So if you are not one of the almost 500 million people using Twitter you may still not quite be up to speed about what it is. First of all – Twitter is free. There is no initial user cost or ongoing monthly fees. It is a social-networking service online – with one catch. Your posted messages, or Tweets, must be written in 140 characters or less. All kinds of people use this micro-blogging service to follow friends, colleagues, authors and interesting individuals from Mr. Obama to the Dalai Lama. It seems like everyone has something to tweet about
Lets take a few minutes to focus our understanding with this topic. It is important initially to gauge what our personal experience has been, as science educators, with Twitter and social media in the classroom. Please reflect on the following questions provided by the brief survey at the link below. As you answer the survey questions contemplate some of the following statements from other science educators. The combined results from your colleagues surveys will be shared at the end of the workshop on the Workshop Wrap-up Page.
“I’m not very tech-savvy. But I want to network with other educators. Twitter provides this venue”
“As a new teacher I felt like I needed more mentorship and help with challenges in the classroom. I have that now with my Twitter colleagues”
“When I follow other educator’s tweets, I can keep up with the latest trends in education and news”
“I can use Twitter as a way to keep students thinking after class”
Please complete the survey by clicking on the link below
Twitter in the Science Classroom Survey
Now we’re ready to dive into some twit-tivities. However, if you would like to continue examining how Twitter can fit into classrooms, optional readings are available on the Resource page
Proceed with Twit-tivities
If you have questions about how to proceed…. please don’t hesitate to tweet @Patty7C for information.