Twitter can be used in the classroom as a 'microblog', with the children's work being recorded through pictures and short pieces of writing. This can be done in a whole class approach, or the children could use it individually. However, the teacher being in control of the account while the children choose what to post may be a lot safer in terms of safeguarding on the internet.
Even though twitter is relatively new, writing in this way is not. Children have been writing in the way of a journal/diary for years, and the use of twitter simply modernises this style of writing. Internet blogging is very popular, so using it in the classroom is just a way of keeping up with children's experiences.
Even though twitter is relatively new, writing in this way is not. Children have been writing in the way of a journal/diary for years, and the use of twitter simply modernises this style of writing. Internet blogging is very popular, so using it in the classroom is just a way of keeping up with children's experiences.
On the right is a example of a class twitter blog that I really liked. It is used to show what the children are doing and is updated by the teacher. Click on the picture to see what it's like. It shows how it is a great way to update parents, and also provides a learning log throughout the year. It is also linked to a blog with even more information for parents such as spellings, which looks extremely useful. Below are a few examples of the updates from twitter about the children's learning. There are also some tweets from the children too, but they are mainly done by the class teacher. |
As you may or may not already know, twitter posts are limited to 140 characters. This is what makes twitter unique, and this is advantageous to use in the classroom. The character limit means that children are forced to write only what is necessary and straight to the point. It is therefore a great assessment tool, as if a child can summarise something in 140 characters then they must have a good understanding of the topic.
We started off by retelling a well known fairy story while adhering to the character limit. This meant that we had to pick out which parts of the story were the most important parts, and which bits could be left out. My version of Cinderella that I wrote with my partner is on the right. This creates may opportunities for children to write their own twitter tales in the classroom. One idea mentioned was 'twitter ghost stories' for halloween, and also writing haikus. |
Here are some ideas of using social media in the classroom to make it more relevant to children that I found on Pinterest. They are all ways of bringing technology in without the dangers of actually using these websites.
I'll finish with one of my favourite ideas, which is the use of a twitter board as a place to display exit slips. The children write down something they have learnt, something they think they would like more practice with or the answer to a question as they leave the classroom for dinner or playtimes. The middle picture has numbers on so that it is easy to work out which child wrote the note without having to search through those with no names!