Category: Webtools
13 ways Twitter Improves Education
Twitter can easily be dismissed as a waste of time in the elementary school classroom. Students will get distracted. Students will see tweets they shouldn’t at their age. How does one
manage a room full of Tweeple without cell phones? Is it even appropriate for the lower grades?
Here’s some ammunition for what often turns into a pitched, take-sides verbal brawl as well-intended teachers try to come to a compromise on using Twitter (in fact, many of the new Web 2.0 tools–blogs, wikis, websites that require registrations and log-ins, discussion forums. You can probably add to this list) that works for all stakeholders:
You learn to be concise.
Twitter gives you only 140 characters to get the entire message across. Letters, numbers, symbols, punctuation and spaces all count as characters on Twitter. Wordiness doesn’t work. Twitter counts every keystroke and won’t publish anything with a minus in front of the word count.
At first blush, that seems impossible. It’s not, though. It challenges you to know the right word for every situation. People with a big vocabulary are at an advantage because they don’t use collections of little words to say what they mean, they jump right to it. All those hints your English teacher gave you–picture nouns and action verbs, get rid of adverbs and adjectives–take on new meaning to the Twitter afficionado.
Twitter isn’t intimidating
How to Integrate Web 2.0 Tools into the Classroom
‘Web 2.0’ is a term familiar to all teachers. Stated in its simplest form, it’s the set of interactive internet-based tools used by students to enrich educational opportunities. ‘Web 1.0’ referred to the act of accessing websites—
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Which of these do you use in your classroom[/caption]
nothing more. Students read websites, clicked a few links, and/or researched a topic.
Web 2.0—Web-based education basics–includes blogs, wikis, class internet homepages, class internet start pages, twitter, social bookmarks, podcasting, photo sharing, online docs, online calendars, even Second Life—all tools that require thoughtful interaction between the student and the site. For teachers, it’s a challenge to keep up with the plethora of options as the creative minds of our new adults stretch the boundaries of what we can do on the internet.
Students, adults, teachers who use this worldwide wealth of information and tools are referred to as ‘digital citizens’. They leave a vast digital footprint and it is incumbent upon them to make healthy and safe decisions, including:
- Treat others and their property with respect (for example, plagiarism—even undiscovered—is immoral and illegal)
- Act in a responsible manner
- Look after their own security
Here are some activities you can do in your classroom that will make your lessons and activities more student-centered and more relevant to this new generation of students:
Monday Freebie #27: Internet Skills for K-8: Blogs
Create a classroom blog. Show students how to interact on it, answer questions, add their ideas. Include pictures, student schedule, location of your wiki and more
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Tech Tip #51: Copy Images From Google Images
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: To copy an image from Google Images (or Bing), I right-click on the picture, select copy, then paste it into my document (with right-click, paste). But, It’s hard to move around. Isn’t there an easier way. (more…)
Weekend Website #64: Khan Academy
Every Friday I’ll send you a wonderful website that my classes and my parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine.
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Khan Academy–free videos on lots of stuff[/caption]
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Weekend Website #61: Brainy Widgets from Wolfram Alpha
Every Friday, I’ll send you a wonderful website (or more) that my classes and my parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine.
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Educational widgets for your blog or website[/caption]
Weekend Website #60: Google Tools and Bloom’s Taxonomy
Every Friday, I’ll send you a wonderful website (or more) that my classes and my parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine.
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Support Blooms Taxonomy with Google Tools[/caption]
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Weekend Website #55: Science for Fifth Graders
This list covers all sorts of science from nature to geology. Like with the math websites, for my students, occasionally I put a list on the internet start page and let students go there during sponge time (click the link and see what’s up this month, so close to the end of the school year): BTW: Links go bad. Click here for an updated list.
Weekend Website #61: Brainy Widgets from Wolfram Alpha
Every Friday, I’ll send you a wonderful website (or more) that my classes and my parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine.
[caption id="attachment_5665" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Educational widgets for your blog or website[/caption]
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Weekend Website #53: 41 Websites for Teachers to Integrate Tech into Your Classroom
This list has a little bit of everything, and will kick-start your effort to put technology into your lesson plans:
