about my bigger goals. 

If we only use these as glitzy logs, we are missing the bigger picture of our goals for students.

I want a site that helps them not only collect titles of books they've read but to see how readers live in the world. I want a social network that helps them build their identities as readers.  In Choice Words, Peter Johnston says, "Building an identity means coming to see in ourselves the characteristics of particular categories (and roles) of people and developing a sense of what it feels like to be that sort of person and belong in certain social spaces."  I think social networks allow our students to be part of a network outside of school and to begin to build that identity as a reader that we so want for them.    The key will be for us, as educators, to build conversations and to facilitate learning so that these social networking sites become educational for them.

It is our job to help our students create networks that support them as learners just as our social networks support us as learners. . In her article, 

14 Ways K-12 Librarians Can Teach Social Media, Joyce Valenza says, "

Through their social networks—Nings, listservs, Twitter, and social-bookmarking activities using Diigo or Delicious  sharing—today’s librarians are, or should be, on the lookout for resources tools with which to serve the curriculum and engage learners across content areas and grade levels. I make exciting discoveries for others nearly every day. That’s my job. Librarians should help students and faculty develop similar networks for academic and professional sharing, modeling collaborative information-seeking behavior. "

If we keep in mind what Joyce Valenza says in her article, we can better keep an eye on our bigger goal with social networking for ourselves and for our students.  We can move our students from using these tools for the fun of it to using them in ways that support their learning.

Digital Mapping: So Much Different From Learning to Ride a Bike....

Flickr photo by sean dreilinger

Learning to ride a bike often follows a pattern for children. First of all, they want to learn to ride a bike.  They see others riding bikes and they want the independence that they see others having. There are also great scaffolds built in for kids.  Most bike riders don't start out on a two-wheeler bike. Most young children have riding toys with 4 wheelss then they move to tricycles.  Once they get a "big bike", riders often have training wheels as a support for a while. By the time they are ready to learn to ride the bike on their own, their experiences have set them up for success.

Up until this week, this course's learning has been like learning to ride a bike for me. I was learning new things about things I was somewhat familiar with--tools I had seen used and tools that I already knew held possibility.  I had been scaffolded in my learning by taking things one step at a time and having seen the tools in use. I had already seen the need for many of the tools I was learning.  But, this week's learning was much different for me.  Up until now in this course, I had an idea of what I was getting into. I was already a user of many of the tools or I had seen them used by friends or colleagues.  But for this week, I went into so many tools with little or no knowledge of the tool. I started from scratch. Google Earth was one of those tools that I knew almost nothing about. 

It makes sense that I knew nothing about this tool. I have been avoiding geography my whole life.  I memorized the states on the U.S. map every year in order to get my A on the test, but I never really connected with the whole idea of geography.  After reading the chapter on digital mapping in Berger's and Trexler's book Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World,  I realized the potential in Google Earth. They state, "The interactive approach incorporated in Google Earth is especially helpful to engage students  in inquiry learning ." (p. 183)  I then explored with an eye toward inquiry. I wondered how a tool like this could move more traditional projects forward.

It was good for me to have the experience of learning a brand new tool in the midst of this course.  I learned a bit about myself when it comes to learning new tool. I discovered that I have to immerse myself in the tool--read and learn a bit about it and find samples that seem worthwhile to me.  With the past tools, I found myself playing a bit more and exploring a bit less. Since this tool was one I had avoided in the past and one I knew very little about, I found myself reading articles, watching online videos and finding examples of this tool in action. Even with all of that immersion, if I am honest, I must admit that I still don't feel ready to jump in and create and use this tool for myself.

I learned that I have never really learned a tool completely on my own like I did Digital Mapping tools.  I am a social learner.  So, almost every other Web 2.0 tool that I used began in a social context. For some tools, I had friends who were using them and raved about them. For others, a friend and I decided to jump in together after seeing a project or an idea that we liked. For still others, I learned them with students and colleagues in the context of school.  Google Earth was different.  (Luckily, learning alone no longer means learning alone.  I was able to find educators and experts from around the globe who have shared their learning and work publicly on blogs and websites.)

Google Earth

Google Earth was a bit more difficult for me to learn as it required a download. I discovered this by accident after I had downloaded several samples which would not open on my computer. Even though I had read the chapters on Digital Mapping with detailed directions from Berger and Trexler, I had focused my thinking on what the tool could do and had difficulty following the written instructions about how to actually use the tool. So  I searched for a Google Earth video tutorial on YouTube.

