Twitter As an Educational Tool?
An Easy Prediction: Educators Will Soon be Jumping Onboard the Twitter Bandwagon. Within the next 12 months many educators at all levels, from elementary school to university professors will begin testing Twitter's educational applications in the classroom and thereafter they will promote Twitter as a classroom educational tool. And, I predict that in time Twitter will be viewed to be as indispensable as the blackboard! It’s easy to visualize some of the potential classroom uses: students that are ill getting their homework assignments via "tweeted" messages which can link directly to reading or study assignments posted online. It’s also easy to imagine the students in an elementary classroom in one community using Twitter to share information about their daily activities with students in another state, or even with their counterparts in another nation? From the teacher’s perspective, wouldn’t it be effective if teachers could “tweet” messages to their students’ parents concerning a child’s progress in the classroom, or to provide advance notification of upcoming events, field trips, etc. Of course, there are many more classroom possibilities for Twitter, and I'm trusting our most creative and engaged teachers to discover and promote those educational uses. Why do I see this happening? The first two reasons are basic truths: 1.) By its very nature, Twitter promotes reading; and 2.) Twitter can be helpful in improving one’s writing skills at any level. In fact, Twitter can make writing fun. It’s limited 140 keystroke format is not intimidating. At the same time, maximizing the presentation of ideas to be conveyed within the confined space of a "tweet" stimulates thinking at all levels. There are other reasons involving trends favoring online learning. I look forward to reading the comments from classroom educators who I encourage to voice their ideas on this prediction. |
