12014

12014

General Session - Conference Presentation Only (20 minutes, no formal paper)

Emily White, University of Hawaii at Maui College, Wailuku, Hawaii, USA, emmaharberwhite@gmail.com
 * Hello? Is Anybody out there? Enhancing Student Weblog Interaction with Tumblr in Any Classroom**

Background/Purpose:

As we embrace the teaching tools of web 2.0 and enter into web 3.0, we’ve come to realize that using educational technology and social media to engage students is not enough. These arenas must encourage high-quality student interaction.

Over the past few years, I’ve recognized the following conundrum through my own use of online educational technologies. Blogging tools like Weebly and Blogger enable high-context academic portfolio creation and a private, comfortable thinking space for learners. However, they lack student interactivity: weblogs limit student interactivity to the comments box, a linear, slim and often anonymous dialogue. Conversely, social media arenas such as Facebook enable a far richer student interactivity but often at the expense of student comfort and class content.

In my search for a webtool that combines the best of the weblog with social media, Tumblr appeared. Tumblr is a microblogging site with social media capabilities.

Goals/Objectives:

The goal of this workshop is to share with fellow educators tips and tricks for leveraging the best of what Tumblr has to offer as a replacement for traditional weblog and social media sites. Educators will leave the workshop having the skills to implement Tumblr in their class. Tumblr could be used in any content area where a weblog or social media activity is used or anticipated.

//Interactivity// Please note: this workshop can be either 20 or 45 minutes. For 20 minutes, please see description of presentation above. For an interactive 45 minute presentation, audience members/workshop participants will log on to Tumblr themselves and experience using Tumblr as a student would. A hypothetical lesson plan will be simulated.

All Audiences interactivity, online collaboration, Tumblr, blogging, weblog, portfolio, social media, Facebook