Tweet, Tweet.....It's here, what are we going to do with it?

Students are using Twitter, so who is ready to join them and use Twitter as a learning tool?    twitter.com  Twitter is a tool that you can use with your students to engage and motivate them, or your students can just use it at lunch or home in a non-eductional setting.  (we all know that they are probably using it right under our noses anyway).  So, are you ready to jump on the Twitter bandwagon and find ways to use it in your class?

My recommendation is to start small.  Join Twitter and follow some people.  You can follow me by searching lberg6.  Ask your co-workers what their Twitter handle is and follow them.  Read their tweets and get familiar with how tweeks look. When you are feeling comfortable with what the tweets look and sound like you can put your first tweet out there.

Always go to the experts for advise and information.....your students.  They can show you how to do anything you want on Twitter.  Also, let them brainstorm on how you could use Twitter in your classroom.  There are great ideas at the bottom of this post. 

Like with all technology, use it and then evaluate how it is working.  It is important that we don't just stop using a site or program without evaulating its applications.  A change in how, with who or when we use Twitter could have a big impact on learning and communication.

Twitter Vocabulary and Instructions
Tweet: A 140-character message.
Retweet (RT): Re-sharing or giving credit to someone else's tweet.
Feed: The stream of tweets you see on your homepage. It's comprised of updates from users you follow.
Handle: Your username.
Mention (@): A way to reference another user by his username in a tweet (e.g. @lberg6). Users are notified when @mentioned. It's a way to conduct discussions with other users in a public realm.
Direct Message (DM): A private, 140-character message between two people. You may only DM a user who follows you.
Hashtag (#): A way to denote a topic of conversation or participate in a larger linked discussion (e.g. #AmericanIdol, #Obama). A hashtag is a discovery tool that allows others to find your tweets, based on topics. You can also click on a hashtag to see all the tweets that mention it in real time — even from people you don't follow.  Hashtags label and indicate the subject matter of certain conversations taking place on Twitter. The hashtag is represented by the number sign "#." Putting one of these little symbols in front of a word or phrase indicates a subject you think is worth talking about. The words you use after the hashtag become searchable because Twitter tracks them. That is to say, if you click on a particular hashtag, you'll be able to see all tweets that have also used that hashtag. It's a grouping mechanism that allows you to get the general public's sense about a specific topic or issue.
Lists First, you'll be asked to provide a name for your list (i.e., Family, 1st Block, etc.). The name is also used for your list's URL, which will be "twitter.com/username/list-name." You'll also be asked if you want your list to be public or private.

Public Lists - These lists can be seen by anyone, and anyone can follow them. Public lists are ideal for lists of recommended follows.

Private Lists - When Twitter says private, they mean private. Only the creator of private lists will be able to see or subscribe to them — not even those on the list can see private lists. That means, for example, you could create a list of your competitors and keep an eye on them without them being any the wiser.

Once you've clicked the "Create list" button, you're ready to add users. After you create a new list, you'll be prompted to search for people to add to your list, but there are really two ways to add users to lists. First, you can add users from their profile page, by clicking the lists button and checking off the lists you want to add them to from the drop down menu. You can add a single user to multiple lists.

25 Twitter Tips for Students
Teacher's Guide to Twitter

Tutorial Videos:
Twitter Tutorial Series:  set of 29 tutorials by subject.  Each video is about 2 minutes. Choose the topic you want to learn more about....retweeting, hashtags, etc. Plus....love the accent!


(For Bolivar Teachers, the following site is Staff Allowed an you must login)

Twitter in K-8 Classroom- Globally Connected Learning by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano

Resources:
60 Ideas on Using Twitter in the Classroom
How to Use Twitter in the Classroom --great ideas and resources