Twitter in the Classroom

Overview of Today’s Session Getting started Making friends Using your own hashtag Building relationships with Twitter

Overview of Today’s Session After-class chats “In-class” Twitter feeds Lesson ideas How to find more Twitter ideas My Twitter info

Getting Started Make multiple Twitter accounts

A “Teacher” account A “Personal” account A “Professional” account Make an account for each one of your classes

You could make more if you think of other “personas” you want to assume online

Adjust Your Settings

My Twitter Feed

My “Connect” Page

Your “Connect” Page Contains: Direct messages from your followers Tweets of yours that have been “retweeted” by others Tweets of yours that have been “favorited” by others Tweets that you have been “tagged” in by others

Making Friends You should post your tweets to a “hashtag”

#edwebchat, #edchat, #edtech, #ntchat #Satchat, #edcamp, #sschat, #engchat

Visit these hashtags periodically by typing #edwebchat in your Twitter “search bar”

Follow people who post in the hashtag It is a great way to meet people who have the same interests!

#greatthinkers

Using Your Own Hashtag When you post important materials for your class, post it to a hashtag That way, your students don’t have to “follow” you (& you don’t have to

follow them) My hashtag is #holdenmath If you teach multiple classes, you may want to post to different hashtags

Posting to Your Hashtag Links to educational videos Links to blog posts Links to educational websites Pictures

Posting to Your Hashtag Links to PPT presentations you have posted on SlideShare Links to interesting news articles you found online that are pertinent to

the class Questions/Answers/Comments Invite parents to your hashtag

Posting to Your Hashtag Try “Outwit Me” – a Twitter-based trivia game Link Twitter to Moodle or Blackboard (if you are using them) Use “Twiddeo” to tweet videos

After-Class Chats Use your class’ special hashtag to hold online chats with your class At 7pm every Wednesday, chat with your class about questions they may

have about the material, upcoming projects, etc. Don’t forget that every tweet has to include your class’ special hashtag

(ex. #holdenmath)

Do an “In-Class” Twitter Feed Use your computer and projector to post a real-time Twitter feed in your

room Use your class hashtag Students can post questions from their mobile device while class is

going on

Do an “In-Class” Twitter Feed Students can ask the teacher questions without disrupting the “flow” of

the class Put a student in charge of typing in “answers” to the questions students

post This provides a permanent record of questions and answers that

students can refer to later! This is sometimes referred to as a “Twitterwall”

Parent Contact You can post information for parents under a different hashtag (or the

same one) Assignment due dates & test dates Online resources that can help their student Upcoming school events Other school/class announcements

If parents follow you, you can send them a direct message

Building Relationships Post your hashtags in your class syllabus Build relationships with parents & students You could be a little more “casual” on your Twitter feed than you are in

class Your parents & students might see you as “cool” instead of uptight!

Remember FERPA! Don’t post any of your students’ personal information online Make sure to read your school’s technology “Acceptable Use Policy” (if

your school has one)

Lesson Ideas Follow @TwtsFromHistory Students post tweets that historical figures would have posted (had

Twitter existed back then)

Lesson Ideas Language learners can connect with people who speak that language

(ex. Spanish, French, German, etc.) Students can communicate with them to practice their language skills If you don’t want your students interacting with strangers from a foreign

country, post words and have students write responses in a foreign language

Lesson Ideas Students can connect with a famous scholar, inventor, or political figure If that person is alive, odds are good that they have a Twitter account Student can ask the person questions, try to start a conversation!

“Live Tweet” a TV Show Have your class meet on Twitter to exchange ideas while watching an

event on TV The election A movie version of a book the class is studying State of the Union Address

Continue the class discussion the next day in class

Field Trips Students can post their observations to a specific hashtag or account

during a field trip Students share what they have learned Teachers can post updates on where students should meet next at the

museum Teacher can set up a “scavenger hunt” Parents can monitor how the trip is going

Key Word Search Type a name or keyword into your Twitter “search bar” and tweets

containing that term will appear Examples

“Democrat” “Iceland” “Scalene Triangle” “Circumference of a Circle” “Abraham Lincoln”

Math Ideas Teachers can post a “Math Word Problem of the Day”

Students tweet back the answer

Use “TweetStats” to track the activity of certain Twitter accounts Put the data into a bar graph or other type of Infographic

Twitter Word Games Post a word, and have students respond with

Synonyms Antonyms Definitions

Post a collection of letters, and have students respond with Words you can make with the letters

Experience a Current Event in Real Time Use the “Track a Word” feature to experience a current event as it

happens Example: Type “Egypt” into the Twitter search bar to track tweets about

the revolution as it happened

Summarization Have students tweet you a 140-character summary of what they learned

in your class today

This is the Tip of the Iceberg

There is no limit to the ways you can implement Twitter in the classroom

Today’s webinar is designed to get you thinking about how you can do it

Want More Ideas? Post this question: “How do YOU use Twitter in the classroom?” Post the question to the hashtags we discussed earlier in the program

#edwebchat, #edtech, #edchat, #techtools

You will be shocked to see how many replies you get!

Want More Ideas?

Post the question in our TechTools community! We have almost 3400 teachers – many of our teachers are using Twitter

every day!

Follow ME on Twitter! @newteacherhelp My hashtag: #holdenmath My Instagram name is also @newteacherhelp I will be on Twitter at #edwebchat for the next 30 minutes if you have any

additional questions or comments about today’s presentation!