Twitter as a Resource

Many people aka parents still struggle with the purpose of social media. Many times that struggle is due to lack of understanding. Technology provides a different form of communication from just 5 years ago and continues to evolve everyday. While an older crowd tends to gravitate to one platform or another, the digital natives are quick to jump in with both feet to try something new. That does not mean this is the rule, this is just a reflection of what I have witnessed in my personal experience. Many of my friends, myself included, tend to create a comfort level with Facebook and become loyal to that media. However, rest assured like the restaurant business, there are many social media sites available. Hence, the importance of understanding many platforms and allowing the digital natives to lead the way. After all, you would not want to eat at the same restaurant every day for every meal. As educators and parents we must determine how to use these sites to connect with those digital natives in a way that not only develops their academic needs but their social needs as well. This group of individuals will never understand hanging out at the roller rink every weekend. Nor do they want to. They socialize via the internet. This is where we need to be. Twitter is a great platform to do just this. Twitter allows the user to follow many individuals in a quick convenient format. Twitter only allows short comments which keeps the attention of the user. At the same time limits the post from becoming a rant. Twitter also allows links and videos that connect you to other resources for more information. The best part of Twitter, I can quickly find what I am looking for, by following the right people, especially links and information to technology. Twitter has a plethora of information on technology and education from individuals with many different backgrounds and education levels. I want to share some of my favorites.

Kathy Schrock (@kathyschrock) is an educational technologist and speaker. Her profile is fun and exciting. Immediately I saw a cake that looks like a dog. I quickly scroll down and find many interesting tweets. I am not sure I can pick just one. She does shares lots of technology likes like app smashing but my eye is drawn to a video and she describes this video as "teacher opening day faculty meeting. Check out this video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGMlPDlY094. I laughed and I teared up. This video shows the fun creative ways teachers work together to change the world. I am forwarding this to my staff on my Monday Motivation email. This reminds us of our primary purpose.

Linda Braun (@lbraun2000) is an educator and librarian and holds many other titles related to education. Many of her tweets seem to be helpful for newbies wanting more information. This is a great profile if you do not know where to start. Her tweets reflect things of interest to students currently. She appears to understand current students and their needs. Her tweets help provide links to make those connections. I must say I am interested in her tweet about YouTube Kids. This is a new app for children that have appropriate content with filters. This gives parents a sense of comfort. This app also has time controls to set specific times on the app. The article can be found at www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2015/02/youtube-kids-google-s-first-app-designed-children.

Tony Vincent (@tonyvincent) is a technology leader that describes himself as a teacher. I enjoy how Tony makes things short and sweet. His tweets get straight to the point without overloading with technical terms. Tony seems to be on top of his game when it comes to new trends in technology in the classroom. I am interested in his tweet about Periscope. This is a new form of social media that has not grown at the same level as Facebook. To connect with the students the teacher needs to be ahead of the times. Periscope is a great way to do this. Periscope is new and upcoming. Teachers can post videos for students who missed class or parents that may want help with homework. The possibilities are endless. Parents can also read more about Periscope at www. kontentsolutions.net/blog/periscope. 

Buffy Hamilton (@buffyjhamilton) is a librarian/teacher who is a self proclaimed mover and shaker. Her blog can be found at theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com. Buffy is a true librarian advocate. Many tweets address the needs and expectations of school librarians. As a librarian, I would first look at her tweets to read up on current news. One tweet that intrigued me was an article about being friendly feeling like work. This article is a professional development article that will be useful on those days that are difficult. This article goes on to discuss the emotional aspects of being a librarian. This is interesting especially since most teachers think I have no stress because I read books all day. To access this article click here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02763877.2013.756684#/doi/full/10.1080/02763877.2013.756684.

The Daring Librarian (@GwynethJones) is the queen of quite a lot. Her avatar alone is enough to draw you to the page. She is an out of the box thinker. I am immediately drawn to something I have never heard of before. She tweets about classroom cribs. I never put much thought into the struggle to create a classroom design that matters. Normally, the limited space in the classroom dictates where stations and students must sit. This is teachers helping teachers create more brained-based classrooms. These designs create an environment students will love. Teachers do work hard on creating these learning space and I am sure this site is a great place to show off work. I know many teachers on this site can appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes to make a classroom inviting. Check this out at www.classroomcribs.com

Jim Lerman (@jimlerman) list a parent first in his list of job duties. The then goes on to include learner, teacher, leader, author, and many others. His profile is focused on STEM type activities and technology. There is so much to learn in this area. Of course, this includes gaming which is so popular among students today. I was particularly interested in a tweet about disruptors that make learning fun. I truly believe we must entertain the students to get them engaged. This article discusses the use of technology to make this happen. New tools in technology are changing the way we teach. This article discusses problem solving trough games and apps. This is both entertaining and educational for our students. Some of these that are often thought of as bad in turn are developing problem solvers. The article really has great ideas on being exciting technology to the classroom. You too can learn about this technology at www.noodle.com/articles/7-education-disruptors-that-are-making-learning-more-fun.

Twitter is a great way to connect. You can decide who and when you want to connect. The site is considered social media but is so much more. While resources are not housed on the site, people can easily direct you to where you want to go. Connecting with the right people puts resources at your fingertips that otherwise may take hours to find.