We already got
familiar with Edmodo, and consequently with Facebook (since the former is an ‘educational
version’ of the latter, which almost everybody knows these days).
Another very popular
social network that is gaining attention in our country is Twitter.
I was wondering ‘what can we do with it?’ so I searched the net looking for answers. The one thing I thought we can do with Twitter was there: to write collaboratively in order to create a story.
Once upon a time, I
saw in Twitter a contest sponsored by a mobile phone company in which they
wrote the first line of a story and people had to attach a hashtag(*) (for
example #MobileCompany) followed by a possible next line for the story. Every
day, the most attractive piece of story was chosen by this company and in the
following day, people had to continue from there. It lasted a week, or two. It
was a short story and it was very interesting to read all the alternatives that
people could think of.
Imagine that activity
in a classroom. It could be very profitable for language. Students could have
the option of registering in Twitter with nicknames, so they won’t have any
kind of inhibitions and they will feel free to write. You could choose one line
every week and by the end of the year they would have written a short story
that can be published, at least as a set of copies to be used in their school.
That would be the goal. They will feel motivated knowing that they can be
authors of a piece of writing that will be there, in the school library, for
everybody to read.
There are some other
activities that I found on the net. This
list was taken from Powerful Learner Practice (http://plpnetwork.com/)
1. Announcements. Post information regarding upcoming projects, deadlines, and activities to stay engaged while on break from school.
2. Research. There is a wealth of experts on Twitter who are eager to share their knowledge. MLA now outlines how to properly cite a Tweet.
3. Host a Book Study Twitter Chat. Create a hashtag chat for students to discuss a novel they’re reading. Use open-ended questions regarding the author, plot, characters, etc. to encourage students to respond.
4. Start a monthly/quarterly Twitter Chat with parents. Encourage your parent/teacher organizations to co-host twitter chats about issues of interest to them (bullying, relevance/amount of homework, grading procedures, etc.)
5. Debate. Encourage students to defend their position and use appropriate responses for their classmates’ arguments.
6. Vocabulary. Encourage students to tweet a sentence using their vocabulary words.
7. Alphabet Study. Have families take pictures of objects from their environment that start with the letter of the day. Have them post on Twitter and include your class hashtag.
8. Teach Effective Searching Techniques. Post a daily question on Twitter that requires students to search online for the answer(s) using effective searching techniques.
9. Use Backchannels. Encourage students to post comments, questions or ask for clarification during classroom instruction and presentations.
10. Promote Class Blog. Create a class blog that showcases the work of students. If students are older have them create individual blogs. Then encourage others on Twitter to leave comments for students.
11. Encourage Learning. Keep curious students stimulated by pointing them to additional research and learning opportunities.
Here you have a video that shows how students use Twitter in the Roosevelt High School, in Minneapolis.
There are many, many other things to do with Twitter (not to mention the 'engaging' part!). We just have to take some time to think and ideas will come up. You can even come across with contests like the one I told you and adapt it to your lessons. If they are selling mobile phones with that, ¿why can’t we use it to ‘sell’ language?
(*)Hashtag: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages. More information: https://support.twitter.com/articles/49309-what-are-hashtags-symbols
