by @mritateacher

@TEACHER RT: THE WORLDTwitter as a pedagogical tool

by Maria Rita Drumond Viana@mritateacher

by @mritateacher

Twitter: the good, the bad, and the hype

• What Twitter is not– it is not a chat application (though you can chat)– it is not a blog (though it is called microblogging)– it is not Orkut, Facebook, or MySpace

• What Twitter is– 140 characters (spaces included!) posts– Changed from “what are you doing” to “what’s

happening”

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Twitter basics: how many people already use Twitter?

• Twitter newbies:– account sign up– creating a profile– Home page– the mechanics of posting– broadcasting– following/followers– Tweet talk: @, RT, #, DM– Twitter clients

• Twitter users:– how long have you been

using?– what do you use it for?– how often?– how do you find people

to follow?– discuss any interesting

info/blogs/lists you have found

– FOLLOW ME!Please write down usernames on a piece of paper!

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Twitter for teacher development

• virtual (and global) staffroom• place for reflection• ideas workshop• instant feedback• education newsroom• access to critical friends• Remember, your experience on Twitter is only as

high quality as the people who you follow and the information you share. (@mrslwalker)

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A look at my @mritateacher account

• http://twitter.com/mritateacher

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Ideas for using Twitter with students (via EdTechatouille)

• Class announcements• Notification• Feedback• Resource sharing• Connecting with other classes• Experts and contentAlso: accountability (parents can follow too!)

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Student assignment #1: “One tweet a day”

Description• Students are required to

tweet once-daily during the duration of the assignment (I’d start with a one to two-week period)

• Topics can be set on tweets:– What are you doing?– What have you seen on your

way home from school/work?– What did you eat today?

Rationale• Students practice specific

structures and vocab (best if these can match class content)

• Students remain engaged with the English class throughout the week

• Writing practice

by @mritateacher

Student assignment #2: “Retweeting”

Description• Students find interesting

tweets or websites to be posted on their tweets

• Students comment on their RTs

• Possible topics:– English-speaking celebrities– News– Videos (on YouTube, for

instance)

Rationale• Students have to interact

with published content on authentic English

• Because they have necessarily to comment on the RT, they have to read carefully and understand content

• Reading and writing practice

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Student assignment #3: “@ mentions”

Description• Students engage in

conversation with others (can be students or people they are following/being followed by)

• Previous assignment can be used for source of topics or the teacher can post articles, videos, pictures etc. for students to comment on

Rationale• Students interact in written

form with other people• Students express opinions,

agree/disagree• Can be used with more

extensive reading (articles) and followed by class discussion

• Reading and writing practice. Oral communication.

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Student assignment #4: “Scavenger hunt by DM”

Description• Students react to tweets by

the teacher, following clues and sending their answers by Direct Messages

• Teacher posts can include sentence building exercises, riddles, vocab questions (can even include posting of pictures)

Rationale• Depending on the type of post,

can be grammar or vocab practice, reading, or writing

• Ensures students are connected and following (award extra points to the first/best answers)

• Public posting of pictures can lead to @ mentions, which means more reading and more writing if they reply

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Student assignment #5: “List following”

Description• Students choose a list of a

topic of their liking and follow it for a week

• They RT and comment some of the best/most interesting tweets during that week

• They produce a report of what were the main topics of discussion and what were the different opinions people had

Rationale• By choosing their list, students

are more likely to be engaged• Commenting the RT ensures

careful writing, is good writing practice and also helps organizing the report

• Report (offline component) offers practice in reported speech, past tenses, as well as textual organization in both reading (identifying trends) and writing (making a coherent summary)

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Other ideas?

• Picture mini-commentary• Crazy story writing• …

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If time allows…

• Try it! Start twittering now• Find me: mritateacher• Follow the #edchat

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Thank you!