Many, in fact, are using it to take professional development into their own hands, 140 characters at a time.
Each week, thousands of teachers participate in scheduled Twitter “chats” around a particular subject area or type of student. Math teachers meet on Mondays, for instance, while science discussions happen on Tuesdays, new teachers gather on Wednesdays and teachers working with sixth graders meet Thursdays. (Jerry Blumengarten, Twitter’s @cybraryman1, posts this helpful list of educational chats.)
By using hashtags — that is, words or phrases preceded by the # symbol, like “#Scichat” for science educators — users can organize, search and find messages on a particular topic all in one place.
Though some were supportive of the idea of using microblogging in classes, many wrote some variation on what this reader posted: “[This] means you never have to learn to open your mouth. Surely more Twitter is exactly the opposite of what kids desperately need to turn into functioning adults.”
We asked the three K-12 teachers interviewed in the article to answer questions, and address misconceptions, about their classroom use of these tools. Erin Olson (E.O.) teaches high school English in Sioux Rapids, Iowa; Nicholas Provenzano (N.P.) teaches high school English in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.; and Kate Weber (K.W.) teaches fourth grade in Exira, Iowa. Read more…
Update: Read answers to the questions readers submitted here.
Is the use of Twitter and other microblogging tools in the K-12 classroom a breakthrough in helping all students engage with content, or is it a distraction that undermines traditional forms of discussion?
With Twitter and other microblogging platforms, teachers from elementary schools to universities are setting up what is known as a “backchannel” in their classes. The real-time digital streams allow students to comment, pose questions (answered either by one another or the teacher) and shed inhibitions about voicing opinions. Perhaps most importantly, if they are texting on-task, they are less likely to be texting about something else.
…Skeptics — and at this stage they far outnumber enthusiasts — fear introducing backchannels into classrooms will distract students and teachers, and lead to off-topic, inappropriate or even bullying remarks.
Please submit your questions for teachers Erin Olson, Nicholas Provenzano and Kate Weber in our comment section below. They will post answers to selected questions next week.
In this lesson students and teachers can follow the evolution of Nelson Mandela in archival articles from The New York Times, from his early years as a jailed dissident in apartheid South Africa to his death last week at the age of 95.