01.+Microblogging

= 01. Microblogging =

Name of Technology Tool:
Twitter

Description of Scenario:
Students will use Twitter to communicate with each other and their teacher about literature they read in book clubs.

Who will be Involved:
Middle school (or high school) language arts students, their teacher, and their school librarian can all take part in this project.

Rationale for Using This Technology Tool In School Libraries:
Using Twitter in this project will increase students' interest and participation rates. The unique limitations of 140 characters will be attractive to students but will also help them to focus their comments and make their points succinctly. Book clubs are a great way for the librarian to become involved with students and teachers and to support the learning in the regular classrooms. Using Twitter as part of the book club project will further engage the students in the activity and learning experience. Perhaps using Twitter in a school setting will be somewhat of a novelty for the students involved; in any case, they will enjoy its unique features and the opportunity to tweet with their classmates and teacher. A sense of community is bound to develop around the book clubs among the students, teacher and librarian who are involved.

Detailed Description of Scenario in School Library Setting:
The classroom language arts and the school librarian will work together to develop book clubs for the students in a middle school (or high school) language arts class. The librarian can provide book recommendations and actual book copies. Students will self-select books based on the offerings and be organized into groups or clubs based on the titles they choose. They will be required to read a certain portion (either pages or chapters per week or per evening) and to use Twitter to share their thoughts and ideas about their reading. The teacher or librarian will establish a target number of tweets per assignment period that students will be expected to post (chances are that most students will post more than the required amount once they become immersed in the books). Students will be expected to discuss plot, character development, setting, and author's craft as well as to discuss their opinions and their questions about the novels. Using Twitter will require specificity in the students' comments as well as careful consideration about what to say and how to say it. The teacher and the school librarian can also join in the conversations on Twitter in order to model appropriate posts but also to engage students in discussions about their reading. In school, the book clubs can meet in person to discuss their Twitter communications and additional ideas. The conversations on Twitter will provide jumping off points for the club meetings in school. The public nature of Twitter will serve to help students create appropriate comments knowing that their tweets will be read by the teacher and school librarian as well as members of their book club.

submitted by Suzanne Mathews