Now comes Twittering. This is essentially text messaging limited to 140 characters and it is can be sent as broadcast messaging and Instant Messaging to one person or several. Twittering can be limited to friends or as a subscription. However, its importance in the classroom, if allowed, is its potential to motivate students to share ideas and to even improve their note taking abilities.

First, you need to register your name. Try twitter.com for a video and more information. You can also practice on that site and you can follow others who can provide ideas and guidance. I suggest you make your Twitter stream private, there is no need for it to be on the Internet. This also makes it much safer for classroom use where you can communicate with your students and answer questions in nearly real time, if you have the time.

Remember that Twitter is like Post It Notes, quick and to the point, and not like email, which is more formal and has many more functions. Twitter is fast, and if you want to get more involved there are hashtags, a Twitter search engine search.twitter.com and Retweeting.

To start to use Twitter, students must sign-up for your Twitter feed and you obviously need to budget time to answer the Tweets you receive. After that I recommend you start small and expand as your time and interests permit. Remember to make sure you have administrative and parental approvals.

Here are some ideas I have come up with for using Twitter with public school classes.

1. quick review of what was covered and what is going to be covered in class that day or the next.
2. post a few quick review questions and some good websites to add depth to a lesson.
3. privately seek/accept questions from students who don’t have the moxy to ask in class.
4. quickly relate what is happening in the news to the class and make teachable moments more meaningful and more personal.
   www.reacheverychild.com/feature/teachable-moments.html
5. share ideas
6. help absent students keep up with work
7. provide homework assistance.
8. network with students around the world. For example, while your class is studying Japan’s involvement in World War Two, students in Japan could be sending messages about their perspective. As the visionary Marshall McLuhan envisioned, Twitter makes possible an immediate Global Village.

The possibilities are vast, but remember that some students may have to pay a fee for such text messages and so check beforehand and always make Twittering an elective. Of course, students can set their Twitter so all messages come as emails, which is the only way to really avoid these charges, but this does remove some of the immediacy of the Twitter concept.

There are some ideas posted here that are used by a professor in Texas that might key some ideas for the public school classroom. academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia

Obviously, there are downsides and caveats to using Twitter in the classroom and all such ideas need to be supported by the administration. But there are upsides as well. Imagine the students following President Obama by subscribing to his Twits or getting Twits from students who are under duress around the world.

As a teacher you can also use Twitter search to find other educators and learn about conferences, ideas, and even share lessons and concerns.

More help:

Other areas to explore include edmodo. This service enables teachers and students to send files, links, and even assignments to each other. Teachers sign up for an account and create a class code. Students sign up and the messages are held to just those in the loop. A great tool for ESL and gifted students and others who need a differentiated curriculum. www.edmodo.com/faq

Twitter in the Classroom (University)
academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia
and
chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2699/a-professors-tips-for-using-twitter-in-the-classroom.

Twitter in the Classroom
www.marketingpilgrim.com/2008/01/twitter-in-the-classroom.html

Some insights into how Twitter can help you as a person. A little vague, but stretches the reach of Twitter and helps one understand the value of such a program outside the educational realm.
blogs.zappos.com/blogs/ceo-and-coo-blog/2009/01/25/how-twitter-can-make-you-a-better-and-happier-person

21 Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom
docs.google.com/Present?docid=dhn2vcv5_118cfb8msf8

Seven Things You Should Know about Twitter
net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7027.pdf

Additional technology resources posted on my site:

Huge listing of free technology links:
www.reacheverychild.com/feature/tech_day.html

Teach with Computer Games:
www.reacheverychild.com/feature/computer-games.html

Clean up your computer:
www.reacheverychild.com/feature/new-year-cleanup.html

Free virus software:
www.reacheverychild.com/feature/virus_protect.html

Free software for Teachers:
www.reacheverychild.com/feature/software.html

Protecting your students and yourself on the Internet:
www.reacheverychild.com/feature/internet_safety.html

Other technology resources:
www.reacheverychild.com/computers/index.html

Educational Software:
www.reacheverychild.com/computers/software/index.html

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