Twitter in the Classroom

transcript

Twitter in the ClassroomJason StephensonDeer Creek High School

Edmond, OK@teacherman82

@teacherman82

Today’s Objectives• Understand how Twitter works• Determine ways Twitter can be used

for professional development• Connect assessment with Twitter• Create a Twitter account (if

applicable)

@teacherman82

Who has a Twitter account?

Twitter on the Webwww.twitter.com

Twitter on a Smart Phone

•Free app•On the go

@teacherman82

Tweetping.net

Tweetping.netWed., January 30, 8:45pm CST

Twitter at a Glance• Social media website created in 2006• Over 500 million users• Microblogging (140 characters or less)• Connect with educators, colleagues,

authors, organizations, pundits, students• Opportunity for free, individualized

professional development

@teacherman82

Anatomy of a Tweet

Image courtesy of @RAndersonFHS & @Amy_LovesYA

Twitter 101: Key Terms• Twitter: an online social networking

platform that allows users to send and receive text-based messages known as tweets

• Tweets: text-based messages of up to 140 characters (letters, symbols, words, spaces, & punctuation)

@teacherman82

Only 140 characters?Letters: OCTENumbers: 2013Punctuation: ,.!:SpacesSymbols

@teacherman82

If Jane Austen tweeted…• It is a truth universally

acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

• 23 characters remaining• First line of Pride and Prejudice

@teacherman82

If Charles Dickens tweeted…• It was the best of times, it was

the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it

• 0 characters remaining• First line of A Tale of Two

Cities

@teacherman82

If Harper Lee tweeted…• When he was nearly thirteen,

my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to

• 3 characters remaining• First lines of To Kill a

Mockingbird

@teacherman82

Twitter 101: Key Terms• Twitter Feed: the running list of tweets

from the people you follow (subscribe to) • The most recent tweets appear at the top.• You control who you follow, so you control

how small or large your Twitter feed is.

@teacherman82

Twitter Feed

@teacherman82

What can you tweet?• Updates on your classroom practice• Questions to other educators• Links to interesting articles & blog posts• Live updates of an event or conference

(also known as “live-tweeting”)• Photographs of student work• Responses to a Twitter chat• Just about anything!

@teacherman82

My Tweets• 4 of 5 stars to Team Cul de Sac by Chris Sparks

http://t.co/Gw5SG8y7 Jan 27, 2013 • @NickRogerss Certainly. Jan 27, 2013 • @leviww You bested me! I need to practice my skills.

Kudos! Jan 27, 2013 • Try to beat me! My Ruzzle username is 'teacherman82'.

@ruzzlegame http://t.co/nFtN7JKZ Jan 27, 2013 • Tonight's din: Rachael Ray's creamy mushroom

spaghetti with leeks & parm http://t.co/dD5Wg96r Jan 27, 2013

• RT @_Snape_: #SomebodyTellMeWhy the Weasley twins had the Marauder's Map and never questioned why Ron was sleeping with a man named Pete ... Jan 27, 2013

@teacherman82

My Tweets• "...to his administration's official position on what

constitutes a good school." --Alan C. Jones http://t.co/F4z6Qsh6 #edchat Jan 26, 2013

• "Our highest government official [sends] his children to a school with an instructional philosophy diametrically opposed..." (1/2) Jan 26, 2013

• My secret family got me note cards with books on them. They know me well. #DeerCreekPerks http://t.co/qTPY1XQX Jan 26, 2013

• RT @OfficiallyAlly: Seriously, people. Being a teenager isn't about figuring out who you should be with. It's about figuring out who you ... Jan 26, 2013

• RT @Earth_Pics: Worlds most exotic Tennis Court. Located on the top of Dubai's 7 star hotel Burj Al Arab. http://t.co/VghSRBae Jan 26, 2013

@teacherman82

Twitter 101: Key Terms• Follow: (verb) subscribe to the tweets of a user• Followers: the people that subscribe to your

tweets• Following: the number of people you follow• Unlike Facebook, you do not have to follow

people that follow you, and vice versa. Users will not receive messages if you decide to unfollow them.

@teacherman82

Twitter 101: Key Terms• @—a way of referring to another user

@teacherman82

Who to follow?Create a personalized PLC.

Enjoy interesting professional development.Make your account public or private.

Twitter Users / Tweeps• Penny Kittle• @pennykittle

@teacherman82

Twitter Users / Tweeps• Kelly Gallagher• @KellyGToGo

@teacherman82

Twitter Users / Tweeps• Jim Burke• @englishcomp

@teacherman82

Twitter Users / Tweeps• Carol Jago• @caroljago

@teacherman82

Twitter Users / Tweeps• Donalyn Miller• @donalynbooks

@teacherman82

Twitter Users / Tweeps

@teacherman82

Twitter 101: Key Terms• RT—retweet—(verb) share the tweet of

one user with all of your Twitter followers• Retweet tweets you find interesting,

important, and relevant to your followers.• If a user retweets too much, go to the

user’s profile page on the Twitter website to turn off their RTs. You cannot disable RTs through the Twitter smart phone app.

