Twitter for Educators

There are many ways you can use Twitter to engage students, improve communication, collaboration, and community in the classroom, and promote writing. I’ve listed 10 ways you can use Twitter in your class, from a simple Twitter group you create that students follow and the group follows.

Before I get started, here’s  a short refresher on Twitter:

Twitter uses the SMS protocol to deliver short (140 characters or less) messages to your phone; your IM account; your Twitter home or m.twitter.com (accessible when logged in); or a Twitter application. You decide where you want to read your “tweets,” the name for each short message.

The Twitter service is free; messages sent to your cellphone may or may not be depending upon your cell phone plan. Begin with the web-based service and then try out some of the many Twitter applications, which you can find on http://m.twitter.com/downloads (again, you need to be logged in to view this page).

I am still learning HOW to send messages in different ways, but here are two essential shortcuts I’m using:

• @username + message
  

directs a twitter at another person, and causes your twitter to save in their “replies” tab.
Example: @meangrape I love that song too!

• D username + message

sends a person a private message that goes to their device, and saves in their web archive.
Example: d krissy want to pick a Jamba Juice for me while you’re there?

So how might you use Twitter in your classroom?

First, everyone will need to know what Twitter is, how to use it, and have a Twitter account. That part is fairly easy. Many students will have cell phones with text-messaging enabled, so that will be a big part of Twitter’s use and possible popularity (if you consider sending reminders of homework assignments popular!)

Next, you’ll need to create a Class Twitter Group

Here’s how you do this:

1. Have students create individual Twitter accounts. (These accounts can be private, so that their messages do NOT show up on the public timeline, which might be a good thing for younger students.)
2. Create a Twitter group for your class (you’ll need to use a different email address than the one from your personal Twitter account.)
3. Require class members to follow the group and the group follow them, so all messages are posted to the group and individual members also receive the messages.
4. If you want the group messages to be private, that is NOT viewable on the public timeline, then register with GroupTweet. Instructions on how to do this are easy and included on the website.
5. Show students how to enable tweets on mobile devices, which is probably the best way to contact students.

What can you do with your Class Twitter Group?

Here are 10 ideas:

1. Class Business/Notices: Send messages to the Twitter Class Group, such as class being canceled, updated homework instructions, new due dates, anything you want your students to know right away.
2. Research: Use the group as a way to collect and share resources on a class project.
3. Personal/News: Stay in touch with students and vice-versa, where everyone can write what they are doing, where they are going, plans, etc, using Twitter in a more personal genre.
4. Micro-Blogging: Post links to blogs or even do a “reverse-twitter” by having your twitters posted to a blog: http://www.loudtwitter.com
5. Brainstorming: Students can post their ideas for solving a problem, topics they are considering writing about, anything they are brainstorming.
6. Networking: Class group can follow other Twitter feeds that have direct relevance to class work, such as news feeds and other organizations.
7. Writing Assignments: Students can create a fictitious Twitter account for a person they are researching, creating a diary of posts. (For an idea, see the DarthVader Twitter account: http://twitter.com/darthvader)
8. Field Trips: Use mobile devices to keep track of people on a field trip, have students take notes about the field trip using Twitter.
9. Photo Sharing: Use Twitpic to share photos for a collaborative photo album or other assignment.
10. Mobile Technologies: Have students create Twitter mashups using Twitter and other APIs. This would be an advanced mobile learning technology assignment!

I know there are many other ideas/ways you can use Twitter in the classroom. Let me know your ideas and/or how you use Twitter in your classroom, the pros/cons, the difficulties, questions, whatever! I’d love to hear from you.