Twitter as a useful tool for Teaching and Professional Developemt

Through the article—‘A Must Have Guide on Using Twitter in Your Classroom’ and ‘Using Twitter for Teachers’ Professional Development’, I have found so many useful strategies that I could apply to my future classroom and my own development, I list them as following:

1, Classroom Management:

       Firstly, using twitter as a bulletin board is very convenient for informing students all kinds of news, like reminder of the due date of their homework, brief introduction of the content for the coming class. Secondly, twitter could be an efficient communication tool between teachers and students. Twitter could provide ambient office hours for students who have problems and wish to discuss with teacher privately. Thirdly, twitter is a reliable assistant in managing classroom discipline. For students who have trouble making it to class on time, send reminders before school to get them in the door earlier. Also, if encountering extremely bad weather, teachers could send their students weather alert to inform them keep warm and take care.

2, Teaching:

       Firstly, teachers could share helpful articles and materials via twitter, also we can hold interesting online educational games to engage students. Secondly, if students have any questions, teachers or other peers can help them even after school through twitter. Thirdly, teachers could use online survey to get to know what materials and topics students prefer to apply and discuss in class. Fourthly, Twitter makes it easy to get instant approval and disapproval of discussions, issues, and more right in the classroom. Lastly, teachers can assign online homework which students can complete and post online before due day. It’s more flexible for them to arrange their own time, just like what we do for this course.

3, Professional Development:

       Teaching is never constrained within individual subject, it’s associated with other knowledge from all fields. By learning educational psychology, teachers could understand their students much better. Using twitter, we could find articles and talk with experts in this area.

       Also using twitter we can get to know up-to-date pop culture which can help you pull your students closer. And by applying these new cultures into game design, students would be willing to get more involved into these hands-on games.

       Through twitter, teachers could exchange each other’s experiences on applying different teaching methods. By discussing the advantages and disadvantages, it can save much time not to repeat the same mistake that others had made.