An Old Crow Learns to Tweet from a Twitter Squawker: Cognitive Apprenticeship in Action

An Old Crow Learns to Tweet from a Twitter Squawker

Cognitive Apprenticeship in Action

So it happened! I, @botaklibrarian (botak means “bald” in Malay and was one of the first words I learned in Singapore) posted my first reply on Twitter. Not unexpectedly, the world spun on and very few people will notice -- but it happened and that’s HUGE for me.

A toe was immersed in the birdbath of tweeting as @botaklibrarian took encouragement from me, the @LOL1librarian. By no means am I an early adopter (Rogers, 1976), but as I attended various conferences like 21st Century Learning and other library conferences where people were tweeting the action and discussing their favourite people to follow like they were rockstars, a feeling of FOMO started to hatch. Soon I realized that colleagues around the world were sharing resources, ideas and the joy they encounter in their jobs. As @botaklibrarian and I sat down to explore, I worked to impart some of my FOMO vibe on the positives of Twitter.

Let’s call a bird a bird and disclose that I’m no spring chicken. As a teacher I thrive on the energy of collaboration and the creation of new, collective understanding, I love tech and learning, but I’m still on a daily schedule that evolved before the wonders of smartphones. My life seemed full and vibrant before the iPhone landed on the scene and I couldn’t figure out what was so important about a Tweet that I needed to find time, in an already full schedule, to devote to it. What more could I possibly put in my brain? What could I possibly have to say? How could I find room in my nest for yet another vehicle for communication? How would it be meaningful and not just another thing done cursorily and for appearances? Was I now all alone in my Tweet-free world?

I’ve read very elegant treatises on and listened to passionate humans discuss the world-changing effects of Twitter, but I remained wary of what I perceived as the inane, time-sucking, self-aggrandizing nature of the platform. It’s fair to say that I would have flown on in the small patch of sky I was comfortable with had I not been pulled, kicking and squawking, by another lovely bird (I am now done belabouring the bird metaphor).

As one of the passionate humans discussing Twitter, I realized that only shorts flights could be managed in order to engage this reluctant crow. In the past, @intlNadine and myself tried to model communication and collaboration strategies by tagging @botaklibrarian, however she ignored the notifications calling her name. The strategy to engage needed to change, and one catalyst for this change is the requirement to tweet and include the hashtag #EDUC5303G by @PowerLrn. Nothing like a little accountability to encourage the motivation.

That’s absolutely true! So buoyed by @LOL1librarian’s unflagging enthusiasm and kicked out of the nest by @PowerLrn, I opened my eyes and sat -- phone in hand and started asking a million stupid questions to my very patient mentor. At the same time (phones are amazing) I did some quick research and found excellent support for novices like this ‘cheat sheet” from Kathy Schrock. Still, there is a limit to what I can take in, so we’re starting with baby steps (or flaps..). One reply, no tweets yet and a very curated list of followees…

Similar to my own journey, I encouraged @botaklibrarian to keep the focus of Twitter on the professional side, she curated her list of following by looking for people who we had met at a library conferences, and are stars in the library realm. Our next step was to explore the hashtag #digitalcitizen that cropped up on a latest tweet in #EDUC5303G. Here is where we started discussing the power of the connection and how our professional learning can grow. By beginning to follow @istelib, the ISTE Librarians PLN we could see the amazing resources and ideas that they were tweeting out. Also, we chatted about how your connections and community can grow beyond your known faces by looking at the recommended list to follow connected to that profile.

And connect I did, well, not so much connect as observe. Our profession seems to have been able to master this tool to amazing advantage and I felt a little giddy with all the lightbulb moments happening as I traversed the Tweetosphere. This is Connectivism and @LOL1librarian is my cognitive coach. One of the first things we happened across was a tweet about a lesson on evaluating media (@KayOddone ) that was problem-based and connected to the real-world and was shaped in the Partnering model! There are still only 24 hours in a day but now I’m determined to find a few minutes each day for a quick flap.

And we will look at Kathy Schrock’s cheat sheet to say what branch on the path we should follow net. Stay tuned for our net installment!


References
Culatta, R., & Kearsley, G. (Eds.). (n.d.). Cognitive Apprenticeship. Retrieved
     May 23, 2019, from InstructionalDesign.org website 
     https://www.instructionaldesign.org/models/cognitive-apprenticeship/  

Miller, E. (2017, April 20). Teachers on Twitter: why you should join and how to 
     get started. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/ 
     teacher-network/2017/apr/20/teachers-on-twitter-why-join-get-started-social-media

Rogers, E.M. (1976). New product adoption and diffusion. Journal of Consumer 
Research, (March), 290 -301.

Schrock, K. (2019, March). Cure What Ails You: A Dose of Twitter for Every Day
     [Blog post]. Retrieved from Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything website:
     https://www.schrockguide.net/twitter-for-teachers.html