Twitter for Education? It's Actually a Good Idea |

Twitter for Education? It’s Actually a Good Idea

Many people write off social media when it comes to education. They don’t think that the two can survive hand in hand with each other. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how social media can actually benefit education. Some may have noticed that Twitter was not on the list, and that wasn’t because it’s not beneficial—it was because Twitter is so beneficial to education that it deserves its own blog post.

Engage Students

Twitter allows the educational lectures to continue well outside the classroom. Students can have conversations with other students and educators all over the world on a specific topic. Hashtags and Twitter chats allow students to find conversations on their specific topics.

Some schools encourage students to use Twitter as a way to participate. Rather than answer questions in the classroom, students can answer them via Twitter. This allows students to thoroughly think about their answers while also alleviating the embarrassment of having a wrong answer in front of their peers.

Students can use Twitter to share notes with each other too, which can greatly improve their comprehension of a topic. If a student doesn’t understand an assignment or a topic in class, they can reach out to other students in their class for help.

Teachers can also use Twitter to remind students about school events, classroom assignments or projects. Reminding students about these items via Twitter is much more effective than relying on email.

Reach Parents

Twitter is a great way for educators and parents to work together. Again, hashtags and Twitter chats allow parents and teachers to connect with one another, which helps keep parents involved in the school and the classroom.

Like other educational chats, #PTchat is a great way for both parents and educators to collaborate with one another. Every Wednesday at 9pm EST, a specific topic is discussed. The chats last for one hour, and during that time, five to seven questions are posed and answered by both parents and teachers who are participating. This is a great way to hear both sides of a topic.

Twitter has the capability to harness the perspective of both parents and teachers and allow them to work together. Those participating may or may not be your school’s parents or your school’s teachers, but they are still working collaboratively for the benefits of our students.

What are your thoughts on Twitter in the classroom or as a collaboration for teachers and parents? Have you used it? Let us know your thoughts.

Kristi Munno
Copywriter | Content Management Specialist
With over five years of professional writing experience, Kristi is a published author who expertly communicates on the importance of content in business and marketing.

carmelhealth

Twitter has had without doubt the most significant impact upon my professional development since I left College and I have developed the rather annoying habit of trying to encourage everyone else to check it out. It has many great applications both within and outside of the classroom.

By following the tweets of educational experts I can access the collective knowledge of a range of Principals, Superintendants, eminent Professors and dynamic teachers. By following these people I have created my own Professional Learning Network (PLN). As one of only two Health teachers within my building there are not many opportunities for me collaborate on my subject. However, I am now in contact with experts not only across America but also around the world.

This ability to engage in sustained and consistent dialogue with my PLN has allowed me to grow as a teacher. The dialogue is always positive and the sharing of videos, blogs and articles has inspired me to try new ideas in my classroom which has benefitted my students a great deal. For example, in a recent task I asked students to track their diet for a week and the analyze it using 140 characters or less. The best examples were attached to a Google Poll and then tweeted to my PLN. I received votes and comments on the work from as far afield as Thailand, New Zealand and England.

The global sharing of ideas has allowed our profession to become so much more collaborative and the positive reaffirmation of ideas motivates me not only to produce great lessons for my students but then also share these ideas with teachers around the world. And don’t get me started on using Twitter to allow my student work to be evaluated by global peers. The more I use Twitter, the more innovative ways I am finding to extend my influence, and that of my students beyond the four walls of the classroom.

I have used scoop.it to create an online resource for those of you who want to learn more about Twitter.

www.tinyurl.com/nedtweet

There are links to videos and blogs that will allow you to understand more about the simple process of creating an account and how Twitter can be used to improve your development. Feel free to follow me and check out the individuals who I am following. You can find me tweeting as @carmelhealth where I predominantly tweet about teen related health issues to my student followers.

6 comments

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Apartments in Chennai

Great publish on the key benefits of Tweets in education and learning. A amazing example of what public networking as a device for interaction can look like in action and it's very much reuired to show the teachers who are still uncertain of whether to evolve public networking resources into the learning atmosphere.

HomeworkHelp

Great post on the advantages of Twitter in education. A wonderful example of what social media as a tool for communication can look like in action and it's very much reuired to show the educators who are still doubtful of whether to adapt social media tools into the learning environment.

JFarm

As an educator, I would say that one of the most powerful resources I have in my "toolbox" is Twitter. I agree that it is very helpful in communicating with parents and students but for me, the collaboration and connections I have been able to make with peers has been extremely helpful. Unfortunately Twitter was blocked in my district this past school year (that is for another article), so I have to get to it on my phone (off our school network) or wait until I am at home to get to the vast resources and immensely helpful conversations that are available 24/7.

kmunno

@JFarm Glad to hear that you've found the benefit in Twitter. Unfortunately, too many schools are afraid that students will use social media sites like it during school hours if they don't ban it, and some worry about it being a way for students to cyberbully one another. But if it's used correctly—and monitored correctly—it's a great way for students to learn from one another, a great way for teachers to receive resources, and a great for parents to be involved.

357Jesse

awesome.