Microblogger

MICROBLOG

A microblog is a type of blog in which users can post small pieces of digital content like pictures, video or audio on the Internet. These posts, called microposts, are immediately available to a small community or public. It differs from a blog due to its smaller content. Micoblogging is highly popular among users due to its portability and immediacy.

Microblogs are incorporated in different websites. Most microblog platforms require users to log in, although some allow social login. In a microblog, the posts are brief and are often restricted by number of characters. Most often, the entries in a microblog are one or two sentences, image or video links or a link to an article. The posts can be received or sent using different computing devices, such as smartphones. One of the most popular microblogging sites on the Internet is Twitter.

Education is a comprehensive term used to describe the learning activities that involve individuals of all age groups from children to older students to teachers. The changing Microblogging arena provides a multitude of opportunities to make the learning process an interesting activity to everyone involved in the process. It aids collaboration and collective learning for effective understanding. All the stakeholders who contribute to education meet up at one point, online, for the betterment of education.

Twitter, Yammer, Friendfeed, present.ly, edmodo, Cirip.eu, identi.ca, and PLURK are Microblogging platforms that are instrumental in effective learning that bridges the gap between the teachers and students.

Effective Ways of using Microblogging platforms

The boundaries of classrooms have moved from chalk and board classrooms to the online arena, with virtual setups being successful. Techniques like cognitive learning and collaborative learning through Microblogging platforms are tools that come in handy for an educator.

Creating Communities in Classrooms

The mode of education can be brick and mortar classrooms or even online classrooms. Microblogging allows for creating specific communities for a particular class. For instance, create a special community for your history class and exchange information on historical figures or get clarifications from the moderator. Publishing information on historical characters in 140 words will be quite a challenge. It improves the memorization of facts. Communities will act as the fountain of learning.

Collaboration

Teachers should include a hashtag in Twitter on their class discussion and students can join in the discussion by adding in facts and comments. Twiducate has a special provision for churning discussions by allowing people direct comments to a person. Students can initiate a story line and continue to build it. This enhances creativity and presence of mind. You get to appreciate the story that has been built without errors in spelling and grammar.

Polls and Opinions

Polls are a great way to understand what students think and feel. When a teacher wants to find out the opinion of students, he or she can set a survey for arriving at a conclusion. Students can set polls for initiating debates and discussions on varied subjects.

Researching Online

‘Following’ popular personalities will help understanding their opinions and views on daily happenings. When students keep a tab on what is ‘trending,’ they get a clear picture of the world around. Websites like Historicaltweets.com and Twitterfall.com help you learn loads of information based on keywords or personalities. For instance, when you type in the word ‘impeachment’, in Twitterfall.com, it would list the tweets on the subject and the students can grasp its essence. After this, the students can tweet their understanding in a single ‘140 words-tweet’.

Participation

Microblogging helps students overcome their shyness. In a classroom situation, students will hesitate to volunteer answers, but many will come up with their answers on Twitter or Cirip.eu. They will easily volunteer answers and this encourages participative learning.

Word explorations

Most Microblogging platforms have ‘wordle’ features for creating frameworks around words. Related words like the antonyms and synonyms of the words are connected to form word clouds. In the Microblogging site Cirip.eu, building mind maps and diagrams help in enhancing the basic understanding of the individual.

Motivation is the objective behind learning, using Microblogging. When students are aware that their work reaches a global audience focusing on close-knit networks, they are empowered and motivated to learn better. Thus, communication in education has moved away from closed student-teacher relationships towards open collaborative learning.

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BLOGGING AND MICRO-BLOGGING SITES

1. Blog and  microblog have a big immediate difference and that is the number of characters allowed to communicate. As a blogger generally have no limit while as a microbloggs are usually rectricted to 140 to 150 words.

2. There is a great deal of difference between writing style as a blogger and a microblogger, which in turn dictates the convenience offered to convey an idea to the readers.

3. A blogging site updates at the discretion of the blogger while a microblogging site keeps updating minute by minute.

4. Blogging sites are not as active as a microblogging site. A new blog might appear after a long interval that depends on the users convenience, however a microblogging site is much more active with new posts appearing within seconds.

5. Another basic difference is the philosophy behind the development of both the sites. A blogging site is not meant to keep the user and his friends updated about the day to day activities of the user and vice versa while micro-blogging sites aim t do exactly that.