Even though Twitter is a social media app, it can definitely
be used in a classroom. According to an article on US News, “In fact, nearly 80
percent of faculty members are using social media in some way, according to a
recent survey of nearly 2,000 college faculty by the Babson Survey Research
Group published in April.” I found this statistic interesting, because a lot of
people use social media, but a lot of people assume teachers do not. However,
it is a great thing to use as a teaching tool. For example, you can have students make up
fake accounts for characters in the book you are reading and write tweets that
they would say, backed up by quotes from the book. Or, you could use it as a
vocabulary lesson and have students search “hashtags” for different words and
tweets they find. Regardless, this is a good way for students to get involved
in the classroom and it is another way teachers can use technology in a
positive way.
Article link: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/05/24/5-unique-uses-of-twitter-in-the-classroom
This is a great idea, Kaitlyn. I posted about something similar with Instagram, but I never even thought of using Twitter or Facebook to assume the role of another person, specifically an author or character in a book. This would really help students develop an understanding of perspective, and consequently students will be more open-minded. Additionally, hashtags can also help broaden a student's perspective, because seeing all the various images or tweets associated with those hashtags will help students see how others think differently about the hashtag.
ReplyDeleteThat is quite a statistic! I made a twitter account a while ago but have not kept up with it. I really need to explore the possibilities in music for following famous people or using hashtags to learn and create threads. I think this can make learning very fun.
ReplyDeleteThis is brilliant! I love twitter so much. I use it absolutely every day. I think it is a great medium for learning. The idea of making a twitter for a character is really so much fun. Imagine that potential in a creative writing class. Ideas like that truly integrate technology into the curriculum in a way that is exciting and creative. Students would love it! Great job
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