I've not yet done this, but I was a student in a course that hosted a TwitterChat with a field expert. We all joined at the same time, and followed a specific hashtag. The industry expert would post information, and a series of questions would follow from students with the same hashtag. I liked the live 'interactive' part, but didn't like the 140 word character limit. However, the instructor was able to post an archive of the twitter chat when we were done - so that was neat.
Guerda,
That is so true. I think we think that we can bring people into the online course when in reality it is pretty easy.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I would suggest that they network with professional and (Subject Matter Experts)SME's. The people in those communities will guide them in the right direction. In addition, they will share there experience and common practices which can be quite valuable.
Miriam,
That is a great idea. I think you could create online mentoring with this model.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Angela,
That is a great idea. There are more and more blogger experts that can be used.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Amy,
What a great idea! I want to "borrow" that. There are great examples of social media that are content specific if needed.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Shenita,
I agree with you. More an more social networking is done on the professional level. It makes sense to use that type of a use for a pattern.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
In our community there is a large USDA facility. I would make a connection with their personnel and determine the possibility of microblogging with their personnel and establish the parameters for my students and I to do so.
I would ask the students to find experts in the field whose work that they admire or find interesting. This way if the information is meaningful to them, they are likely to be more active microbloggers.
As on online instructor, I would encourage students to follow leaders in the industry, and to subscribe to professional pod casts and micro blogs where available. ( AAPC, CMS, etc)
In order to facilitate a connection between students and experts in the field, I would encourage students to "follow" certain experts if there too were using such social networking. Many professionals have incorporated social networking; therefore, they are easily accessible and influential.
