Gotta admit... I'm a big fan of technology, but Twitter is not my favorite web 2.0 tool. I'm finding it a bit overrated. My frustrations stem from the fact that I'm starting to see a lot of repetition among web 2.0 tools. I am struggling to find a use for Twitter that I don't already have in Facebook... I can post status updates to let my friends know what I'm up to, easily find updates from the friends/interests that I follow, and check out links that others have posted. It also seems like more and more news sources, businesses, celebrities, etc are joining Facebook and posting updates much like they would on Twitter.
In terms of the classroom, I also see a lot of overlap between the two tools. I could definitely use either site to keep parents updated on what's happening in my classroom, provide links to homework or study resources, and ask for feedback or answer questions from students. Truth be told, I like the visual layout of Facebook better and would opt towards using it as a classroom tool.
Although, I did think the "30 Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom" had some cool ideas. We started out Language Arts this year by doing an activity called "The Great Mail Race" in which our students mailed a letter to all 50 states asking 5th grade students at a randomly selected school to fill out a survey and return it to us. When the responses arrive, we chart them on a map and read what they've written us. It seems like this could be turned into a digital activity via Twitter. Students could contact people from different parts of the country (or world for that matter) and plot their responses on a map. In fact, the responses could be located by using Google Earth for further technology integration.
I also liked the idea of using Twitter as a way to have students practice summarizing material. Because there is a word limit placed on posts, it would be a good opportunity to practice word choice.
Angela, I hear you about twitter. I have a limited view of how it could work. I think the 140 character limitations bother me. Perhaps it is because I am very wordy in general, but I just feel that if I wanted my kids to be writing to me or each other, I'd want them to be more thorough. I did like some ideas that Jessica had, maybe check out her blog. Your ideas are inventive and creative too. I guess just like with anything, we are limited by our own creativity...I have fallen victim to this with twitter. Thanks for your suggestions.
ReplyDeleteAngela and Sommer-
ReplyDeleteI agree with the drawbacks about Twitter. What bothers me the most about following different people is seeing all the responses that people post to their tweets. There's probably a way to ignore the responses, but right now everything is in the same place on my Twitter account. Like you, Angela, I also like the layout of Facebook better. It seems much "tidier" if that makes sense.
I was really struck, Angela, by your ending comment about using Twitter to practice word choice. What a great idea! I always try to tell my students that writing concisely is really difficult. (They always scoff when I tell them how in all of my college English classes professors had page maximums, not minimums.)
I think Hemingway would have been great at this! Whether it be fact or myth (and I've read that it's both!), Hemingway supposedly took a bet while in Key West. A man bet him that he couldn't tell a compelling story in just one sentence. Here's what he came up with: Baby shoes for sale: never worn. What an interesting Tweet that would have made!
There are many people who agree with your assessment of Twitter. Business News Daily just had an article about using Facebook over Twitter for marketing. (http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/facebook-twitter-social-networking-customers-1029/). LinkedIn is the tool of choice in business (see the cartoon at http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4514/Making-Friends-LinkedIn-vs-Facebook-vs-Twitter-cartoon.aspx for perceived differences in these tools). There are programs that help tie together one's "friends" on all these sites.
ReplyDeleteOne of the challenges of some of those educational activities is that if students tweet, who is following them? There needs to be some upfront work to make the connections.
I wonder if I could get everyone to do a tweet about this class in 140 characters. It would be interesting to see how creative people are.