Twitter and the Classroom

Twitter is a great tool to be familiar with, and I definitely will consider using it in my own professional development. As a educator, it is very important to be well aware of what is new in the educational field. Being able to be flexible with our teaching is important and gaining vital information from other teachers and professionals with an educational background is helpful in becoming well rounded. In the article "Educators Test the Limits of Twitter Microblogging Tool", Lucy Gray, the lead technology coach for the Center for Urban School Improvement at the University of Chicago said “I’ve really grown as a teacher through all my interaction with [other educators] through Twitter,” he says. “It’s constantly showing [me] new tools and better ways of doing things. I’m constantly learning new things about using technology.” I find it very easy to use Twitter and allowing only 140 characters makes it easy to get the information needed. Trying to balance work and home, you can find it very difficult to go to workshops or surfing the Internet for new learning approaches. But with Twitter you can post short links or read other posts and you don't have to use up so much time. It's convenient and easy to use.

As for using Twitter in my classroom with my students, I might take a different approach. I do like the idea of " Exploring collaborative writing", according to the article written by Grosseck and Holotescy "Can We Use Twitter for Educational Activities". Using Twitter more for developing better writing skills as an extracurricular activity might be an easier way to introduce it. George Mayo, an 8th grade English teacher at Silver Spring International Middle School in Montgomery County, developed a Twitter account and allowed his students and students from around the world to participate in writing an ongoing story called Many Voices. This is a great idea that I would consider doing with my own students. It is a way of using a fun technology with learning that all students can enjoy.

When reading both these articles, I did consider how I would monitor using Twitter especially with younger students and the idea of using Youth Twitter was a great idea that was created by Paul R. Allison, a teacher in the East Bronx, where he wanted a use Twitter with his students but also wanted to be able to monitor what was posted. I did try to look for Youth Twitter online but was unable to find it, but hopefully in the future it can be available and I can gladly use it in my classroom.