There have been many changes to the classroom since the introduction of technology. Some technology and in particular, social networking, is still being restricted for student use. I can understand this in some way as we have a duty to protect students. However, we also have a duty to educate them about the world they are going to live in - which is completely different to the world we were educated in. Our students will need to be connected and know how to use the social networking world. They will need to understand how each network differs and the pros and cons to using these in the personal world vs the professional world.
Twitter is a great source of information and a place to connect your ideas to the world. Nto only that but learning the ability to be concise and express all that you have to in 140 characters is definitely an Art! However, at the school I am currently at we are not ready yet to introduce Twitter for student use. This is understandable for where we are on our journey as a college. Regardless of this, I still wanted to introduce the concept of Twitter and its uses to my students.
This term my Year 8 class has been 'tweeting' via a Twitter wall. Our tweets are shown to 'our world' through our classroom window. They change as students want to discuss their learning and express their thoughts to the 'world'. Sometimes this can be intentional - as in all students provide a new tweet in response to what has been going on in class - sometimes it can be spontaneous about their thinking or learning. Regardless, the students have been excited to read and respond to each other in this new environment. They have been proud when other teachers and students in the College have commented on their tweets. Finally they have reflected on their writing and how to be more concise in getting their ideas across. I don't know what you are thinking - but there has been so many great learning opportunities from this one little activity.
I hope that if you are in the same boat as me you might be inspired to try something new. You won't regret it I promise!
Twitter is a great source of information and a place to connect your ideas to the world. Nto only that but learning the ability to be concise and express all that you have to in 140 characters is definitely an Art! However, at the school I am currently at we are not ready yet to introduce Twitter for student use. This is understandable for where we are on our journey as a college. Regardless of this, I still wanted to introduce the concept of Twitter and its uses to my students.
This term my Year 8 class has been 'tweeting' via a Twitter wall. Our tweets are shown to 'our world' through our classroom window. They change as students want to discuss their learning and express their thoughts to the 'world'. Sometimes this can be intentional - as in all students provide a new tweet in response to what has been going on in class - sometimes it can be spontaneous about their thinking or learning. Regardless, the students have been excited to read and respond to each other in this new environment. They have been proud when other teachers and students in the College have commented on their tweets. Finally they have reflected on their writing and how to be more concise in getting their ideas across. I don't know what you are thinking - but there has been so many great learning opportunities from this one little activity.
I hope that if you are in the same boat as me you might be inspired to try something new. You won't regret it I promise!