Microblogging

Microblogging is the tie between blogging and social media. Blogs have been posted to online social networks since the internet started, and now teachers have a chance to reach their students using social media. When someone uses “Facebook” to publish a post about their day, that is essentially a blog. Other blogs can be found on other websites, just like the one you are reading now. Microblogging is labeled as such because it is mainly used to reach a smaller audience, mostly a class of students or a group of friends. Other social media sites such as “Twitter” can also be used.

The biggest difference between microblogging and SRSs is the audience it can reach.

Authors Frøytlog and Rasmussen have indeed explored the potential of microblogging in their 2018 article called “The Distribution and Productivity of Whole-Class Dialogues: Exploring the Potential of Microblogging.” Their article highlights how microblogging can connect learning activities, make thinking transparent, and promote distributed and productive dialog/discussions. Any new teacher will find the idea of microblogging necessary and attempt to implement it into their instruction. Their study included a specific microblogging tool called Talkwall, but this should be noted as an example to create these types of open communication and dialog between students.

Open discussion is important in any classroom to make the students feel safe and included. There are many different platforms, do not settle for whichever one you find first. Make sure whichever method you choose is suitable to fit your needs.

Read the complete article here:

Frøytlog, J. I. J., & Rasmussen, I. (2020). The distribution and productivity of whole-class dialogues: Exploring the potential of microblogging. International Journal of Educational Research, 99, 101501.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883035519308894?via%

Review other articles related to Microblogging here:

Abella-García, V., Delgado-Benito, V., Ausín-Villaverde, V., & Hortigüela-Alcalá, D. (2019). To tweet or not to tweet: Student perceptions of the use of twitter on an undergraduate degree course. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 56(4), 402-411.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14703297.2018.1444503?journalCode=riie20

Rødnes, K. A., Rasmussen, I., Omland, M., & Cook, V. (2021). Who has power? an investigation of how one teacher led her class towards understanding an academic concept through talking and microblogging. Teaching and Teacher Education, 98.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X20314207?via%3Dihub

Want to see how Microblogging is used in a Digital Classroom? Watch the videos below:

Use social media to your advantage, your students are using it already anyway.