Twitter in Education

Initial Reactions

As part of my Master course I had to set up  a professional Twitter account. I already knew the ‘ins and outs’ of Twitter as I have a personal account, however, you could say I was non-existence in the Twitter world. I never felt comfortable tweeting about my daily routines or what I ate and to be honest I didn’t feel comfortable sharing my opinions on topical issues. Twitter was my way of reading the daily gossip! So needless to say, I was sceptical at how it could be used for educational purposes!

Don’t stop me now!

Now, using my educational (professional) Twitter account, I can’t stop sharing and gathering information! What a difference between my two accounts!  With all the bad press around social medias, Twitter is truely one for the good books!

Sharing and Gathering

My bank of resources has tripled since I first set up my professional Twitter account less than a week ago! Its crazy to think, a social media website, is beneficial to professionals such as teachers. Finding resources is as easy as following people and searching through your news feed! Alternatively, typing a question and attaching a hashtag related to the topic, allows you to automatically receive resources/answers/advice from a variety of educators and sources from around the world. Simple but extremely effective.

My Recommended Twitter Accounts for Educators

#edchatie – An online forum for educators. Weekly chats about education takes place on Mondays 8.30-9.30 p.m.

@edutopia – Based in USA, edutopia shares inspiring resources and information that works in education.

@tesRources – Shares fantastic free teaching resources and offers support for the classroom.

@irishexaminer – Great for current news topics which can be introduce to classroom discussion.

@36viewsofstupid – Non-Religious R.E. in south-east of England, controversial at time but provides R.E. resources

Twitter in the Classroom 

I have recently posted a blog with five classroom activities which can be adopted to any/most subjects using Twitter. Activities include; 1. Tweet Dialogue between two characters 2. Topical Twitter accounts 3. Location, Location, Location 4. Scavenger Hunt 5. Influential People. Check out the activities in full – https://5j2014msodwyer.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/twitter-classroom-activities/

Helpful sites for twitter

My most recent blog again is about Twitter and useful sites which enhance its value in education, these include Bitly and Twtpoll – check out the full details and how to use these site here; https://5j2014msodwyer.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/helpful-sites-for-twitter/

Twitter in Education gets the thumbs up from me!