Twitter Middle English

Title

Twitter Middle English

Creator

Kisha G. Tracy, Fitchburg State University

Instructions

Assigned Weeks
Week 1 (Punctuation: comma; Resource: Eyler, ", (A Breath)" on MassMedieval)
Week 2 (Punctuation: interrobang; Resource: Sparks, "Interrobanging Chaucer")
Week 3 (Punctuation: caret)
Week 4 (Punctuation: pilcrow)
Week 5 (Punctuation: punctus)
Week 6 (Punctuation: virgula)
Week 7 (Punctuation: hyphen)

For this assignment, students post on Twitter discussing, in particular, issues of language and grammar, as well as responding to classmates’ posts.
  • Go to Twitter.com
  • If you do not have a Twitter account already, sign up for one.
  • Tweet!
  • For those unfamiliar with Twitter, when you sign in, you will see a "Compose new Tweet..." box on the left. Type in your message (140 characters or less) and click "Tweet." That's it!
  • To claim credit for your Tweets, end them with a hashtag (#) and then FSUChaucer (thus, #FSUChaucer).
  • To reply to a Tweet someone else has written, hover on the message and click "Reply."
  • As always, be respectful (this does not prevent you from being witty!) and remember this is a class activity on a public forum.
  • Post as many Tweets as you like - no maximum!

Requirements:
  • On a Twitter Middle English week, you will do the following:
    • Choose a Middle English word from a text assigned for that week
    • Look up the word in the Middle English Dictionary
    • Tweet both the word and the definition (may require more than one Tweet)
    • Tweet thoughts about the use and meaning of that word (may require more than one Tweet)
    • Find assigned punctuation mark of the week above
    • Research the history of that punctuation mark, particularly its medieval usage (if it existed)
    • Tweet about the punctuation mark: history, usage, personal thoughts, additional links, etc. (may require more than one Tweet)
    • Reply to at least two Tweets from other students (to find Tweets by other students, simply search for the hashtag)
  • You are encouraged to Tweet more than the requirements and, in particular, interact with classmates' Tweets more than the requirements to receive the full value of this assignment.

Resources

This project was part of a presentation at the 2015 International Congress on Medieval Studies. The video presentation is here.

Outcomes

Relevant Course Outcome
  • Students will be able to compare Middle English linguistic and grammatical characteristics to modern English.

Suggested Rubric

Criteria A (5) B (4) C (3) D (2)
Tweet: Middle English Word from Relevant Text with Definition (may require more than one Tweet) Selected a Middle English word from one of the readings for the week; looked up word in ME dictionary; Tweeted word and definition; Tweeted substantive thoughts on the use and meaning of that word Selected a Middle English word from one of the readings for the week; looked up word in ME dictionary; Tweeted word and definition; Tweeted thoughts on the use or meaning of that word Selected a Middle English word perhaps not from the readings for the week; looked up word in a dictionary; Tweeted word or definition, with some inaccuracies; little substance to Tweet with thoughts on use or meaning of word Selected a Middle English word; did not look up in a dictionary; Tweeted word without definition; did not Tweet on use or meaning of word
Tweet: Assigned Punctuation of Week (may require more than one Tweet) Researched history of assigned punctuation of week; Tweeted insights found on that punctuation mark; Tweeted useful and interesting comments on medieval and modern usage of that mark; Tweeted personal thoughts on that mark; Tweeted additional helpful, relevant links/media Researched history of assigned punctuation of week; Tweeted facts found on that punctuation mark; Tweeted interesting comments on medieval and modern usage of that mark; Tweeted additional links/media Did not research history of assigned punctuation of week and, thus, did not Tweet facts found on that mark; Tweeted perhaps irrelevant comments on medieval and modern usage of that mark Did not research history of assigned punctuation of week and, thus, did not Tweet facts found on that mark; Tweeted irrelevant comments
Tweet: Reply Responded to Tweet of fellow classmate with further relevant and useful insights Responded to Tweet of fellow classmate with supporting comments Responded to Tweet of fellow classmate with potentially tangential comments Responded to Tweet of fellow classmate with irrelevant comments
Tweet: Reply Responded to Tweet of fellow classmate with further relevant and useful insights Responded to Tweet of fellow classmate with supporting comments Responded to Tweet of fellow classmate with potentially tangential comments Responded to Tweet of fellow classmate with irrelevant comments

Collection

Pandemic Pedagogy

Citation

Kisha G. Tracy, Fitchburg State University, “Twitter Middle English,” Teaching the Middle Ages in Higher Ed, accessed April 24, 2024, https://medievalhighered.omeka.net/items/show/7.