I was overwhelmed by the videos available to teach Google Earth and I finally found the following video that made sense to me in order to get started. It is called How to Use Google Earth and is done by Cucumber Tutorials. Many of the others were for more advanced learners or included too much or too little information. I was amazed at how much time it took for me to find a video that met my specific needs.  

Once I installed the software, I realized that I wasn't sure what to do with it.  I also discovered  a great online magazine, Google Earth Across the Curriculum by Richard Byrne made on Yudu (which I would love to explore as I loved the way this magazine was created).  This piece allowed me to see many of the interesting ways Google Earth could be used in the classroom.  

  

Google Lit Trips

I started by looking at Google Lit Trips because I had heard about them. Even though I had heard about these, I had no idea what they were. Because I did not have a handle on what Google Earth could do, I didn't really understand them. I loved the possibility of a book coming to life in a map. I loved the idea of a map following the path of the story and I really had no idea what to expect. But when I dug in and looked at samples, what I found was that many Google Lit Trips were a disappointment. Many of the trips followed a map of the story and at each stop students needed to answer questions about the story at that point.  This seemed like a glorified worksheet to me and these Lit Trips in no way enhanced the story or a students' understanding of the story. For me, Lit Trips like this were an example of using technology for technology's sake. 

As I kept looking however, I did find some Lit Trips that did extend things for the reader.  One of my favorites was The Lit Trip for the picture book Possum Magic by Mem Fox.  In the book, Possum Magic, several foods popular in Australia are included.  US readers are often confused by these foods and the accompanying Lit Trip can be used as a way to learn more about these foods while also learning a bit about maps. The Lit Trip has information that is not included in the story and and readers can stop at each stop on the character's journey to find out about the food eaten.  I thought that this was a very worthwhile use of a Lit Trip for young readers.

This Google Lit Trip allows readers to learn about the foods Hush eats on her journey.

After spending a great deal of time looking at teacher-created Google Lit Trips, I found a few that were created by students and began to believe that the power of these Google Lit Trips is only possible if we invite students to create them as a way to extend the book in some authentic way. I found one example in particular where students had pulled out a quote for each location on the map. I could only imagine how amazing the conversation between students was as they determined collaboratively which quote to include for each marker.

I could not find any Google Lit Trips that were designed or used outside of a school setting.  I worry about a tool or an activity only done in schools.  

Learning About Community Walk

After spending a long time exploring Google Earth, I stumbled upon a post that helped me see possibilities for writing and that introduced me to a few other digital mapping tools. I learned a great deal from Brenda Dyck's blog post on Education World entitled, Using Digital Place-Based Storytelling to Teach Geographical Thinking.  Brenda Dyck shares some new ways to think about digital mapping and I loved her focus on mapping as as a more personal tool.  Dyck used a tool I had never heard of called Community Walk to create a map of her childhood neighborhood, complete with memories and photos of life there. As an elementary librarian, I saw huge possibilities with this use of digital mapping and its relationship to not only social studies, but as a tool for  personal narrative writing.  So many of our K-5 teachers spend time on units of study in the Writing Workshop dealing with personal narrative. What a great tool to help students think about the narratives they'd like to write. Dyck's reflection tells the power of this type of mapping when she says,   "Back home, I opened up the Community Walk Web site and found out how easy it was to locate the map of my old neighborhood and to create place makers for the places I had taken pictures of. In the place maker space, I downloaded the appropriate picture and wrote a short memory about why that location was significant to me. The result was a map full of memories and meaning. Along the way, I had honed my map-reading skills and learned how place, story, and community helped shape who I am today."

After reading Dyck's thinking about digital mapping, I decided to check out Community Walk.  I was quickly able to locate our local community on the map and I played around with finding various points on the map.  I was quickly able to find and mark our local library, add some information as well as a photo of one of the library's children's librarians that I had in my Flickr account.  It took less than 3 minutes from start to finish.  There are options to add video, sounds, and more on mapping sites like these and the creation was not only easy but it helped me see our community a bit differently.

Dublin, Ohio's library branch with photo of Mr. George, one of our children's librarians

For Use in the Library

Maps are becoming so much more than they were without technology.  Having looked at other tools before looking at Google Earth, I can see the power of using several tools together.  I am intrigued by Will Richardson's suggestion in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, "Even better is using Flickr with Google Maps and Google Earth to begin to give a global sense of the world in photos." (p. 106) It seems that these tools are not meant to be used alone and I think the combination of tools can be powerful for both students and teachers.

I now see huge possibilities for these digital mapping tool with students.  But I think the key is to find projects that are a match for the tool.  I saw too many examples online of using the tool for the tool's sake.  But I am thinking about several studies done in our school related to geography (community, neighborhood, Ohio, etc.) as well as studies that could be extended with a tool like this. There could be new possibilities if we explored the use of this tool in the  study of Native Americans, Landforms or Weather.  

