Strange question? Well, perhaps at first glance, but when you think about it, technology can easily become a part of so many aspects of our lives. Whether you have committed to studying online on a full-time basis, or you’re wondering if maybe a part-time option is more manageable for you, there are many many options from which to choose!

Something that I noticed after I got comfortable in my ‘online learning hat’ was that the ‘online’ or ‘e’-learning or ‘technical’ part of my learning experience very quickly melted into the other parts of the process. Soon, I began to see it as my customized, border-less and self-empowering learning experience minus the ‘e’. As time went on, it became less important to isolate the ‘online’ part because the technology became one of the many important aspects of my learning experience.

So that brings me back to the holidays! I know that not everyone celebrates at the same time, and not all of us share the same traditions, and there’s certainly quite a lot of travel that takes place during this time of the year, so I think it’s safe to say that not all of us celebrate in the same place either! But, what I’m really interested in talking about here with you, is how (or even whether) you’ve incorporated technology into your holiday traditions. To start us off, I’ll share a story…

I was hiking in Big Basin Redwoods State Park yesterday with a couple of friends. One of them asked me if I had any ideas about organizing a dinner or some sort of party for our social group. I started thinking about it, slept on it over night, and then inspiration hit once the alarm went off this morning! With coffee in hand, I began sifting through all my cookbooks, and put together a menu for a potluck dinner. Then, I started thinking about how to give people access to the menu and the recipes and, a little while later, I came up with an e-vite as well as a dinner menu plus all the recipes! How? Technology! Yes!

Now, I know that a paper and pencil would have worked too, or even making photocopies and mailing them out would have gotten the message across. But I think that technology represents the option to do things differently. I’ll even go a step further and say that one of the most important things that technology allows us to do is to communicate differently. That’s what online learning represents to me – a different way for teachers to get their messages across to students, and an alternative way for students to receive those ideas and form educated opinions about them for themselves. And if you consider how unique and multifaceted each of our perspectives are as we look around in this world and try to make sense of it, we can use all the alternatives we can get!

For some of you, it might still be too early to talk about the holidays, while for others, you’re already planning guest lists and wrapping gifts. I’d like to share my little dinner invite with you, as well as the menu items and recipes. If you’re inspired, you’re more than welcome to use them to create your own events. Or maybe…they’ll inspire you to think about others way that you can use technology to make your holiday season more festive and enjoyable!

A couple of months ago, we were encouraged to start using Twitter in one of my masters-level online courses. I was debating whether or not to follow the media hype, give in and sign up for a Twitter account, but then a thought dawned on me:

‘What’s the difference between Tweets and Facebook status updates?’

I’m a regular Facebook user (it hasn’t started getting on my nerves yet). I update my status a few times each week and rather enjoy reading the updates of those in my network. So I didn’t really understand what added value a Twitter account would give me.

While in the throws of this heated debate with myself (oh yes! heated I say!), I posted a message in my tutor group’s discussion forum asking my fellow classmates whether they saw a difference in these two forms of microblogging?

Days went by, status updates updated, and yet no one responded to my message in FirstClass. So, I let it go and moved on to the next week’s tasks, deciding not to become a Tweeter after all.

It’s just a few weeks ’til the end of my MA, and as I find myself contemplating how I’ll structure my FINAL project (!!!), my mind seems to be wandering back to that lonely question.

This time though, instead of looking for answers among my kind, I head to Google, which in turn leads me to Gavin Purcell’s blog post in which he attempts to answer this very question! Instead of posting a message in a restricted-access discussion forum that’s hardly been used lately since I have a feeling that we’re all slowly but surely being sucked dry by all the course work (not to mention life!), Purcell went right to the source. He relied on his Twitter network for answers and posted a Tweet with the very question that’s been on my mind for weeks.

In his blog entry, he made note of some answers his Tweet generated. Just for a virtual moment, I’d like to take a look at a few of them, break them down and reflect on whether they help me figure this one out. However before I start, I feel inclined to state that this ‘breaking down’ process is totally based on my perspective in an effort for me to make sense of my understanding of these two technologies. It’s by no means a way to criticize any of the Tweeters. If you have a different viewpoint to share, you’re more than welcome to add a comment below .

