Using Twitter in The Classroom

In using technology to our advantage, Twitter is no exception.  Twitter can be incorporated into our lessons, it can be used to keep the class interested as we show our students that even in the classroom we are keeping up with them and the times. One website has a numbered list of all the interesting ways Twitter can be intertwined in the classroom for things like upcoming due dates for assignments, running news feed for the class, poetry, running issues etc.  

http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom  

The power of Twitter for instance as an educational tool was in full effect during President Mubarak's attempt to hold on to his rein, his citizens were using cell phones and social media to change his country's history, by tweeting and opening up the happenings of the country to the rest of the world as it was happening.

/http://novemberlearning.com/educational-resources-for-educators/teaching-and-learning-articles/how-twitter-can-be-used-as-a-powerful-educational-tool/

Connecting to Stay Current

          The learner today is like the age old sponge.  With every new innovation that comes with time, they quickly soak up the knowledge expanding their wealth of information. The Impact of Social Media on Learning  for instance has been overwhelmingly tremendous. There isn't one thing that we as educators or students can do today that doesn't require the use of the internet.  Google docs is a great medium for groups to combine efforts when working on group projects.  It saves time and energy, also, Teachers can share this forum to continue a class activity from home.  Not to share information and open your mind to learning from your peers or current available information is to run the risk of becoming an isolator; one who holds the monopoly on knowledge in the classroom, which depreciates you as a teacher and cheats your students out of being on par of ahead of the rest.  What we know today is no as important as our ability to continue to stay current. Continuing to stay in top is the key to remaining competitive.

          Keeping up

          In education it is definitely okay to keep up with the Joneses. You want to always be just as knowledgeable or ahead of the others.  The field of education and the world market is a brutal reality when it comes to getting into the best schools or landing the best jobs so creating a network enables you to stay current, therefore connectivism is key.  What is Connectivism : This is the resource that enables us, both teachers and students to stay in the game.  By having dialogue with others  we ourselves grow in knowledge.  Not just dialogue, but open communication whether through blogging or other forms of social media.  Blogging is one of the better ways to share or connect with other people in order to stay current and learn from each other.

          

PINTEREST VS DIIGO

I have had a Pinterest account for a long time now, and I use it to collect fashions, recipes, shoes, all the things I love.  I go back to it almost everyday to add to it or to look up something like an outfit, so I can buy the items or something similar while I'm out shopping.  The recipes come in handy around the holidays as I am always looking for something new to add to the menu.  I am new to Diigo but so I may be a little biased still.  However, I have noticed on a professional level, you can highlight texts on saved sites for both Diigo and Pinterest, you can also use multiple tags and you can copy and paste from original articles to appear in comments about the site.   Other viewers of my site can post comments whether Diigo or Pinterest and they can follow me and I can follow them.  They can also enjoy all my postings or like them.  f 

On Pinterest you are offered a lot of posts related to the items you tend to favor which is always fun and interesting.  Not so on Diigo, this site appears to be more professional in that you don't use it to post photos of foods to share, which is not to say you cannot save recipes or fashions, just not in the same way.  Diigo is a site better suited to collecting and sharing information of a professional nature.  I am not yet aware that this site offers suggestions of related article.

I would recommend both sites but for specific reasons.  I view Pinterest as a fun place to collect, view and share your interests, but I like Diigo for my professional life where I can readily go to look up articles I saved that might help me with my profession.   

  

https://www.pinterest.com/michellegaskin/ 

The Literary Maven/Bullying is one of the listed on my Pinterest under Language teaching, these are the educational reasons you can use these sites for. You can find anything on Pinterest to help you in the classroom just like you can to help you in fashion, for instance grammar techniques.