Date of Award

2013

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.Ed.

Department

Education

Keywords

Education, Online, Professional learning, Twitter, Conversation, Educator

Supervisor

Zuochen Zhang

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

This study explores the nature of professional learning conversations taking place in an online microblogging platform known as Twitter, through the lens of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000). The CoI framework offers an approach to further understand elements of cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence found in constructivist learning environments among educators. A content analysis was conducted on three distinct participant-driven educational Twitter chats demonstrating each chat to contain elements of cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. This finding led to a deeper understanding about the use of questioning techniques and facilitation skills in order to allow for productive conversations online among educators. The findings have important implications for professionals who are responsible for the design and organization of educators' professional learning programs. Implications for positive social change include increasing educators' effective use of social media to improve self-directed learning opportunities.

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