Fingertip_Knowledge

[|Twitter] as a social network is a place where we can access what [|Elliott Masie] refers to as " [|Fingertip Knowledge] ," a learning movement that has emerged thanks to our always-on access to technology. Masie claims that Fingertip Knowledge is "the use of public search engines like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft that allows individuals to type their way to knowledge, information and data." He also believes that "[|we are entering an era where Fingertip Knowledge is both an assumption and a tool]."

Twitter has been, on numerous occasions, my Fingertip Knowledge Portal. Consider the following example:

I posted the following query while preparing a professional development workshop:



The first response was posted only five minutes after my question (entries appear in reverse chronological order):



Five very helpful resources, most of which led me to other resources (print and electronic), came from my Twitter network. Of course, one could argue that I could have accomplished the same result by using a search engine. True. But my Twitter account gives me access to a group of educators who share my interests and my passion. If they have a moment to reach into their notes and bookmarks, they can provide me with tried and tested resources or valuable suggestions. In other words, I trust that they will post something they've likely looked at themselves, something they've thought about and evaluated. My Twitter network can provide a list of peer-referenced resources that are much more valuable than around 780,000 results provided by Google.

Here is another example:



... and the responses posted by my Twitter network:



- [|Konrad Glogowski]