@techdiva66 twitter is short, character-limited updates & facebook gives you more options for communicating as well as games & apps

Two things about this answer:

(1) Emphasizing the character limitations of Twitter makes it sound like Facebook status updates are verbosely cumbersome (i.e. long), which is really not true at all. Personally, I haven’t seen many over 20-25 words with most ranging between 2 and 10 words.

(2) We’re just talking about status updates vs. tweets here – not debating the similarities of the two platforms.

@jpurnell twitter is lower-stakes status updates

Why lower-stakes?

@brew7vwp on twitter you talk to strangers you like, on facebook you talk to friends you barely remember

Interesting…this, I think, could be true, depending on your networking strategies. I actually ‘like’ the people in my Facebook network (what up homies!?!) although I am sometimes put in a awkward position to keep it that way. So, this one doesn’t quite apply to me but I can see how it could be relevant to others. Moving on…

@victordlt Twitter is Facebook in KISS mode (Keep it Simple Stupid). More Simple and Faster.

How long do these people take to post status updates and who do they think reads them!? I suppose if my Facebook network was composed of work colleagues and I was trying to professionally brand myself through the updates (…isn’t that what LinkedIn is for…?), then ok, I can maybe see how it might be stressful to post an update. But I’ve never really associated updating my status as a difficult or time consuming activity. Am I missing something here…?

@calindrome Twitter is a cocktail party; Facebook is recess.

…k…I had to think about this one for a while.

Cocktail party: frivolous, cheeky, unpredictable.
Recess: break time (with the intention to get right back to work), catching up with those you know.

Yeah, ok, this makes a lot of sense. But how would this answer help justify Twitter as an educational technology tool?

@Goose Facebook is Twitter for people with Internet agoraphobia.

…taking that to mean that Twitter supports a more open network structure…ok…worth noting…

@JD_Southard Facebook is so 2008. Twitter is a social networking experiment in real time connecting people thru a limited # of characters

I have to be honest with you…I actually like words so this one doesn’t sell me on Twitter… Nor is the 2008 reference that convincing since I’m trying to play devil’s advocate with new and emerging technologies in order not to fall into the habit of adopting technologies for the sake of technology.

@ahachmi twitter is where you can vent your mood, sure fbook does the same, but in Twitter it is nothing but the venting of thoughts.

So…why would anyone choose to be witness to venting? And if Twitter is the vent, then what is Facebook? The vaccuum? The Swiffer Duster?

@MyNameisRazzle Facebook Status without the Facebook.

Which brings me back to my original question – is there any value added in having accounts with both?

After going through this little self-imposed reflective activity, I think I’ve come away with more questions than answers. I’ve clarified some important things for myself though: Twitter = open network structure & cocktails vs. recess. Personal networking strategies may also play an important role in the dynamics of these two platforms but clarifying the intentions of the users and knowing one’s audience might be helpful here. But maybe it’s too soon to make any judgments seeing how quickly things are changing.

I should get back to work now, but before I go, I wanted to leave you with a little side note: as I was drafting this post, I updated my Facebook status, asking my network what they thought was the difference between Tweets and updates. Perhaps it’s because it’s the middle of a week day and everyone is hard at work, but I didn’t get any replies.

I didn’t realize how archaic email was until I saw what Wave can do! I first heard about it from David Wiley’s blog, and after posting the YouTube video of its unveiling to my Facebook profile I continued reading public reaction to it which led me to Jon Mott’s post in which he notes how closely the timing of the announcement fell to the launch of WolframAlpha. He also comments about how he thinks this might impact learners:

I’ve Seen the Future and the Future is Us (Using Google)

Based on an hour and 20 minute long video, Google Wave appears poised to dramatically improve on the Twitter model. Accordingly, the possibilities for enhanced interactions between learners are encouraging. And the ripples of the Wave (sorry, couldn’t resist) have profound implications. With Wave, entire learning conversations are captured and shared with dynamic communities of learners.

www.jonmott.com

I’ve included a link to the unveiling below.

I’m still wrapping my mind around the possibilities. I’m definitely one of the believers that this will be a huge revolution in the way we use technology to support communication…and…what is education if not the communication of ideas in the name of greater understanding.