What's great is that finding all these people was fairly easy. Many of these same people are members of Classroom 2.0 and The Educators PLN, which I joined months before Twitter. I then found people via their blogs, and then via their Tweets. The easiest way to find people to follow in your PLN is to see who they are following and follow them as well. That is how I have came across a lot of great blogs and people on Twitter.
I have come to realize though that what I like best about Twitter is not neccesarily the resources being shared, but it is the opinions, articles, and videos that people share that catches my attention. I find myself clicking and saving these to Instapaper on my IPhone all the time so that I can look at them later on my computer. Every weekend you can count on me sharing these in my Weekend Extra postings.
Now the question becomes, how can I use it in the classroom. I am sure some of these are posted on other websites, but I am actually just listing the ideas that came to my mind while typing this post. It is important to note that Twitter does not allow deletions of messages from others that appear on your page. It does allow you to block them which does delete their Tweets, but you cannot delete individual Tweets from others. So I suggest you have people follow you, but not necessarily that you follow them. More about giving then receiving. Remember, Twitter and Texting is this generation's method of passing notes to one another. Now to the ideas:
- An interactive discussion about a project or idea.
- Links to arcticles relating to current events or research being conducted
- 140 Characters discussion over books, movies, events, people, topics, etc.
- Picture Share
- Display during class and as you lecture or show a video allow students to ask questions for clarification or discussion when finished....most kids are scared to ask you to repeat something as well...this would give them that opportunity.
- Create a hashtag or an account for your classroom and allow communication between you and your students easily.
- Have students turn in their assignments by linking them in Twitter for students to see.
- Peer Review via Twitter.
- Extra Credit
- Classroom Reminders - (Test dates, Due Dates, Clasrrom Projects or interruptions)
- How One Teacher Uses Twitter (More Like Professor)
- 50 Ways to use Twitter in the College Classroom (Could adapt for High School)
- 25 Ways to Teach With Twitter
- 29 Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom (Google Docs Presentation)
I conclude this post with an idea. Someone with some computer programming experience will probably be able to create such a program, make millions and I will be left thinking...."should have taken computer programming in college:"
Create a microblogging site with education in mind that can provide more options for educators, such as the ability to create classes, add students, embed video, etc. Also provide a way for us to chat with other schools and classrooms from around the world. Provide a way to text in post via cell phones. Maintain the open source feature so that it continually feeds like Twitter. It would be a great way to have a discussion in the classroom using technology. Because in my experience, using the technology generally creates more engagement even when you are finished using it.
Have you used Twitter in your classroom? Success or Failure? Please Share!
This is how I think of Twitter, a treasure chest of gold. I have grown more professionally through conversations via Twitter than the multitude of inservices I have attended.
ReplyDeleteI have used Twitter with my students in the classroom. Parents are our followers and we Tweet about what we are doing in class. This has been great reflection for our students but also helps parents to feel connected to what happens at school. When parents ask "What did you do today?", they generally get the standard, "Nothing." answer. When they follow the Twitter conversation they can start asking questions like, "What happend in chapter 3 of the Junie B. Jones read aloud today?" or "How do you think you did on the time test, were you nervous?" We have heard great things from parents and students who are more engaged in learning...when they get to tell the world what they are up to, they are more likely to be involved so that they know!
I started using Twitter in my classes this year. I'm a High School English teacher and I told the students, and the parents at Back to School Night, that I was going to giver it a shot.
ReplyDeleteI've used it to offer Extra Credit Chances, notify changes in assignments, announce sick days, etc. I'm looking for better ways to use it though. Almost all of my kids have access to Twitter, I'm just trying to find ways to motivate them to sign up. I'm going to make a bigger push for parents to follow me next year and see how that works out.
Thanks for the post!
@TheNerdyTeacher