Educators' Guide to Innovation
Connecting Innovators
The Power Of Twitter
Now im sure some or if not all of you have heard of Twitter. Given its recent media exposure it sure has grown into the most popular social network of current times but what exactly are the benefits for teachers and students?
The idea of twitter is simple. Update your status with 140 characters of less and people from around the world who follow you see this and essentially follow your life. Simple in idea but powerful in execution when you give your 'tweets' as they are known a context. My entire twitter account revolves around educational technology and next practice. So essentially i receive professional development every couple of minutes. This may sound annyoying but its incredibly useful when you have a question, you simply post the question as your status and receive replies from the people who follow you. To put it simply the other day I wanted to chase up an astronaunt to prove the powers of twitter so i asked the question 'anyone know any astronaunts' within 3 minutes I was following an astronaunt on twitter.
Imagine this for your class.....you could follow the very person who wrote your textbook, you could even follow barrack obama (yes he has an account), lance armstrong.....the list goes on, information straight from the horses mouth.
For a really simple explanation of how twitter works, consult the creative commons video below, its excellent. With thanks to the Common Craft
Twitter in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.
The next step is to check out the website www.twitterforteachers.com which is excellent in helping you get started on your twitter journey. A place where you can connect with lots of other teachers doing innovative things
Finally I give you a presentation from @Tombarrett entitled 21 Interesting ways to use twitter in your classroom which you can view below. Download the slideshow as an attached file.
Finally if you have setup your account and want to start following people and creating your social network then I would love to follow your progress and hear your ideas. You can find me at www.twitter.com/mrrobbo
The idea of twitter is simple. Update your status with 140 characters of less and people from around the world who follow you see this and essentially follow your life. Simple in idea but powerful in execution when you give your 'tweets' as they are known a context. My entire twitter account revolves around educational technology and next practice. So essentially i receive professional development every couple of minutes. This may sound annyoying but its incredibly useful when you have a question, you simply post the question as your status and receive replies from the people who follow you. To put it simply the other day I wanted to chase up an astronaunt to prove the powers of twitter so i asked the question 'anyone know any astronaunts' within 3 minutes I was following an astronaunt on twitter.
Imagine this for your class.....you could follow the very person who wrote your textbook, you could even follow barrack obama (yes he has an account), lance armstrong.....the list goes on, information straight from the horses mouth.
For a really simple explanation of how twitter works, consult the creative commons video below, its excellent. With thanks to the Common Craft
Twitter in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.
The next step is to check out the website www.twitterforteachers.com which is excellent in helping you get started on your twitter journey. A place where you can connect with lots of other teachers doing innovative things
Finally I give you a presentation from @Tombarrett entitled 21 Interesting ways to use twitter in your classroom which you can view below. Download the slideshow as an attached file.
Finally if you have setup your account and want to start following people and creating your social network then I would love to follow your progress and hear your ideas. You can find me at www.twitter.com/mrrobbo
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anne Mirtschin on -
Here is a really interesting application of twitter, Lawn with Gnomes, by an innovative student. Take a look as it shows the potential power of twitter for all or us.
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Permalink Reply by Brad on
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Just wanted to let you know that this is the person behind the Lawn with Gnomes. And I actually got the internship. If you want to find more innovative ways to use twitter I suggest you pay attention to people on this list
http://bit.ly/gtXVC The blog posting has more details and the list is being updated constantly since people are coming out of the woodwork.
-Brad
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