Leelefever. (2008). Twitter in plain. Retrieved on May, 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o
¨MICROBLOGING AND SOCIAL NETWORKING¨
Views on microblogging and social networking including advantages and disadvantages.
| | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Microbloogging | Responses in minutes when using technology as cell phones. For example, when being in class those with internet access can contribute and be more active in class. Text messages are uploaded to a microblogging service such as Twitter where we can find interesting information about an issue we are interested in. Have useful discussion on selected topic and clear you doubts from experts. Updates you make in micro blogging sites can be visible to community members to all users depending upon the platform you use. Instead of spending hours together to narrate a blog post, micro blogging platform can be used effectively to share things you wish to. | Many people do not have access to internet or even a cell phones, therefore they might not be as engaged as the ones with phones. Although we can find a lot of information in Twitter it is important to know exactly what it is going to be purpose to get involved in this microblogging. It is crucial to identify the people who we can follow in order to get valid and reliable information. The biggest disadvantages of micro blogging would be the limitation in characters. It is easily to get off topic. |
| Social Networking | Allow users to share ideas activities, events and interests. Provide means of users to interact over the internet. Build social relationships. Low costs since it's cheaper to use online social networking for both personal and business use because most of it is usually free. Builds Credibility because you can gain the customers' confidence if you can connect to them on both a personal and professional level. Connections because you are friends with people who have other friends, and so on. | Lack of Anonymity because one puts out information about the name, location, age, gender, and many other types of information that one may not want to let others know. Scams and Harassment, there is a potential for failure of security in both personal and business context Time Consuming for those people who don't see the point. For them, it can be a disadvantage. |
References
Everyday- Wisdom. (N.D). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking. Retrieved on May, 2010 from http://www.everyday-wisdom.com/social-networking.html
Mercy. (2008). Micro Blogging Advantages and Disadvantages. Blogspot. Retrieved on May, 2010 from http://seodailydose.blogspot.com/2008/12/micro-blogging-advantages-and.html
Reynard, R. (2008). Microblogging and Relevancy. Campus Technology. Retrieved from http://www.campustechnology.com/Articles/2008/11/Microblogging-and-Relevancy.aspx
THREAD ¨COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE¨
I think that being involved in a community of practice as a professional brings many advantages in order to gain knowledge about the own field and gives chances for discussing about current topics with professionals, in this case about teaching in EFL scenarios. At the same time, sharing experiences with other people can contribute to try ¨something new¨ with the purpose of improving the own performance. Here, the ¨goal¨ would be to support each teacher to foster the professional development by learning from each other, developing a wide range of resources and creating activities which might help teachers to improve the daily practice. Now, talking about the usefulness for language learning in a community of practice, I might say it offers a real practice of language because in the community we all would have a very active participation when setting topics of continuous interest.
Reference
Wenger, E. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: a quick start –up guide. Retrieved from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/start-up_guide_PDF.pdf
Wenger, E. (2006). Communities of practice a brief introduction. Retrieved from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm
Visualizing the dynamics of communication in Communities of Practice on Twitter
Reinhardt, W. (2009). Visualizing the dynamics of communication in Communities of Practice on Twitter. Retrieved on June, 2010 from
http://www.slideshare.net/wolfgang.reinhardt/visualizing-the-dynamics-of-communication-in-communities-of-practice-on-twitter
