Twitter for my classroom? TWEET TWEET TWEET

Twitter for my classroom? 

Twitter is only as useful to you as the network of people that you connect to. (Burgos, 2011)

I agree with this statement, as I also believe this for my LinkedIn account. They used to say “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Today, it’s what and who you know, and how you connect these dots.

I am very new to this connected world. Blogging, twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, TeacherTube, YouTube, etc. all require time, something that is very precious to me at this point in my life. I am not sure that I have time to maintain all of these connections, but the ease of opting to do so is attractive to me. I now have a slew of resources at my fingertips, should I have the time to participate. It is constantly updating itself. In the future, I hope to blog more, as my life circumstances begin to allow. I look forward to reflection, and the possibility of having some sort of an impact on an audience.

As for Twitter in particular, I do not see myself using twitter in the classroom in so many ways. I read a list of over 60 ways to use Twitter in the classroom. I went through them all, and with many of them I found it applicable to a college level course.  A Must Have Guide On Using Twitter in Your Classroom listed very great ideas- in theory.

I find myself sounding very negative and pessimistic, when really I want to embrace the connectivism theory and advocate technology in the classroom. But…I have taught for 7 years in a high school classroom, and I find that the vast majority of the teenagers that I teach would not be able to steer clear from the distractions of twitter. My main concern is that Twitter is flooded with distraction. Upon first encounter, I saw Twitter as an unnecessary tool. I saw a tool for the toolshed- not the workbench! 

After further consideration and experimentation, I could tweet to my students as simply a means of communication. Like a birdie in their ear TWEET, TWEET, TWEET 

I could see myself adding a teacher profile of the course that I was teaching and asking my students to follow me for updates- I could see this freeing up some of my own stress if I wanted to decide to cancel or postpone a test at the last minute, for example. In a way, it’s like texting your students (which is not allowed), because for many of my students, their tweets come in to their smartphones and automatically alert them.

The thought of a tweet from me, streaming to them while they are watching tv at home is an enticing opportunity. Perhaps once the novelty of connecting to Justin Beiber wears off (huh!), I may consider using Twitter in my classroom for grammar, writing, and language exercises.

The only question now is how? I am new to twitter- what is a hash tag! See this Twitter Cheat sheet I need this extra help right now. Do you?! Happy Tweeting.

Connectivism through Social Networking

·      When I don’t know something, I have a network of colleagues that I can put out my ignorance to…it’s important to stay connected to people who are smarter than us…

·      It’s a little bit intimidating when you have to start off as almost a novice again, but it’s also exciting as you learn and discover. {Levine talking about trying something new in technology}

            Alan Levine 2:40 YouTube video

An example of a valuable site for teacher networking…

Teacher 2.0 “is an independent community for educators to explore their interests and passions, and to build a network of support for educators at all levels.  Through this community, with online events, interviews, and workshops, the goal is to have educators help each other become re-energized in their careers and in their contributions to the world.” There is a category set up for labs, ideas, members, groups, books, and more.

I chose this networking site, among many others, mostly because you have to register and be approved to join the network in order to avoid spammers. I some other social networks, like NYSCATE for example, I noticed many spammers that flooded the forums with hairstyling tips.

Upon investigating this site further, I found a book entitled Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education by Will Richardson, the author of this LAI590 course’s text.

I also found a plethora of blogs that would be beneficial to follow, something of which I had difficulty finding in earlier mods for this course.

acquiring knowledge through connections

Most of us enjoy dialogue, most of us enjoy conversation. We are social beings...
The Impact of Social Software on Learning by George Siemens explains the importance of social software for learning.

        As simple minded as this may sound, I think of my learners in my high school Spanish classroom, and at the risk of sounding condescending and rude, my adolescent learners often remind me of young dogs-pups- full of energy, eager, anxious, happy, moody, sleepy, nervous...

       A young pup loves to learn new tricks, and gets very very excited when a new person comes over, or a new toy is introduced, or a new snack is offered.
My teenage students are much like young pups because they exhibit all of these behaviors in the classroom. Sure, some are sleeping on the desks, some are crying, some are eating a snack. But, for the most part, my students are eager and willing to try anything new.

        I remember my first time trying the CPS clickers in class. This was my first time implementing this new technology in my classroom, and it was for most students their first time using the technology as well. Their "tails" were wagging with eagerness!
I think that using new technology, new crayons, new websites- new anything sparks an interest in the teenage learner.

       George Siemens touches on connecting to our students via social software. It truly does connect us not only to each other, but to other people and/or groups we may have never known of before. This tool excites students in the classroom. Below are two quotes taken form the article Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age by George Siemens: 
Including technology and connection making as learning activities begins to move learning theories into a digital age. We can no longer personally experience and acquire learning that we need to act.  

When knowledge...is needed but not known, the ability to plug into sources to meet the requirements becomes a vital skill. 

George Siemens

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

Khan Academy Founder Salman Khan on Liberating the Classroom for Creativity

I decided to search the words "creativity, technology, education" in YouTube this morning. I stumbled upon this video. It is the founder of the Khan Academy, Salman Khan, which of whom I know little to nothing about.
Watch this 10:32 video.
"Class has so much potential..."
"...the magic happens when people talk to each other"

I am pleasantly surprised, challenged, and motivated by this school of thought. I like the idea that the Khan Academy promotes developing thought- the founder suggests using class time to talk to our students and create meaningful projects. For example, use class time to talk about what probability in math is-rather than lecturing about it. Use real life examples and have a conversation about it with those invaluable 43 minutes of high school math a day.

As educators, the problem that teachers have is "there's no time for this", but if the videos at home were able to teach the core principles and help students to develop and learn at home in a sequential and effective way, then the role of the teacher in the classroom would change dramatically. There would be time to communicate and teach and foster thinking- rather than lecturing principles and concepts and shoving them out the door.
I strongly believe that common sense these days is more of a "super power" rather than something many of us share.  Our children are going through the motions, not really learning much, while their home days fly by. I love the idea of using the classroom to talk to kids, and be more open to learning together.

Thoughts? Can we implement this style of teaching on our own through pod casts, YouTube, blogs, facebook, etc?
Can we take teaching to the next level using the ideas of the Khan Academy?
I feel inspired and have an amazing drive to implement this style of teaching in my high school Spanish classroom.

The name of the post on which I commented on is How Did You Do That So Quickly?  by Richard Byrne. The title of his blog is Free Technology for Teachers.

Richard Byrne offers educators technology seminars, webinars, workshops, advising, etc. This particular post that I commented on is very brief, concise and well stated. I think that this simple post is worth sharing with my community of grad students because I think that most of us would agree that we are guilty of this practice. We all use the Internet and our smart phones, but how often do we explore new apps, or new websites and integrate them into our daily lives? Sometimes we get too comfortable with what is working for us, when we need to remember that technology is constantly changing, and while one app or site is working just fine, there may be a new one that functions even quicker, smarter, better...
I would like to encourage you all to visit your app store or android marketplace. Make it a goal of yours to do this one a month. Look for apps and/or websites that integrate into your own professional and/or personal development.
Richard quotes Ken Shelton (a Google Certified Teacher, Apple Distinguished Educator), as saying "how do coaches figure out which plays go into their play books? They try lots of things in practice and use the ones that work best in each situation." 

 

Free tech 4 teachers