Skip to main content

Twitter in the Classroom?!

The more I delve into the world of social media and technology, the more I realize how much it can improve my classroom and also me as a teacher. At first, the thought of live tweeting from my Kindergarten classroom seemed silly. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that my students do amazing things throughout the day but often get no recognition for it. Twitter could serve as that form of recognition and also a way to share information about my classroom and our school.

Alan November and Brian Mull perfectly define Twitter as being "an organizational structure that makes it an effective tool for connecting with students and others online". Both authors go on to discuss how the use of a hashtag has changed the world. Just the other day, I used twitter hashtags to find out more about an educational program my school is considering. I was greeted with several thousand tweets about the program, many of which contained articles attached. Not only was I able to quickly find information, I was also able to hear from different educators around the world. The ability to connect is incredible. November and Mull used the example of Egypt and how during a crisis, the people of Egypt were able to connect and share information with the world by simply using a hashtag. I could see this method being successful within the classroom by creating a classroom hashtag or a school hashtag, thus connecting everyone in the building. If I incorporated a hashtag in my classroom, I would use #Kaitlin'sKinders.

Besides classroom use, Twitter can also be a great tool for professional development. The TwitterChat I attended served as a great form of professional development. The ability to collaborate and network with teachers all around the world is incredible. Twitter opens up doors that may have seemed shut forever. For example, when I began looking for an initial sound activity this afternoon, I did a Twitter search. Not only did I find several hundred tweets, I found a great idea for my activity for this week. Twitter is very attractive to someone like myself. It is my second year teaching and my first year back as a student, so I am always looking for fresh ideas and new perspectives. Twitter offers both. It also allows me to learn and grow as an educator in a setting that I am familiar with.

With all of the new technology and social media platforms today, it is easy to get caught up in it all. Twitter has given our world an organized platform in which we are able to find information, get real-time information, and also learn something new.
Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 22, 2017 at 1:48 PM

    I like the way you mention that Twitter organizes a lot the information out there. I agree that it can be daunting to go through so much information, but Twitter can be a help in organizing it. New teachers, especially those who are regular Twitter users, can have immediate access to lesson planning and ideas in a way they never could and don't necessarily have to wait until "Professional Development Day" to find helpful or relevant information.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Using Blogs to Meet Learning Standards

Blogs present a unique opportunity to engage students in technology based learning. Van Olphen, Hofer and Harris presented interesting points in their article "Grounded Tech Instruction: Languages". Their idea of matching technology integration to existing lesson methods is exactly what I currently do in my classroom. I teach Kindergarten with about half of my class being ENL students. These students often times are brushed over because "they do not understand", but these students yearn to learn and are often very bright. I try to engage my ENL students using unique methods that not only get them thinking about English but also allowing them to speak in their own language. Blogging in my classroom would open a whole new window of possibility. One way that blogging could engage my students would be in Step Up To Writing preparation. Step Up To Writing is the writing initiative and assessment in Buffalo Public Schools. The program is very comprehensive and througho...
6 comments
Read more

Can You Keep Up?

Technology is moving faster than most educators can keep up. I am included in that group of educators. My students come to school with a diverse knowledge of technology and how it works. The switch to this new kind of education was highlighted very well by the schools in New Brunswick, Canada.  The school district explains that "Education as we know it may be obsolete". My biggest concern still remains; what does this mean for educators like myself? I will be the first to admit that my students are much more tech savvy than I am. They know what to do when the computer freezes or the tablet is not working properly. They can diagnose just about every problem on an iPhone and can easily list a plethora of websites and game sites. When I was in Kindergarten, I learned how to color. I knew my letters and numbers and I began to read and write. My students can do much more than I can in some aspects, but they miss out on others. When thinking about my Kindergarten experience, my tea...
7 comments
Read more

ePals: A Global Perspective on Education

I had never heard of ePals until this module. When I first explored the site, I was amazed. I had no idea that a site that allows educators to connect and students to complete global projects like this, existed. My current classroom population is very diverse. ePals would give my students an opportunity to connect with students from their native country and learn more about their culture. My favorite project that I learned about is the Pen Pal Exchange. Last year my students were pen pals with a soldier in Kuwait, but it became difficult to send and receive mail. The ePals program connects students with other students their age around the globe. I would use this project in collaboration with my Step Up To Writing Assignments. My students work on writing all year long but never have the opportunity to apply it something unique and different. It is always the same few district approved assignments. I like the idea that the Pen Pal Exchange program would not only meet the Step Up To W...
1 comment
Read more