Wednesday, 2 September 2015

What a Twit!

So I have finally 'gotten with' technology and signed up for a site called Twitter. It wasn't of my own free will mind you, as I was required to for one of my university topics, but nevertheless the deed is done!

Now, in all honesty, I thought that Twitter was a tool merely used to stalk celebrities...but oh how wrong I was (although I do fancy seeing what Benedict Cumberbatch is up to). My mind has been opened to the world of Twitter and the many possibilities it can offer to me as an educator.

Now, I will admit that at the beginning I was sceptical....how can a social media tool such as Twitter be used as a device to connect with professional educators (and not to mention in no more than 140 characters!).


Image originally published by  _DaniloRamos under the
 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Well it's quite easy as a matter of fact. I was surprised by the sheer number of professional companies and educators who use Twitter to share thoughts and ideas about teaching and learning. ACARA has a Twitter account, as does DECD and even AITSL. There is ALWAYS an educator online somewhere around the world. If you have a question..no need to wait until the morning to ask you friends or colleagues when someone is bound to be online on the other side of the world.

Ok..so I was beginning to see the value of the Twitter (and not just because I was getting followers :p) but I still wasn't fully convinced. Until we had a lecture. Online. Using Twitter.
Yep, that's right. A lecture using Twitter.

The students were either sitting in the lecture theatre or watching online from home while the lecturer broadcast live online. But where does Twitter come in I hear you ask? Well, the lecturer and all the students were also logged into Twitter and posting questions and comments during the lecture. The lecturer had the live stream sitting next to them and was able to answer questions or clarify statements as they went, as well as post pictures and links to help with the next assignment. All as a result of using Twitter. Now if this sort of technology can be applied to a boring university lecture, then what are the possibilities for a classroom environment?

So if you haven't got Twitter then seriously look into it...it just may change your outlook on the future of education.


No comments:

Post a Comment