Twitter a Strong Tool for Learners and Teachers Alike

 Twitter can be a useful tool for teacher development as well as teachers reaching students in new and creative ways. Twitter serves as a valuable microblogging tool that almost all young students are familiar with, as a result it would not require any extra time to teach the students how to use this free service. The article Teaching With Twitter provide many examples of professional development as well as examples of fun ways to make tweeting a part of the classes' assignments. some examples included how while attending conferences teachers can have discussions in the audience before the speaker ever finishes his discussion. The article suggested a fun activity like having students tweet while in character from a book or an important person from history.

The second article How Twitter Can Be Used as a Powerful Educational Tool provided more examples of actual scenarios in which teachers have taken advantage of this new tool. To me the most profound example given was the connection made between the teacher and the Egyptian citizen, it lead to a cultural exchange between his school and someone living through a revolution.

These articles give some great ideas on how to use twitter for professional development, but for me I think my favorite way is using twitterchats to make connections with educational professionals from all over the world. While I find it a crazy fast paced discussion I think with time and experience using this tool it's possibilities are endless for new teachers. For classroom uses I enjoyed the examples given in the How Twitter Can Be Used as a Powerful Educational Tool article, my favorite being the example of the math teacher at the baseball game. I thought this example encompassed a really creative way to reach her students at the same time it allowed her to see how excited her students were to use twitter in this way. For me I see use in the future of any tool that can allow me to connect with experienced educators and allows me make a better connection with my students.

Twitterchat a Crazy Fast Paced Conversation

I followed the #ELTchat on twitter at ELTchat the experince was new for me and it was crazy fast and at times hard to keep up. For me I think this will be a valuable tool because while you are there people are willing to help you understand the topic they are discussing if you are ever confused. I believe after i get used to it, I will greatly enjoy this tool. I think the access to education professionals from all over the world with different levels experience trying out new ideas they suggest can make them a valuable resource.

The chat I followed was discussing students taking responsibility for their own learning. The conversation started with a discussion about autonomy for the students and evolved to using peer review strategies and the students comfort level with them. At which point their was suggestions on how to make it more anonymous. The conversation was constantly evolving and at times hard to keep up with but the community was very familiar with each other which makes for intense conversations.

ePals

I was exploring the website when I came across the Invent it challenge on the ePals website and it caught my attention because I always enjoy things challenging students to be creative. Under the project page I noticed that many of the projects involved class connecting using online tools with people from all over the world. This creates a network of world wide teachers who can work together as a community to promote and support each other. The schools all looking to collaborate allowing for more cultural awareness in the classroom. For me in a class teaching a second language this opportunity would be awesome to make a connection with a group of students of the same age from a country that speaks the language you are studying. 


I think the classroom connection tool would be really valuable for me because I think it is so awesome the opportunity it creates. This community tool gives a whole new side to language teaching because it allows students to really experience communicating with native speakers in their own age group. If I am teaching overseas this tool could allow me to pair up students learning english with a class of students in the United States allowing for a cultural exchange and the experience to see what it is like in an American classroom.

The Educator's PLN

The Educator's PLN is a social networking site in which teachers can seek advice on new strategies and understanding different aspects of working in a school. Looking at some of the forums I will admit I was unsure of what they were talking about because much of it was using terms i was unfamiliar with. 

I think this can be a valuable tool because of the access to all the teachers and all of their individual experiences. The site also has a large number of blogs as well as tutorials on how to use sites such as twitter. I also think the private nature of the site also protects the teachers privacy as well as guarantee that the source of information is from a teacher and not just anyone. The large membership base also has its values because it means many active members looking at forums, which means the opportunity to network and seek advice. 

A Learner is like a Doctor

I was reading the article  A Learning Theory for the Digital Age and watching the video  The Changing Nature of Knowledge the only thing that kept standing out to me was the idea that people have to keep learning throughout their lifetimes. This made me think of doctors because doctors can never stop learning and is one of the only fields this has always been true no matter what. 

When I was watching the video according to Siemens "it not just what we know today that is important, it is our ability to stay current as knowledge changes. What I learn today in a course by the time I go out in the industry, that knowledge may well be obsolete." For me the world of medicine encompasses this idea because with the advent of new techniques and constant advancement in treatments over the last 100 years, it has already required professionals in this field to do that. Now every field requires people to be like doctors and never stop learning. 

The article much like the video made me think of this analogy because Siemens says "the "half-life of knowledge" is the time span from when knowledge is gained to when it becomes obsolete. Half of what is know today was not know 10 years ago." This quote in reference to the idea that because of fast pace in which knowledge is growing and the shrinking half-life of knowledge people can never stop learning and they need a network to support their growth as learners. Doctors have had to keep current on the ever evolving methods of treating patients even before the time of computers they had to always be connected to a network of professionals in their field to make sure they never fell behind. Now because of this growth of knowledge people in every industry have to create networks because the growth of knowledge impacts every industry.