Twitter has very quickly become one of the most common tools I use in my everyday life. Why? To connect. To share. To inspire others and learn about others who inspire me with their provocations, thoughts, and questions about children and education.
Anyone can benefit from using twitter. It is hands down, the quickest way to connect and share ideas with others who share similar interests. With 140 characters or less, tweets are a simple and concise way to get a message out on the web. I cannot imagine a better way to share a quick documentation piece with a brief message to families and other educators that could happen even multiple times daily! Twitter’s 140 character limit keeps messages straightforward and to the point.
Since I began working with Kindergarten children, I have turned to Twitter to share with families the wonderful learning that has taken place in our classroom daily. The feedback I received was incredible so naturally, I continued. On most days, I would tweet multiple times, doing my best to ensure all children were “tweeted about”. It is so important to me to be able to bring children’s learning to their families when their families cannot be with us to learn. And Twitter has been just that – a way that I could re-create the learning opportunities, wonderings, anecdotes and moments that went on in our classroom so that others could be involved as if they were right there with us!
Below are a few examples of ways I have used Twitter to share learning experiences with our families this past year.
This is a photo of an SK student's journal page. She drew, labelled, and reflected on our bean plan inquiry independently!
Here is a snapshot of a group of students participating in the process of making books. An SK student created one and then started a book club to teach others how to make their own books. He even helped them come up with topic!
One of my favourite things about twitter is that you can actually be
signed up for an account and not have to tweet anything at all. This is
amazing because many of our families really just want to see what is
happening with their child’s learning and would rather not participate
in tweeting (which is totally fine, by the way ;)!) However, it is so,
so, so much fun when a parent lets you know they appreciate something
you are doing by favouriting, retweeting or replying to one of your
tweets. This online family engagement has been a remarkable way to keep
in touch with one another throughout the school year.
Once I established a ground for families to follow and involve
themselves in our learning, I found myself connecting with other
professionals and creating my very own PLN (professional learning
network/personal learning network). Amoung these individuals are many
insightful and thoughtful educators around the globe who are passionate
about what they do with young children. From following other
professionals, I began considering ways in which I could contribute to
the conversations and how I could take part in the collaboration that
was happening right at my fingertips. Since my initial sign-up with
Twitter, I admit there are many ways in which I can continue to enhance
my tweets to engage a larger audience, but for right now, I am content
with the small connections that I can make in a big way. Having a PLN
allows you to connect with others who may be promoting a professional
development opportunity, sharing documentation pieces from their
classroom, sparking thought-provoking questions in a chat (or a “twitter
party”!), and general networking.
This Spring, I spoke at Conestoga College to share the benefits of using twitter in an early years setting. Here is a guide to using twitter that I have created including how to get started and a glossary!
Still not sure? Check out this article: http://dailygenius.com/how-and-why-teachers-should-start-using-twitter-right-now/
Unsure of how to convince parents and families to sign up? http://technicallyteamann.com/parents-not-on-twitter-no-problem/
After reading this post, I hope you consider the possibilities of using Twitter in your classroom. Think about the families you have in your classroom community and how they might benefit from the instantaneous connection you could provide them with. How could you include your students in using twitter and why would you want to? I strongly believe that children learn best when they are 100% connected to their environment and in control of their learning. If they have opportunities to share their learning with the world, why not help them do so? (Of course, consider being a digital citizen and teach your students what this means prior to handing over the device!)
If you’re new to twitter or have recently signed up, connect with me at @KEnfelis. I love to hear the ways in which others are engaging with twitter in their classrooms or professional networks!
Good Luck and Happy Tweeting!
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