I have joined Twitter for the first time this week! After exploring and reading a few articles, I have learned how microblogging can be used in the language classroom AND for professional development.
In just reading this one article I realized how many ways a teacher really can use Twitter to instruct students in a meaningful manner! Below I will describe some innovative ideas for Twitter use….
· Twitter Characters – Students can create Twitter accounts for different characters in a book you are reading and have conversations with a partner (another character) about chosen/assigned topics; choose a scene to recreate in “tweet-speak”
· Reading log/Book talks – Students can have discussions surrounding a book they are reading in class; post questions, reactions, comments to the text as they read; by using a specific hashtag in each tweet you can create your own class reading response thread
· Scavenger Hunts - Tweet different "hunts" to your students; involve students finding unique facts within their reading assignment or searching around online for a factoid I set them after; it could be a contest and the first person to tweet you the answer wins
· Resource Twitter Page – Post homework assignments, notes, reminders for students to look at while outside of the classroom; post helpful/extra links for students to explore or use to help them do assignments
· Daily Words/Quotes – Post a new word (with definition?)and/or quote to Twitter each morning and students can explore them as much as they'd like
· Retweeting – If you find something interesting that would be beneficial or relevant to what class is learning, retweet (share) it with your class OR to a specific student/s
I think these ideas are amazing and only the beginning of how Twitter can be integrated into instruction! These also can be adapted to almost any subject area. I can particularly see myself using these types of activities in my future foreign language classroom!
