To tweet or not to tweet...

When I first got wind of Twitter I thought it was the silliest thing.  After so many months of all the buzz around Twitter I decided to get an account to check out what all the hub was about.  I am mostly a follower as I have maybe tweeted once when I first got it and I mostly follow organizations, such as MSNBC, Discover Magazine, National Geographic, and a few bands that I like.  I really enjoy it for its quick way of checking news and looking at interesting science pictures and developments.

Following just one person gives me the sense that I am stalking someone.  Especially when they post about what they are doing or plan to do.  I must admit it is interesting to follow celebrities because it creates a connection between me and that seemingly fictional person that I would otherwise have no link to.

Twitter in the Classroom?  

The use of Twitter in educational settings has great potential as a communication and motivational tool.  It can be used as I explained in a previous post as a communication tool between teachers, students, and parents on the goings-on in a particular class.  It can be used as an interactive tool during lessons to increase students' opportunities to respond thereby increasing engagement and motivation.  I think another interesting application of this tool would be to choose a scientist from the past and create a Twitter account for him or her.  The students would then tweet from this scientist's perspective making note of the struggles and findings he or she faced during their lifetime.  This could have applications in history class to teach biographies of important people and in ELA for character development.

I think Twitter could be also beneficial as a support network for teachers to communicate their questions and concerns in the classroom.