@teacherman82

My retweets• RT @_Snape_: #SomebodyTellMeWhy the

Weasley twins had the Marauder's Map and never questioned why Ron was sleeping with a man named Pete ... Jan 27, 2013

• RT @OfficiallyAlly: Seriously, people. Being a teenager isn't about figuring out who you should be with. It's about figuring out who you ... Jan 26, 2013

• RT @sethmeyers21: Favorite Discovery of the Week: Chinese tennis player Li Na is really funny http://t.co/9QS0gr60 Jan 26, 2013

@teacherman82

Twitter 101: Key Terms• MT—a modified retweet—a revised or

edited tweet• A way to give your followers better context

for what you want to retweet

@teacherman82

My modified tweets• MT Beautiful sunset in the Sooner State!

“@rustysurette: Almost a perfect triangle in the blazing sky. #Oklahoma http://t.co/lw6fyiH9” Jan 24, 2013

• The Credible Hulk “MT @morgetron: You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. #engchat http://t.co/ovOsOu8k” #ethos Dec 05, 2012

• Great tips for annotating an AoW: “MT @annadhughes: Nice worksheet on "How to Mark a Book" http://t.co/aseuSCJl” Oct 19, 2012

@teacherman82

Twitter 101: Key Terms• Reply—when you directly respond to a specific

user beginning with their username• Your Twitter followers will not see your replies

in their Twitter feeds unless they also follow the user you are replying to.

• If your account is public, users can view your replies by viewing all your tweets.

• Easy way for students to communicate with you

@teacherman82

My @ replies• @Taylorsturner7 You could read the book too!

Jan 26, 2013 • @Ejar34 Buck Wild = Honey Boo Boo + Jersey

Shore Jan 25, 2013 • @ElaynaMarie22 Yes. Pick your own. Did you

get my Newsflash? Jan 25, 2013 • @hale27storm That book is fascinating and

unsettling! Jan 25, 2013 • @AngieSimonton I wonder how she would do

against Otis. Jan 25, 2013

@teacherman82

Twitter 101: Key Terms• Favorite—(verb) mark an important tweet

by favoriting it.• Read or watch a link to an article or video

contained in a tweet at a later date.• Show agreement or support of a tweet

@teacherman82

My Favorites

Favorites• Locate your favorites on your profile page

(“Me”)

Twitter 101: Key Terms• DM—direct message—You can only send

a direct message to someone who follows you.

• More private conversation

@teacherman82

My direct messages

Twitter 101: Key Terms• Hash tag: a word or phrase preceded by a

“#.” By using hash tags, you can group tweets around that topic.

• Hash tags act like hyperlinks. Click them to see other tweets which also contain that hash-tagged word or phrase.

@teacherman82

Twitter Chats• Engage in scheduled or ongoing

educational discussions

• #engchat: weekly• #titletalk: monthly• #edchat: ongoing• #ncte: ongoing• #northr4p: classroom-focused

@teacherman82

Twitter Chats• User TweetDeck or tweetchat.com to

keep up with rapid-fire chats

@teacherman82

Tweet Deck

TweetChat.com

@teacherman82

TweetChat.com

• #engchat: a weekly Twitter chat on Mondays at 7EST about current trends and ideas for teaching English

• Each week has a different topic: teaching vocabulary, writing instruction, online tools for teachers, etc.

• Chats are archived at www.engchat.org• The chat is hosted by @meenorami

@teacherman82

#engchat

• #titletalk: a monthly Twitter chat on the last Sunday night at 7pm CST about reading.

• Each month has a different topic: social issues with books, setting goals, graphic novels, etc.

• Chats are archived at http://titletalk.wikispaces.com

• The chat is hosted by @donalynbooks and @colbysharp.

@teacherman82

#titletalk

#edchat• Educators from around the world tag their

tweets with the #edchat hash tag.• Meet other like-minded or differently-

minded educators through this hash tag.

@teacherman82

#edchat

#ncte• English teachers from across America tag

their tweets with the #ncte hash tag.• Meet other like-minded or differently-

minded educators through this hash tag.

@teacherman82

#northr4p• Claudia Swisher (@ClaudiaSwisher) at

Norman North High School created a special hash tag for her Reading for Pleasure classes.

• Students use #northr4p to tag their book reviews and quotes, and Claudia RTs them.

• They tweet to authors who sometimes tweet back!

@teacherman82

Claudia Swisher

@teacherman82

#northr4p

Twitter in the Classroom• Short posts

–compressed language–summarization skills–clever abbreviations, hash tags,

and memes• Makes for quick assessment

@teacherman82

Tweeting Assessment

• To Kill a Mockingbird tweets• No need to make an actual

Twitter account for this• Use paper or a website• http://faketweetbuilder.com

@teacherman82

Atticus Finch@I_See_Gray

• What defines a man these days?Character or color?#WeAllKnowThatANSWER

• My children are remarkable. S/O to @Scout_Finch for keeping the peace.

