Hello 306'ers and welcome to our class blog. Here we will share ideas and resources for blogging for both classroom use and professional development. We will connect to each other's blogs and explore and collaborate throughout the semester. Feel free to comment on my posts--as I will comment on yours as well! As a matter of fact...with what you know right now, tell me what you think about the potential of using blogs in the classroom or for your own professional development.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Twitter in Education
What do you think of using Twitter as a communication tool for education? What could be the benefits? What could be the risks? Is is something you think you could use? Should we give it a try?
I certainly understand where some teachers/professors are coming from in using twitter in classrooms. Twitter helps keep younger students engaged in subject matter. Students can post questions on twitter and that makes learning easier. Confusion only prevents education from advancing. Some students may be shy and therefore, they are not able to raise hands and ask questions. Some students have speech impediments and may not be able to feel confident in asking questions. Twitter can help with the previous predicaments. Nonetheless, twitter could also be a distraction in education. Students may be logged onto twitter and doing social networking from twitter and other sites while the teacher is instructing. I could see this being a huge distraction in class. When it comes to questions, I encourage students to write any questions down during class and ask them after. This makes it easier for me to give a timely answer before the student loses interest. Also, the few minutes a student(s) can stay after class to discuss questions, gives me as a teacher to get to better know the students and their concerns or learning styles. If students do not have time to stay and ask questions, or are still too shy to do so, I encourage them to e-mail me their questions or concerns. When students e-mail a Professor /Teacher, it seems more professional than tweeting or facebooking. It’s important as teachers to set that Professional boundary between you and the kids. One way of doing this is by dressing professional and acting one’s age. E-mailing seems like something older and more Professional people do, and tweeting seems like something kids are into. What do ya'll think?
1 comment:
I certainly understand where some teachers/professors are coming from in using twitter in classrooms. Twitter helps keep younger students engaged in subject matter. Students can post questions on twitter and that makes learning easier. Confusion only prevents education from advancing. Some students may be shy and therefore, they are not able to raise hands and ask questions. Some students have speech impediments and may not be able to feel confident in asking questions. Twitter can help with the previous predicaments.
Nonetheless, twitter could also be a distraction in education. Students may be logged onto twitter and doing social networking from twitter and other sites while the teacher is instructing. I could see this being a huge distraction in class. When it comes to questions, I encourage students to write any questions down during class and ask them after. This makes it easier for me to give a timely answer before the student loses interest. Also, the few minutes a student(s) can stay after class to discuss questions, gives me as a teacher to get to better know the students and their concerns or learning styles. If students do not have time to stay and ask questions, or are still too shy to do so, I encourage them to e-mail me their questions or concerns. When students e-mail a Professor /Teacher, it seems more professional than tweeting or facebooking. It’s important as teachers to set that Professional boundary between you and the kids. One way of doing this is by dressing professional and acting one’s age. E-mailing seems like something older and more Professional people do, and tweeting seems like something kids are into. What do ya'll think?
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