When I used to think of Twitter I thought of social media, celebrity gossip and personal use. Never before had I thought Twitter could be used with students (let alone K and 1st graders) in the classroom setting. When reading Why Didn't I Do This Sooner? I came to the realization...what am I waiting for? I love the idea of kid blogging and I have made it definitive decision to start a class blog next year. But until then, I need to do something...right?! At this point of the school year, between district testing, snow days throwing off our schedules, SRBI files, report cards, conferences and exhibition nights I really don't think I could put one more thing on my plate...but maybe in April? Here's to wishful thinking...
I am itching to start something new with my students. I want something that engages them in their learning, gets them excited about content and has them wanting to share their findings with the greater community outside our four walls. Our next Social Studies unit starts in three weeks and focuses on Geography. We use Flat Stanley as the basis of our unit and I want to incorporate Twitter, Blogging, or something along these lines into this unit.
Twitter seems to be a great avenue to provide instant communication with parents, students and families. I have been following some Kindergarten teachers' Twitter accounts and love that they upload pictures and short captions to keep the parents in the loop of what's going on in the classroom. Kids can no longer say "I don't know" when their parents ask them what happened at school that day!
For those of you who use any (or all) of these technologies in your class do you have any suggestions for the overwhelmed but eager teacher?!
I really liked the link to Kindergaternlife you linked to in your post. I like how that teacher involved the children in the beginning process of using twitter, especially creating a logo for their class. As a fellow kindergarten teacher, I orginally did not think this was possible... I am proven wrong!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with your sentiments about Twitter before and after I started using it. It is now my primary source of newsd and information and I used it to communicate with parents during a recent school trip. All social media can be sued to facilitate learning, it just depends on how the teacher deploys each tool.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paul -- it all depends on what you, as the teacher, bring to the equation. I think Twitter can be a great tool, but like other social media tools, it can get out of hand if you don't put in the time. I think you are right: take your time, start slow, and build up. I didn't use to like Twitter, but now, as Paul mentioned, it has become a good source of news, especially about educational issues.
ReplyDeleteBrian