• @Ms.Dubose Jem will be happy to read to you #sorryabouttheplants

• I am always a little up and to the left. Still got the job done though. #GoodShotForAnOldMan @teacherman82

Arthur Radley@scissor_recluse48

• @PoutScouty235 You’re welcomeabout the blanket. #payitforward

• What’s up with the kids at the school thinking my tree’s fruit is poision? #Goonkids #eatup

• Someone give me the deets on the trial! I wanna know if the world is ready 4 me again

• Totes just shanked @OleBobbyE after he attacked two kids #whatapunk

@teacherman82

Scout Finch@Scout_finch

• #thewayiseeit we’re all people, so whydon’t we all get treated equally?#peoplethesedays

• @QueenAlexandria I hate being treated like I’m stupid! I don’t want to act like a lady! I want [to] wear overalls and run around outside everyday! #tomboyproblems

• #thatawkwardmoment when you get in trouble for using bad language when your cousin is really the one who started it all. #stupiduncle #stuckupcousinproblems

@teacherman82

• “Searching for Summer” by Joan Aiken• “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen

Vincent Benét• “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray

Bradbury• “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut• Twitter was not the only project option, but

many students chose it, even students who did not have Twitter accounts.

Short Story Tweets

@teacherman82

@john_sonofjohn

•The spirits in the Dead Place are drawing my spirit out of my body #feellikeafishonaline•I'm watching myself sleep but it's not me. Looking upon the city of the gods where it doesn't get dark•The gods are restless #alwaysinmotion #thisplaceismagic•The gods wisdom can't grow until all is peace •They ran around like ants in the streets of their city. Then the towers began to fall. Only a few escaped #thinkinboutthegreatburning #anddestruction

@teacherman82

By the Waters of Babylon

@john_sonofjohn

•My father is a priest, I am the son of a priest. #bejealous•Going to the Dead Place #notevenscared•Just touched the metal #stud #didntdie #gonnabeapriest •Finally a man. Dad said it's time #goingonajourney•8 days to go #letsdothis #gotmybowandarrow•Looking south, guess what I see... #placeofthegods

@teacherman82

By the Waters of Babylon@john_sonofjohn

•Making the raft, singing to myself #soemotional #imscared •Finally made it over the river. Why is it forbidden? •Not afraid anymore. Hungry for knowledge #andforfood•Heading to the god road, big dog is following me. About to lock them behind a door #seeyalater #didntseeitcoming•Dry and dusty in the house of gods. I think they washed in the air. #gettingthirsty

@john_sonofjohn

• I see the dead god. The back of his hand is like dry leather #ew #scaredtoapproachhim

• It's bugging me. How old is he? #confused• We don't only go to the dead places for metal. There's

also books and writings and magic tools. But the magic tools are broken #whatashame

• Lincoln, Biltimore, and Moses weren't gods. Nor were they demons. They were men.

• We must build again #rememberingthedeadmansface

@teacherman82

Picture

Harrison Bergeron

@teacherman82

Harrison Bergeron

@teacherman82

More Ideas• Cynthia Nichols, a professor at OSU,

tweets about upcoming due dates, assignments, study tips, and sample test questions for her students.

• Kevin Hime, the superintendent of Clinton, created #cpsreds for his district.

• CPS: Clinton Public Schools• Reds: Red Tornadoes (school mascot)

More Ideas

Jennifer Egan’s “Black Box”

More Ideas• Ask questions• Engage parents• Post supplementary materials• Write reviews (or include link)• Direct message students & parents

@teacherman82

• Live-Tweet: to tweet about an event as it is happening real time.

• “I’m going to live-tweet this ridiculous movie on Netflix.”

• Teachers can live-tweet books, movies, field trips, lessons, conferences, etc.

Twitter 101: Advanced Term

@teacherman82

Twitter Testimonials• “Because students are so comfortable with

using social media, I found out things about them that I could connect to our discussions / writings. In addition, I use it as another method for reminders. And, as a display of my hilarity!”

Twitter Testimonials• “I LOVE the availability of information with

social networking, especially Twitter. I wish we could spend more of our time during PD talking about the different ways that people utilize this tremendous source.”

Twitter Testimonials• “Truly, I learn more sitting down in a 30 minute

period alone or sharing with other colleagues via internet than in hours of "meetings"! I feel like I have refreshing information to share every day.”

Twitter Testimonials

@teacherman82

Twitter Testimonials

@teacherman82

Start your Twitter account!

• What’s stopping you?

@teacherman82

Sources• Some Twitter 101 terms courtesy of Dr.

Kimberly Tyson (@tysonkimberly)• Miller, Samantha. “50 Ways to Use Twitter

in the Classroom.” TeachHub.com• http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/arc

hive/2013/01/what-twitter-really-looks-like/272583/

@teacherman82

Today’s Objectives• Understand how Twitter works• Determine ways Twitter can be used

for professional development• Connect assessment with Twitter• Create a Twitter account (if

applicable)

@teacherman82

Twitter in the ClassroomJason StephensonDeer Creek High School

Edmond, OK@teacherman82

@teacherman82

Twitter in the Classroom

Education