I would also love to see the power of this tool as a form of Digital Storytelling.  I love the idea of digital maps as storytellers. In her book Digital Storytelling Tools for Educators, Sylvie Rosenthal Tolisano says, "Thanks to a company named Google, we no longer are confined to a photo album, a world map with push pins or a heavy family atlas to connect stories and images from around the world.  Thanks to Web 2.0 tools, we can mash-up media, such as photos, videos, audio and links that take us to explore further to TELL a story in more detail and with more connections to the world around us than ever before." (p. 20) I can see huge power in using maps to support students in telling narrative stories as well as enhancing other types of writing.

After my exploration, I also believe that the power in this tool seems to be in the creation.  This seems to be a tool that does not really invite consuming without producing.  Google Lit Trips seem to be a great option for students in their responses to literature. I can only imagine the conversations that would occur as students worked collaboratively to determine what to include in a Lit Trip map around a great novel. I think the power is in the conversations and creations around this tool.  

I am also intrigued by the idea of Google Earth and other digital mapping tools as a piece of a bigger project.  I can see embedding a Google Map/Earth project into a larger presentation or as a component of a student-published ebook. The possibilities are endless when I consider the ways this tool can be used as a part of something bigger.

Because this tool is so new to me, I imagine more ideas will come as I spend more time with it.  Although I do not see this as a tool I would use often, I do see it as a great match to move beyond traditional projects and assignments in various areas of the curriculum.  I am glad to have this tool as an option to introduce to students and teachers when the opportunity arises.

For Professional Learning

My learning this week was more about what it was like to learn a new tool and what it is like to be uncomfortable with the newness of it. I have been playing with Web 2.0 tools for a few years now and I had really forgotten what it was like to find a tool that I knew nothing about. It has been a luxury over the last few years to explore tools I am interested in and/or tools I had an immediate need for. Pushing myself to learn a bit about Google Earth and digital mapping helped remind me how long it takes for the immersion period of learning.  

  

I was surprised by the fact that I didn't create any complete products. Instead I played around with pieces and parts of the tools every tool discovering what was possible.  In all honesty, I had no idea about what to create but I know from past experiences, that after living with a tool for a while, possibilities for its uses become more apparent.

I was also interested in my reading behaviors.  I now realize that so much of what I needed to know was written in the books and articles I read, I found that I really needed to dig in and see what this was all about and then go back into the texts and videos as resources for the specific needs I had. I could not take in all of the information at once. I needed a sense of the tool, then was able to dig into the how-to information provided. It was a constant back-and-forth for me as a reader as I was able to take in more about the tool.

In my work with teachers as a librarian and as a colleague/learner, I often forget about the time necessary to become comfortable with a new tool and to realize its possibilities.  In schools, we often don't have the time to explore tools for this period of time. 

I am also reminded again of the time children need to play with a new tool before they can create something worthwhile. I know that we often rush children through the exploration stage because of time constraints. Then projects become more teacher-driven than student-driven.  The library has become a good place in our school for students to learn and explore new Web 2.0 tools.  I am now reminded of how important that time is. I have learned over and over again that given the time and tools, students can be creative beyond our expectations.  Once they see what is possible, they can do amazing things.

Final Reflections

As I've stated before, I don't see Google Earth becoming a tool that I use consistently. However, I have discovered that we now have many more ways to connect to the world because of Google Earth. I have come to agree with what Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss say in Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Read-World Projects in the Digital Age, Google Earth makes the world visible and understandable in too many ways to mention."  (170)  This was a huge learning curve for me.   It took me hours and hours to agree with these words about Google Earth as I struggled to understand this tool.  But now that I have given myself the time to explore, I feel confident that this tool will enhance student learning.

Berger, P. & Trexler, S.  (2010)  Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World.  Santa Barbara, CA:  Libraries Unlimited.


Boss, S. & Krauss, J.  (2007)  Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Readl-World Projects in the Digital Age.  Eugene, OR:  ISTE


Byrne, R.  Google Earth Across the Curriculum. Retrieved from http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1l5al/GoogleEarthAcrossthe/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freetech4teachers.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fgoogle-earth-across-curriculum.html


Dyck, B. (2010)  Using Digital Place-Based Storytelling to Teach Geographical Thinking.  Education World  Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/dyck/dyck018.shtml


Richardson, W. (2010)  Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin.


Tolisano, S. R. (2008)  Digital Storytelling Tools for Educators.  Publisher Unknown.