Introduction: Twitter in Primary Education: Using Twitter in a primary school Twitter in Secondary Education: Twitter in Higher Education: Conclusion

Introduction:

Twitter in Primary Education:

Using Twitter in a primary school

Using Twitter in the elementary classroom seems like a strange idea at first. How is it possible for young children use a social networking site to develop their own learning and is it appropriate or safe?  In both case studies (Kurtz 2009 and Waller 2009), Twitter was used to develop student learning in a primary classroom.  However, they were not used for the same purpose.  

Jeff Kurtz in Washington State, USA, used Twitter for a twofold purpose. The primary purpose was to develop students’ writing and editing skills. Students were led to use language creatively and descriptively but within the 140 character limit of Twitter. The teacher modelled this at first and then used it as a whole class writing activity. The class would microblog constantly throughout the day to describe their learning activities. The class would revise and edit the posting together as a class before tweeting.  It then developed to students being able to write down in a notebook their own ideas for the tweets and editing them themselves before the teacher tweeted them.  Students were editing and revising their own writing and were writing for a purpose and an audience. (Kurtz 2009).  He also worked on teaching internet safety as he did not limit their followers, but left it open to the public domain.

His second purpose was to keep parents and families engaged in their child’s learning.  Parents and grandparents could read on Twitter what the students were doing and would ask them about it at the end of the day.  The teacher also uploaded audio recordings of the class reading and singing. Children would show their parents what they did at school that day and the parents became more involved in their child’ learning. (Kurtz 2009)

Martin Waller in Stockton, United Kingdom, used Twitter to help children reflect upon their learning and develop their metacognition.  Students were encouraged to describe classroom activities and to tweet them on the public domain. The students’ tweets and subsequent comments were used to develop classroom discussion about learning and how they learned and what they enjoyed about learning. (Waller 2009)

In both cases, Twitter was used on at least a daily basis, if not several times a day. Twitter impacted students learning in positive ways.

Twitter in Secondary Education:

     As children reach middle school, they start to shift some of their priorities to more social activities. Includingtechnologies like Twitter can help lure the students back in to the task at hand. Because Twitter allows for open discussion amongst students it can raise the bar on study time. In the past children were free to visit each other after school. Studying together and working on projects as a group was not as difficult as it is today. Especially with students having to pitch in at home, as well as. the level of mistrust in our neighborhoods. Having a vehicle which encourages students to ask questions to their teacher and peers can bring down some of those societal walls.

     As educators we have a responsibility to keep our students informed on proper behaviors, this includes texting. How else can we enforce proper grammar and spelling when 90% of a child's writing is happening through texting. Having a Twitter page, which documents all Tweets can force students to be aware of Conclusion the consequences. It can also allow a safe place for them to work through their mistakes anonymously because a teacher can set up the accounts as Student 1, 2, 3, etc...

Twitter in Higher Education:

Conclusion

With an increased percentage of students being connected to the Internet and the recent popularity of social networking sites such as Twitter, instructors can utilize these technologies for a more efficient educational process. When conducting research we were able to identify the numerous advantages and applications of this Internet site, specifically in primary, high school, and higher education classrooms. Tutorials were provided for Twitter account creation and implementation for instructors and students at each of the designated educational levels. Not only is this service cost effective but it is extremely user friendly and can be accessed in a variety of ways.

Utilization of Twitter in primary education proved to be a new tool in developing young students reading and writing skills. It supplements the traditional lesson by presenting a new and entertaining means for students to hone their literary skills. This is done both individually and as a class, allowing users to learn from others and keep them actively involved in the learning process. Twitter accounts also can be used by instructors to pass on updates on class curriculum and student progression to parents. All activities are archived and provide a tool to reflect back on past exercises.

In the high school setting, Twitter can be created for individual students, classes, or the entire school. It provides a way for information to be shared between teacher, student, and family users instantly. Uses range from broadcasting updates on school sporting events to student faculty members sharing recommended educational practices. At this age, students are more connected to the Internet and can access the various Twitter accounts on a regular basis.

Higher education students are more familiar with Internet technologies than the previous two educational levels and would benefit greatly from Twitter usage. Instant updates on course schedule and curriculum changes can be shared, along with encouraging discussions outside of regular scheduled classes. Twitter presents a new way for students to share ideas, follow users with similar interests, and conduct research.

Twitter is a newer technology that is used by a variety of individuals of different ages, interests, and backgrounds. As with any newly introduced technology, it's capabilities continue to grow and develop each day. Account set up is quick, easy, and free process. So there is no additional cost for the educational insitution for the service or for the maintenance. Users have gained a new tool to communicate with others, share information, and supplement education nearly anytime and anywhere due to compatibility with a variety of wireless devices. We fee this is an invaluable service that can and should be implemented in today's and future classrooms.