Twitter

In reading a couple of the Twitter articles on how teachers are using Twitter in the classroom, a couple thoughts stood out. I do like the idea of tweeting about upcoming assignments or projects. Depending on the audience, this may reach more students than e-mail or Blackboard announcements. I also like the idea of tweeting about upcoming events or social gatherings. I also believe that teachers out in the field may really benefit by being connected to a network of fellow teachers via twitter for help, assistance or to exchange ideas.

Here are 2 articles I've read on how teachers have used Twitter in their own classes:

• Article 1
• Article 2
  

One of the drawbacks to using Twitter is that it is one more account/application that students would need to check. Unless they had it linked into another application (Facebook, Blackberry, etc) it may be a frustration to need to login to yet another site to check another means of communication.

Using Twitter, along with other Web 2.0 tools is about meeting students where they are and communicating with them in a way that's relevant to them. do we need to use every tool available to communicate with them? No, but I do think Twitter is one avenue we might use to connect with our students.

Podcast Reflection and Posting

I think podcasting, among other things allows for greater accessibility for students to the "outside world". Not only does it allow students and teacher to connect to each other in a more meaningful way, but it also allows outside experts in the field into their classroom.

For example, in my class, I teach students how to use technology in the classroom. I could find already existing podcasts of teachers explaining how they have used technology in their own classrooms to better help student learn. This would give students different perspective on how different teachers at different grade levels might be utilizing technology.

Additionally, I believe podcasts could allow for students to express themselves in a different way. They could record their own thoughts on different topics to share with each other or fellow students around the world.

This is the podcast I posted to PodBean discussing various ideas on using Podcasts:



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