So I finally took the plunge and created a Twitter account for school. I would like to use it to keep parents/students informed about what's going on in class, when grades are posted and for sharing things of note related to education or technology. Not sure I'll be able to effectively do all those things from the same account (I'm pretty sure the typical 6th grader isn't particularly interested in the latest educational initiative). And of course I have to get the blessings of all interested parties first.
I have been thinking and talking about this for a while now and after being encouraged from Prof Arzt as well as being reminded of a fellow West Hartford teacher who happened to be featured in yesterday's Hartford Courant I went for it. One of the hardest parts was coming up with a name, or at least one that wasn't taken. I still need to add some details but I hope this will positively impact my teaching and student learning!
I am convinced that the above
title is an ad slogan (or former one) for some company that I can't think of.
My web searches have turned up nothing so it looks like I may be off track. If
anyone knows if it is actually a slogan, or the correct phrase, please let me
know!
I was thinking of the slogan while
reading the first two chapters of our assigned text where the author lays out
his ideas on the "read/write" nature of the web and how that
functionality is now accessible to just about any user. It made me think about
how in response to an age of automation and virtualization a strong
do-it-yourself culture has developed. Whether we are talking about the web and
blogs or YouTube or even MAKE magazine. MAKE is an amazing resource that really
captures the DIY spirit.
Before my blog for this class
Twitter was my first and only foray into social media. And it probably doesn’t
fully count as I never actually tweet and really only use it to follow others. I
am really an introvert by nature and just happen to do a job that is heavy on
the people interaction. Students, administrators, parents, department supervisors
and colleagues are just some of the folks you come into contact with on a daily
basis. By the time the end of the day or week rolls around and having gone home
and spent time with my family (two little ones and another on the way) my “interact
with others, virtual or otherwise” account is usually reflecting a negative
balance.
Yet our book’s author makes the
case for the power and potential of user created content by challenging educators
to experience it themselves first. Not just by digitizing traditional classroom
assignments but by stretching their own learning and in the process modeling
for their students. Other than my classmates (and professors) blogs the
majority of blogs I have been looking at I’ve found through #edchat on Twitter.
My favorite so far is Will Richarson's . Check it out if you get a chance.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (3rd ed.). Corwin Press.
