Many of us use technology to link up with our friends. We use Gmail, Twitter, and Facebook (yes even I use these things). It is a great way to connect with our friends and see what they are doing. Why can't we use these technologies for the classroom?
Over the summer, I have been building my professional connections with other teachers. Twitter is a fantastic way to see what is going on in education. I have joined groups on Facebook with people with common interests. I have been reading up on the daily blogs. Even teachers never stop learning. Why not use this in the classroom?
Over the summer, I have been building my professional connections with other teachers. Twitter is a fantastic way to see what is going on in education. I have joined groups on Facebook with people with common interests. I have been reading up on the daily blogs. Even teachers never stop learning. Why not use this in the classroom?
Many classrooms are catching wind of this and using blogs with students to share what lessons they are learning. In 4th grade, we have used UClass to practice some blogging. Twitter is another application that is being used more with classes to get students to share their thoughts on particular topics learned in class. How cool would it be to Tweet a classmate at home when you have a question or Tweet your teacher? We could expand our learning outside of the classroom and connect in the real world! Do you think this is possible?
There are so many fantastic articles on this topic of connecting. It is something I hope to explore with all of you this year. Social networking is a growing field and has some super fun applications to use. Explore some of these tools (with parental permission) and think about ways we can use them in our classroom.
**Idea for this post was inspired by one of my favorite "teacher" bloggers, Tom Whitby. http://tomwhitby.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/okay-im-connected-now-what/
There are so many fantastic articles on this topic of connecting. It is something I hope to explore with all of you this year. Social networking is a growing field and has some super fun applications to use. Explore some of these tools (with parental permission) and think about ways we can use them in our classroom.
**Idea for this post was inspired by one of my favorite "teacher" bloggers, Tom Whitby. http://tomwhitby.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/okay-im-connected-now-what/