Hootcourse: Link between social networking and learning platforms

Hoot course is a very useful tool for a couple of reasons. With a younger  cohort of students, it makes use of a familiar communication tool that  they use every day and incorporates it into learning. Thus, as an instructor, I enter into the students’ world. I meet them on their own turf and invite them into a common learning environment. With older students who do not use Twitter every day, Hootcourse serves as an introduction to a communication tool that is as common to younger students as telephones and televisions are to older students. In order to survive intellectually and professionally, we need to help our students remain relevant and contemporary. Sometimes, that means pushing them beyond their comfort zones. Although Hoot Course may not be the perfect learning platform, it  bridges an important social networking tool to a blogging tool that can be embedded in a more sophisticated classroom platform. It can also combine the social networking environment with a traditional F2F environment.  Hootcourse is not meant to be used alone, but combined without learning tools it can be part of an effective learning system. I intend to use this tool again.