Why Twitter is an Important Tool for Teachers

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Ben Jatos, GoLocalPDX Contributor

iStock

I had to explain what America Online was to one of my students last Friday which made me feel even older than I am. Also, when I tell them that I didn’t use a computer until my first year of teaching, they are dumbfounded.

I remember using a gradebook that I’d write in with a pencil. I remember mimeograph machines with that purple ink. I remember writing on an actual chalkboard.

But now my students have iPads provided by the district. The students can check their grades in about 4 seconds on their smartphone or iPad. I can have a guest speaker come to my classroom via Skype. Every AP (Advanvced Placement) student of mine maintains a blog where they post their essays. Technology has definitely made a gigantic impact on education, both in the classroom and out, but I think my favorite new “techie” thing is the use of Twitter.

For the uninitiated, Twitter is a social media application where a user creates a profile with a name (an @ sign followed by your user name. Mine is @benjatos) and sends out messages/status updates which are limited to 140 or fewer characters. You can also select people to follow and their status updates are what you see when you log on to Twitter. You can tweet photos or links to articles or a plethora of social media wonderment. A user can put a hashtag (#) on a tweet and another user can search for anything under that hashtag and be shown every tweet with the given hashtag. It’s a way to build community and organize messages.

For me, I use it to follow educators, sports folk, some news sources, and some of my friends.

I remember recently when the Ferguson protests were happening; Twitter was ablaze with tweets from people inside the protest providing minute-by-minute updates that major news channels weren’t reporting until hours later, if at all. It is a powerful tool.

It’s also a fun place to “watch” a sporting event. I can just refresh my Twitter feed as a Blazer game goes on and be kept up to date, with some fabulous snarky commentary thrown in.

Teachers can learn a lot about teaching and impact others by participating in Twitter. – it’s an opportunity to connect with other teachers and motivate students.

Connecting with other educators

There are so many powerful educators across the world and Twitter grants access to any of them who use the tool. I have read so many wonderful articles that were tweeted out by educators I’ve never met but who give me an insight into new perspectives on education.

It’s also useful in terms of professional development. There are people who have chats, using a given hashtag, and participate in in-depth educational discourse across the globe. I feel like my skills as an educator have been greatly enhanced just by following some of the people/educators I follow. They’re inspiring, passionate, and have a lot of knowledge to share.

Motivating students

A great number of my students follow me on Twitter which is pretty cool. It enables me to reach them on a different level, tweeting out things like, “My second period class dominated their writing assignment today!” Or even personal mentions like, “Special shout out to @kidstudentlearner for writing his best essay of the year.”

Students eat this up. It’s about meeting kids on their turf, but without being over-intrusive.

Warning: When I started using Twitter I made the mistake of following a student of mine. I learned things about him I really didn’t want to know so I quickly unfollowed him. Some things just should remain unsaid.

Convinced? Why not sign up and give it a try. Teaching is about finding the best tools to reach our students. Once that was a chalkboard. Now it’s many things, and one of them is Twitter.

If you do sign up, here are some users I suggest you follow:

@dianeravitch

My favorite educational follow. She links to some awesome writing and her take on education is a must-read. She also linked to one of my pieces on here so I automatically love her.

@burgessdave

He wrote an incredible book, Teach like a Pirate, and leads education chats most every Monday night.

@gcouros

Principal in Canada who is so far ahead of everyone else in technology it’s humbling. Also has a great blog.

@SuptVPS

Superintendent of Vancouver Public Schools who is also way out in front of most everyone else on the technology front.

@evolvededucator

Teacher in Chicago who links to some fantastic articles

@BadassTeachersA

The Badass Teachers Association is committed to fighting the corporate takeover of public education in America and when you follow them it is like an education all by itself.

@casas_jimmy

Principal and motivational speaker and I’d love to meet this guy.

@valeriestrauss

Writes about education for the Washington Post.

@GetUpStandUp2

Author Susan DeFresne and a Kindergarten teacher activist

@PPSConnect

The official feed of Portland Public Schools.

Ben Jatos is in his 21st year of teaching secondary English. His opinions are his own and in no way represent the views of his school district. He is passionate about his family, the Portland Trail Blazers, the writing of Raymond Carver, and educating young people. For more of his opinions and reviews of literature for the classroom, check out his blog at www.benjatos.com

Banner Photo Credit: iStock