Twitter as an Educational Tool

What is Twitter?

*Tweet Tweet* Breaking News! Notification! Are you ready for the 4-1-1?

If you have not heard of Twitter, I do not know where you have been for at least the past decade. I'll have to admit, I did not join this bandwagon until two years ago; it was because of a class. For the most part though, EVERYONE, is on Twitter, even my mother.

Twitter is another online, social community page. In the most basic way, it is similar to just about any other social media platform. You can share via retweeting, you can like posts, you can post texts and/or pictures, you can comment, and follow other accounts. Maybe you want to keep up with the Kardashians, just incase you didn't already know what Kim was up to today.

All jokes aside, Twitter is another form of communication. You may be sitting there wondering how Twitter can be used educationally and in your classroom, because usually teachers stray away from social media websites being used in their class. This is a very odd educational tool to use in your lesson plan, but for many teachers, it works.

The fact is, is that Twitter, can be a great way to engage students and connect with them. This may not be your style, but it takes a step to expanding your classroom. The truth is, kids don't connect with you just through email or by talking to you anymore. Besides that, sometimes they spend class on social media anyways. So, why not use this to your advantage?

How to Sign-Up and Use Twitter?
The very most important step of using Twitter, is do make an account. You can do this by either downloading the app onto your technological device, or by going to the homepage. Either way is fine and just as easy.

To begin, you will click the "sign-up" button on the homepage. From there, you will be prompted to putting in your name and your phone number. If you prefer to use your email, they allow you to do that as well. Then, all you have to do is to complete the action of setting up your account!

After the nitty-gritty part of creating an account, it is now time to start following people, groups, or hashtags that you are interested in. Twitter will give you a few suggestions based on their little questionnaire at the beginning. For example, they may suggest you follow a dog account, if you said you like dogs. To be honest, who doesn't though?

Let's start using that Twitter! We will start at your dashboard. Once you have started following a few accounts, anything they post, will show up here. You also have the option to post something yourself on this page. On the sides, Twitter gives you suggestions of people or trends to look at or start following.

There are a few other options to explore on your twitter page, besides your dashboard/home site. The next little tab, says, "Moments". Moments is kind of like a news page. They have posts about current things going on in the world. For example, today, they have a post about Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra's wedding. Don't worry though, they also have actual news stories to be viewed as well. In fact, at the top you can find tabs that say: Today, News, Sports, Entertainment, and Fun. This way, you get to decide what kind of stories you want to view and get more specific content. You also have the option to create a moment as well.

The next tab at the very top of the page, is for notifications. Notifications are varied from any and all that may be going around, to just being notified about mentions. Mentions mean that somebody has mentioned you in a specific post. Twitter makes it easy to find that post by having a more specific notification search. This is super helpful so you can stay up to date and not miss anything.

The tab next to your notifications, if your message tab. This part of Twitter alerts you when you have direct messages from another user. This can be an easy way to communicate on a social media platform, without everyone having to see your conversation. It is also another form of getting in contact with somebody else, incase you have no other way to get in contact with someone.

Another thing to look for at the top of the page, is your search bar. Here, is like any other search bar on anything else. You can look up a specific user, idea, hashtag, or etc. The next icon, directly beside this, is your profile. Here you can look at all the specific things that you have posted or go into your settings to change any information that you would like to adjust.

How Do I Incorporate Twitter in My Classroom?
For me, using Twitter, in an elementary classroom, seems a bit odd. Though, I chose to do some research to be inspired by. Oh boy did I find some things! I found an article, on Teach Hub, that gives fifty ways to use Twitter in a classroom.

One example they gave was, live tweeting field trips. After reading that, maybe you're asking, "What does that mean?" Well, Twitter, has the option, to start a live feed. Parents always want to know what their kids are doing. This is a great way for them to see what their kids are doing/seeing. Not all parents are available to be volunteers for field trips, for multiple reasons, and that's ok. But, they may have really wanted to go. This gives them a way to connect with their child. They could have their own Twitter account and check to see what their student is doing, while they are at work.

Another example I found and thought was very well thought out, was using Twitter for role play. What is meant by this, is creating either your Twitter account or by making a Twitter account, to search or embody a person. For example, in history, let's say that you are learning about Leonardo Da Vinci. Maybe, you use Twitter to find hashtags, quotes, or photos to share with your students. Maybe, you decide to create an account, with the name, Leonardo Da Vinci. You can tweet as him! Students will get the opportunity to view Leonardo Da Vinci through 21st Century means. It is relatable and accessible to them.

Another idea, that I found elsewhere, is to have a "Twitter board", in the classroom. Thinking about this for an elementary classroom, I would create a creative board that replicates a Twitter newsfeed. For a visual example, you can look at the picture beside this paragraph. The way that this teacher used it, is for an exit ticket. Their example, was asking, "The answer is 86. What is the question?" Then students grabbed their own tweet strip to create a math equation that fit the question. This is a great way to get all students involved in class discussion/participation. They really don't even have to talk, they just get to write down their own ideas.

It is also a great way to see what your students know, each student could come up with a different equation or they could all the be the same. This is their time to be creative. It is also a time to do a sort of formative assessment with your class. Maybe they show that they really understand one topic very well, but could use some help in another. This activity also leaves for immediate feedback.

Another great thing about this idea, is that it can be used for any content area or for any type of question. You could use it to discuss themes of a book. It can be used to take a poll in what students want to do next. Maybe you use it to share one good thing that happened that day. The possibilities are truly endless. This also provides a safe way for younger students to interact with Twitter. You do not have to worry about anything inappropriate going on or students trying to use or do something else.

My Experience and Opinion
I have said before, that I did not join the Twitter community until about two years ago. Twitter never really interested me in the beginning. It wasn't until I was in a politics course in college that I used Twitter. I of course knew about it and knew how it worked, but I never really got the point.

The way that my professor used it, was for a line of communication. Ever since he began teaching this course, he created a hashtag, #HPUPolitics. This was a way for him to share news feed and articles for this course with his students. We were expected to keep up and check on it daily. There were times when he would use the post in his class discussion or he used it to plan a quiz for us the next day.

This was a super easy way to stay connected with the class. While I still may not be a Twitter user, I like the idea of using hashtags to stay connected to a certain community or idea. It was specific to the class and I didn't have to go on a wild goose chase to find it. Twitter gives you to option to receive notifications on anything that you want to follow. So, this includes hashtags, as well. For some students, especially ones in college, it is a lot more convenient to look at our twitter for class news than our emails. Let's be honest, most of us are more likely to keep updated and have the app on all of our devices than that of our emails.

The biggest feature and pro to this app, is communication. You get to communicate with people from all over the word. You could follow teacher Twitter accounts or hashtags. They could give you ideas about classroom management, how to use technology in the classroom, classroom design ideas, lesson plans, and more. Maybe you want to start a communication line with a teacher in Australia, you never know. Twitter could be a great way to learn about new things, believe it or not. It all just depends on how you use it to your advantage.

References
Das, Papri. (2016, June 15). Twitter Logo [online photo]. Retrieved from http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/marketing/mam/twitter-and-kingfisher-co-created-name-targeted-videos-for-ipl-fans-160615.

Comms, Punch. (2014, April 10). Twitter Layout [online photo]. Retrieved from https://www.punchcomms.com/blog/new-twitter-layout-what-you-need-to-know/.

Miller, Samantha. (2018-accessed). 50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom [online article]. Retrieved from http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom.

Bouabdallah, Mahammed. (2017). Hashtag Photo [online photo]. Retrieved from https://education.viewsonic.com/twitter-classroom-teaching/.