The topic of discussion today was the use of Twitter in education. I am not a personal fan of Twitter. The fact that there is less control over privacy makes it less appealing to me. I haven't understood why it has become so popular. I feel that it's main forum is just random thoughts. It is not necessary, in my mind, to know what someone else is thinking 24/7, which is how I view it's function. I have, however, started to see some small, interesting uses for Twitter.
All of my complaints aside, there are some aspects of Twitter, that I have only recently learned about, that I see as useful, or at least entertaining. I wish I could say that today was the day that I acquired my Twitter account. This is, unfortunately, not the case. It was two days ago, when I learned about a Twitter account devoted to tweets about Dr. Torello, that I decided to join the masses. But today in class I also learned of some great uses for Twitter when it comes to networking with other educators. The use of #hashtags to converse on popular topics can be helpful when trying to find ideas or solutions to problems in the classroom. It has been difficult for me to see past the informal uses of Twitter and realize that it can also be used for professional gain.
Though we did not talk about it in class, I could also see Twitter as a way to connect with older students in the classroom. Posting homework assignments or projects on Twitter may be an effective communication since teenagers (and some younger students) tend to check their Twitter every day, multiple times a day. With younger teachers, though, it may be a good idea to have a Twitter account devoted to their classroom that has no association with their personal account, if they have one.
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