I have been doing some research about the use and application of social media platforms in the classroom, and today’s post is dedicated to the use of Twitter in K-8. The question I am currently exploring is, What are the skills and literacies associated with using Twitter in the Classroom?
After reading a number of blog posts and tweets about the implications of using Twitter in the classroom, I came up with a short list of skills our students learn when we tweet with them at school:
- how write in a very focused, clear and concise manner
- new methods of communicating using hashtags, symbols (emojis), and acronyms
- reading skills
- information and digital literacy skills
- media literacy skills
- connecting skills
- collaboration skills
- social networking/ network literacy
- geography
- global citizenship skills
One of my favourite posts was Sylvia Rosenthal’s Guide to Twitter in the K-8 Classroom (Langwitches Blog). It is very comprehensive, and outlines the following progression for introducing Twitter to your students:
- What is Twitter?
- Getting Started
- How can you use Twitter in the Classroom?
- Twitter Etiquette
- The First Tweet
- What is a Quality Tweet?
- Logistics
- Twitter Vocabulary
- Tweeting Classrooms
Twitter in K-8 Classroom- Globally Connected Learning
Sylvia’s Guide to Twitter in the K-8 Classroom (Langwitches Blog) is a great place to start. Stay tuned for my next post: Totally Twitter – Everything You Need to Tweet with your Tweens (and little ones too!) for a more detailed look at Twitter in K-12 Classrooms.
How are you using Twitter in your classroom?
Leigh Cassell Consulting 