I was extremely hesitant of the social network when it went live for the first time several years ago. However, I distinctly remember hearing a news report in which the Twitter creators were interviewed to talk about the upcoming launch. As the reporter (whose name and network now escape me) introduced them, he said that Twitter would revolutionize the internet and news industry.
I thought that was a load of crap.
However, I was curious and probably getting a little bored of Facebook, so I reluctantly conformed with the bold revelation and signed up for my first Twitter account. Admittedly, it took a while for me to appreciate it; the first users in my circle of friends used it to post status updates similar to those on Facebook. Interaction with others didn't seem very social and the site as a whole just felt kind of dead and useless. Fast-forward several years later and Twitter has, indeed, revolutionized the internet and news industry. Furthermore, it has changed the way humans interact with each other and consume information, making for a more globalized and interdependent society.
That said, a lot of people still abuse the liberties of being able to talk to one another behind the protection of a keyboard. I have struggled with how to use the site in the classroom for this very reason; I simply cannot control all of what students see and say.
But then again, should I?
I believe in free speech as much as the next guy and truly appreciate the power of ideas--especially since I have the privilege of teaching how they have transformed human history. While I certainly think a lot (most?) ideas on the internet are stupid, who am I to censor my students when there are possibilities for learning and for students to engage with classroom material. So, instead, the question becomes whether or not Twitter is a useful platform for students to engage with academic content. Can Twitter's strengths (access to information, organization of ideas, global connectedness, and simplicity of infrastructure) outweigh the danger of students being able to access things we as educators might deem inappropriate?
Considering the biased phrasing above, I hope my answer is transparent.
One idea that I have been wrestling with for how to incorporate Twitter into the classroom involves using it in cooperation with other, more traditionally academic sites to create historical accounts in "real time." In other words, students would create their own primary source materials through their understanding from research.
The idea is still very much a work in progress, but in my head it looks a little something like this:
- The project is ongoing throughout a week-long unit. It does not necessarily need to take up the whole time, or even quite as long. It could be done in a single class period if all of the time was devoted to it.
- Students would begin by gathering information. They could each be assigned a different person from a given historical era (i.e. American Civil Rights) to research.
- The amount of time allotted for research would depend on what the teacher wants to assess. I would create research questions to guide students' searches. The assessment would be students tweeting from the perspective of their designated person to show what that individual might have been thinking and experiencing in "real time." Hence, they would essentially be creating primary sources.
- Students would also interact with one another by tweeting replies, favoriting, and retweeting each other. They could track interactions through the use of hashtags to organize information. This could be made competitive if students had a minimum that they must interact with each other and the person with whom the most people interacted won. I could be persuaded to designate some kind of prize.
#Thanksforreading
Jimmy--I love reading your blog posts. It seems like you write how you talk. I thinking you did a wonderful job articulating your thoughts about Twitter and how it changed throughout the years. My feelings about twitter adapted much slower than yours but I am definitely coming around.
ReplyDeleteI was curious if you have already introduced Twitter to the classroom (or you MT did)? I am very interested in using it in the class but have not started. So I was wondering what your thoughts were about scaffolding its use in the class? Thanks!
Jimmy, it's nice to see that you're thinking about making use of twitter in a way that would enhance student learning. As your ideas take shape, let me offer a couple of questions that I hope would be of some help. First and foremost, where do you think leveraging twitter has a shot at bringing some added value for your students? Is it in the playful possibility of their taking on a character? Is it in the challenge of having to express an idea in a limited # of characters? Is it in the interesting challenge of creating meaningful hashtags in which a variety of characters could express themselves? If you haven't compared notes with Carl already, you might do so, as he's having some similar thoughts. I also thought that checking out this posting by edublogger extraordinaire, Vicki Davis, might spark some ideas (there are some good links inside Vicki's post, too).
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing where your thinking takes you, Jimmy. Feel free to reach out via email or on your blog if I can be of any further help.
Oh, and Twitter recently added a
ReplyDeletegroup chat feature...maybe this will spark some thinking.
Jimmy, as always, I enjoy reading your wonderfully candid blogging thoughts. Your writing style is also fun to read. It’s a fact. I appreciate and respect your thoughts on censorship and free speech. Often I feel as though real conversation is so obnoxiously limited in high school. It’s so awkward to deal with and is one of the reasons why college will always reign supreme in my book as far as education goes these days. Perhaps social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are limited in high schools because they allow students actually think.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I got a little off topic. I think you’re initial idea is great. Of course, it’s at its very beginnings. It kind of reminds me a tad bit of Jeff’s Arab-Israeli Conflict simulation where various leaders are communicating with one another. You simply provide the questions for students to consider. I think this will potentially be a difficult undertaking, but it would be super cool. I think the hardest part is coming up with directions/explanations for expectations. You have spell out almost every detail and even then there will be a hole in what you wanted students to do. I’m not at all trying to be pessimistic about your game plan. I think it’s awesome and you should go with it. I admire your ability to come with cool and interactive ideas.
Hey there Jimmy!
ReplyDeleteIt was really interesting for me to read about your journey of a relationship with Twitter. I'd say that I've had very similar feelings to you towards Twitter except that I haven't gotten over mine quite yet and I have not yet incorporated Twitter into my social media repertoire. I'm definitely willing to use it in an educational setting but I actually think that in order to effectively use it with my classes, I need to try out Twitter in my social life so that I understand better how my students use it!
I think your project sounds like a really fascinating idea. I agree with Steven that this project made me think of the simulations in the classes led by Jeff- Place out of Time and the Arab-Israeli Conflict classes. Some things you would need to think about are, how are you going to ensure that students are focused on the assignment in class and not distracted by other things on their phones or computers? How are students choosing the characters from whose perspective they are tweeting from? How do you keep the tweets professional and school related? What if you have students who don't use twitter, will you teach them how to use it first? Anyways, I know your idea is in the early stages of planning but I'm really interested in what you come up with! You obviously will have to be extremely detailed in how this project is set up and how you are monitoring it during the class but, if you have solid plans for those things, this could be totally sweet! Let us know how it goes :)
-BSwags
Hey Jimmy,
ReplyDeleteI was actually thinking of using Twitter too! I think it would prove useful is students can see that twitter can be used for something more than sending silly pictures and tweeting angry status. I mean nowadays I use twitter for the National Science Teacher Association and the Michigan Department of Education, and it is incredibly helpful.
I think what you have planned is excellent, and I hope you try to use it in your classroom. If this does not work, Kelsey suggested using Padlet as a means of posting comments or primary source documents, like you wanted to do.
Anthony