Unit 4 Reflection Blog

Module 4 was titled “Analyzing and Discussing Literature Online.” This unit described various ways to incorporate technology into learning literature. Some online avenues mentioned were e-mails, discussion boards, Cel.ly, Wiki, Quizlet, and Twitter. Combining literature and online programs that kids are already familiar with can enhance a student’s comprehension and understanding of a novel.

                My favorite online outlet described in this chapter was definitely Twitter. I think students would enjoy working with this because they probably use it on an everyday basis. There are so many different ways to use Twitter including Adaptation, Roleplaying, Prequels and Sequels, Reader Response Blogging, and Twitter Stream Co-Lecture. All of these were mentioned in the article “To Tweet or Not to Tweet: Using Twitter in the Literature Classroom,” by Peter Kunze.

                One way of using Twitter would be Adaptation. This is when students summarize or retell the story in their own series of tweets. If I use this method in my own class, I would set a limit on the number of tweets they can have. That way, because they’d be limited to 140 characters per tweet, they would have to consider the most important parts of the story. According to the article “To Tweet or Not to Tweet,” this exercise also helps with genre.

                Roleplaying is another strategy of using Twitter to teach literature. The students would tweet from the perspective of a character. They also create the default picture, the handle, bio, and who the character is following. I did an activity like this in high school and found it to be very useful. This exercise goes against what the article states that David Elkind calls “adolescent egocentrism.” It gives students a chance to think about the thoughts and feelings of others, instead of themselves.

                Another Twitter lesson could be Prequels and Sequels. In this activity, students come up with a series of tweets to describe events that occurred before or after the novel takes place. With this, students can consider what influenced the characters or plot. I like this idea because it allows the students to be creative and come up with their own ideas about a text.

                Reader Response Blogging was another tool described in the article. Students tweet their thoughts and responses as they read. The article reports that this exercise can help with critical thinking, writing, and reading skills. I like this idea, however, I probably wouldn’t use it in my class.

                The last Twitter lesson the article talked about was the Twitter Stream Co-Lecture. The class uses a hashtag as they live tweet about the story. Students can reply to each other, as well as the instructor. As helpful as this activity would be, it seems like it might be really complicated to set up.

                By the time I become a teacher, Twitter might not be used anymore. However, I’d still like to incorporate some type of social media into my lessons. By doing this, I think students would be more engaged and interested in reading.