While ClassRealm news is a little slow at the moment I figured I would take this time to blog about other educational aspects I use in my classroom, as well as great video games that you and your students should be playing (both educational and traditional alike).
Today we’re going to talk about Twitter! What is it? Why is it a thing? How in the world could I possibly use it for educational purposes?
Well I’m here to tell you a few ways I like to use it.
Twitter is a form of social media that forces users to convey their thoughts in 140 characters or less. That’s characters, NOT words. Make sure you don’t get that mixed up!
Twitter is a fantastic form of communication between teachers and students, as well as teachers and parents. Let me start off by saying that I do not recommend you “tweet at” any students or parents during school hours. It’s not the best idea, because well it takes only few seconds, it’s evidence that you’re not currently teaching or paying attention to your class.
What should you tweet to students and parents?
1. Homework
2. School updates (2 hour delay!)
3. Classroom activities (Look at our science lab!)
Keep in mind that you should never use a students full names, show any assignment/test scores or post anything that would be considered inappropriate at school. The best part about having a classroom Twitter account? Parents and students don’t have to have a Twitter account to check your feed! They can simply find it in there web browser and pull up all the info you’ve provided.
Here’s an example of my one of my classroom Tweets.
HW: Bert LA: Spelling test tomorrow. Whit Sci: Eclipse flip book due on Monday.
— Coach/Mr.Bertoli (@MrBertoli) February 13, 2014
It’s simple, concise and it helps students and parents quickly check the homework situation from home or even their phone. I tweet my spelling words every Monday and I know my parents (and sometimes students) really appreciate it. If you feel so inclined you can even tweet out ClassRealm updates! Heck, you could make a twitter account just for your ClassRealm info. Who doesn’t want to hear about vampires and yetis gaining experience points?
The second way to utilize Twitter is simply to use its format to help students understand the concept of summarizing. Some students have a really tough time breaking down what certain passages or chapters are all about and making them “tweet” a summary can really help. Simply hand them template with 140 small boxes and tell them they need to sum up the main points in a “tweet”. It will be evident very quickly if they are or are not grasping the key aspects of their reading. If you’re not happy with their summary simply make them do it again. It’s only 140 characters after all, right?
Have any other Twitter tips or ideas for teachers? Leave them below!
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