My teachers and students at my current school have heard me talk about Twitter more than once (well… more than a hundred times would be more accurate). I have been the “middle(wo)man” between the students and their classroom teachers to make connections (For Skype calls around the World), ask for advice, disseminate a project or request feedback (CSI Twitter) . How do I move from being that sole connector and disseminator to preparing students for that role?
I am planning on working this out with a 5th grade class (10-11 year olds).
First step was to create a Twitter Classroom account. At this point we are testing the waters and will protect our tweets, so only approved users can follow us.
We filled out the profile, added an avatar, link and a bio.
Lee Kolbert has set up a Google Spreadsheet for teachers who are using Twitter with their classroom ( students/parents). Great way to learn about how others are using it as a tool to communicate, collaborate and learn.
We had a “Twitter Meeting” with 5th grade to introduce Twitter and brainstorm ideas HOW the class was going to use it.
- Sharing with others when we skype with people from around the world and what we learned
- Summarize what happened in the classroom that day
- Share links to classroom blog posts
- Share with others how 5th graders learn best
As we were brainstorming, I sent out a Twitter shout out on my Langwitches account and asked:
5th graders and I are brainstorming HOW they will use a classroom twitter account. Give them some of your ideas . Please RT
Here are some of the great suggestions we received.
So, we are off to be pioneers in an uncharted territory of Twitterland with with elementary school students. I am hoping to observe and document our successes and pitfalls in order to encourage other educators to take the plunge and learn from our experiences.
If you are already experimenting with your elementary school students on/with Twitter, please share what you have learned.
We are also looking to follow other 5th grade classes to learn with and from.