Micro-blogging with Twitter

Twitter is a great tool for micro-blogging, and integrating technology in the classroom.  Will Richardson, author of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, points out a few advantages of twitter for educational purposes.  These include:

• ·         Communicating with parents and others in the community

• ·         Links to student work, live presentations, and relevant articles

• ·         Learning-on-demand for students

Particularly in ESL classrooms, I imagine twitter as a powerful communication tool between parents and teachers.  Communication is not only instant, but parents would have the means to translate the message if they are not speakers of English.  Steve Wheeler also points out further twitter uses in the classroom in his blog, including:

• ·         Notifying students of changes to course material and schedules

• ·         Summing up an article in 140 characters or less

• ·         Discussion boards

• ·         Modern language learning: sending a tweet in a foreign language and asking students to translate or respond in foreign language

• ·         Following a famous person and documenting their progress

Furthermore, I see the greatest benefit of twitter for academic purposes is the potential to engage students in the coursework, as pointed out in the video, Twitter in the classroom.