Learning about Twitter was quite an
eye opener for me this week. It is not
that I am not familiar with this form of communication or following, it is the
vastness of information from multiple sources at the click of a button that is
so readily available that is astounding.
Discovering hashtags brought a
whole new meaning to gaining opinions from others in 140 characters or
less. When I think of tweeting in short
phrases, “my old school” principles of speaking and writing complete sentences
becomes obsolete. I struggle with this
element because I feel that the younger generation suffers from the ability to
engage in proper communication and respectful conversations; however, it is difficult
to negate the fact that moving forward brings about momentum and change- two
essential ingredients to success.
Several hashtags caught my interest,
such as, #cpchat, #edchat, #parenting, and #teaching. I
spent most of my time navigating through #cpchat and followed @forprincipals
because of my interest in being an exceptional leader. Jon Gordon, a professional motivational
speaker, tweeted and shared multiple sayings that inspired me to move from good
to great. I love quotes because they
engage an audience through speaking, viewing, and displaying them on a
wall. Quotes are a quick reminder of the
importance of reflecting on one’s character and thoughts. One of my favorites was, “A leader brings out
the best within others by sharing the best within themselves.” Another one was, “Leaders should teach others
to focus on solutions, not complaints.” The
three profound traits of an effective leader are vision, focus, and shared
decision making. I pondered the value of
a great leader by reading the Link learningfocused.com/11183-2/edchat#cpchat
TEACHING AND
LEARNING WITH TWITTER
At present, we do not have any
teachers that utilize Twitter in the classroom at Immanuel Christian School;
however, after I shared some possible uses they were interested. I feel that some of my younger teachers, who
are very familiar with Twitter on a personal level, will be more agreeable to
implementing it in the educational process. In the article, “How to Use Twitter
for Teaching and Learning, “Pamela De Loatch mentioned that students who do
research papers would benefit from Twitter. Our AP English teacher liked the idea of her
students researching the hashtag #glossaryfullofwords to aid them in the process
of writing. Along the same idea of
researching, our 5 grade history teacher discussed the possibility of allowing
her students to connect with students from another culture through Twitter.
I teach parenting classes at
Immanuel and I recognize the benefit of exploring the hashtag #parenting. As I perused through the tweets of parenting
organizations and groups, I gained valuable information to use in my parenting
class. Recognizing that others have so
many of their own proven methods to effective parenting through Twitter was
quite engaging. I actually appreciated
the fact that the tweets were short and yet chalked full of wisdom. Being able to post articles for the parents to
read and tweet about will open the door for two way communication. Parents can have the opportunity to read the
tweets of others, which will be beneficial for all. This prior communication should open up
conversation during the class, which will make for an entertaining and
inspiring evening. How could that not be
a win-win situation?
With an open mind and a little bit
of pressure to move into the 21st century, I see the importance of
delving into all that the digital age has to offer. It is fine to be old-fashioned in my values,
but in order to be an effective leader; I must be willing to try by opening my
mind, my heart, and my hands to the technological age.
Linda,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the vast number of resources available through Twitter. To be honest, I was a little bit overwhelmed. I too, however, locked in on a couple of hashtags that inspired me through either quotes or stories from other educators. I am glad you are open minded and want to develop your leadership through the acquisition of new tools, such as these Web 2.0 platforms.
Hello Linda,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, it is hard to imagine that one hashtag can offer endless possibilities to different topics with in one post. When I first visited the first hashtag I felt overwhelmed and felt I was doing it incorrectly. I felt I had exited the social media and had navigated somewhere else by mistake. It did take me a while to realized that all that information had been accessed thru one simple hashtag. Thank you for sharing
Linda,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insightful and honest response. To train and use tools such as twitter for good in the class is definitely beneficial. I really liked how you presented the idea of a history teacher allowing students to connect with someone from another country perhaps? Or allowing them to even research what is going on in certain places by following people chosen (has to be an appropriate person) and their perspectives/tweets. I know that facebook and other social media outlets have helped me keep in touch with friends I made in India and Nepal...if I didn't have these tools I would not have been able to keep in touch as much.
Hi Linda,
ReplyDeleteTwitter is becoming an essential form of communication for the young adults. However, it is essential that teachers understand how to use this technology in order to understand students. In my experience, I think that Twitter can help make the classroom more engaging and interesting. You can apply it to the classroom by using hashtags that can link to articles or opinions of people that you read about, depending in the subject of study.
Hi Linda,
ReplyDeleteAs always, it's a pleasure reading your posts because of you experience and knowledge as a leader and previous teaching. It's great to always hear how you present what you learn in your classes to your teachers at you school, some take it and do something with and others may not be to interested to use it. It's great to see that you teach a parenting class, aside from everything you have going as a leader. It's interesting to see how useful Twitter is for you in these classes, appreciate all your input and advice.
Hey Linda,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post this week and think that it is awesome how you have already attempted to implement many of the concepts that you have learned this week. It is unfortunate, however predictable, that only the younger teachers you have are willing and interested in utilizing twitter.
Hello Linda,
ReplyDeleteThere are many schools where they don’t have technology implemented at all in the classrooms because of a variety of reasons. I do agree that young people would be more for leaning towards integrating technology applications and systems because it is already a part of their world and everyday connections.
Hi Linda, you are right twitter is a very interesting tool that can help engage an audience through speaking, viewing, and displaying them on a wall. Teachers can use twitter in the classroom to implement student learning and communication through posts. Parents also can have the opportunity to read and tweet to others.
ReplyDeleteHello Linda,
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the grammar piece on writing complete sentences. I am one that writes completes sentences on text messages. It is a challenge to post on twitter and not think of everyone that's reading the short message. I say we need to celebrate the short messages. Thank you!