teaching with twitter

http://vote4power.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/twitterbird.jpg

TEACHING WITH

• The what, how, why, when and where of Twitter

• Twitter background• Twitter jargon• How to create an account• How to make your Twitter

profile more interesting• How to RT and DM• What’s the ‘@’ mean?• What are friends and

followers?

• How to search for other edu-tweeps to follow

• How to follow particular topics

• Back channels at conferences

• Mobile tweeting• Ideas and examples for

using with students• Come away with an action

plan to incorporate into YOUR teaching

WHAT WE’LL COVER

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilse/3389565299/

WHAT IS TWITTER?

• Free • Social network• Users send and read each other’s messages• Relatively new - Created in 2006 by Jack

Dorsey

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilse/3389565299/

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ACTIVITY 1

1.Create an account

2.Make your first tweet

1. Go to http://twitter.com2. Sign up3. Login

1. Answer the question “What are you doing?”Could be “what’s catching your attention?”

2. Type in the box3. Click update4. First tweet done!

ACTIVITY 2

1.Edit your profile

1. Update your profile via “Settings”2. Add your real name so people can find you3. Username could be, and is increasingly people’s real name4. Bio has to be brief – 160 characters5. More likely to be followed if you upload a picture – can be

cartoon/avatar6. Show your interest - change the default design

1. Choose design available on Twitter or (when you have time)2. Design your own wallpaper/background with these free

services1. FreeTwitterDesigner.com2. TwitBacks.com3. MyTweetSpace.com4. PrettyTweet.com5. Artweet.com

ACTIVITY 3

1.Search for other

participants & Carol

(kiwicarol)

2.Follow them

ACTIVITY 4

On your home page or

http://search.twitter.com/

1. Search for topics

• Keywords

• Hash tags

2. Look at trends

http://search.twitter.com

http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/connexions

http://www.twazzup.com/

ACTIVITY 5

1. Find a great tweet & RT it

2. Reply to someone’s tweet

3. DM to someone’s tweet

4. Mark a tweet as a favourite

• RT - means retweet / sometimes written as (via @name)• @name - will be picked up as a reply or mention• d name – direct message, seen only by the person

(note space, and no @)• #tag – like a keyword

ACTIVITY 6

1. Set up your mobile for

mobile tweeting

2. Make a mobile tweet

• You will get confirmation via your phone• Once set up send tweets to 8987 (twtr) • Costs to send tweets just like any other txt

APPLICATIONS

http://tweetdeck.com

http://echofon.com

http://seesmic.com/

1. Ideas?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/victoriapeckham/164175205

USING TWITTER WITH STUDENTS?

As an experiment, Parry made Twitter a class assignment and got his students to engage in microblogging as homework. He observed how Twitter became the link that connected conversations inside and out of class. ... He also discovered that it changed classroom dynamics in a positive way, encouraging more respectful and productive interaction between students by turning the class into a community.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/victoriapeckham/164175205

http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/03/twitter-breaks-down-barriers-in-the-classroom.ars

...the Stanford Study of Writing, a five-year study of nearly 14,000 pieces of student writing, done for class and beyond it. Though final data analysis has not been done, early results indicated that in their Internet writings, students took pains to cultivate tone and voice, and to address a particular audience. "The out-of-class writing actually made them more conscious of the things writing teachers want them to think about," said Paul M. Rogers, an assistant professor of English at George Mason University who is involved in the study.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/victoriapeckham/164175205

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Can-Twitter-Turn-Students-Into/7874/

1. Class chatter2. Class community3. Get a sense of the world4. Track a word / conference5. Instant feedback6. Follow a professional / famous person7. Public Notepad8. Writing assignmenthttp://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/victoriapeckham/164175205

USING TWITTER WITH STUDENTS?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomswift/4837657/

ACTION PLAN

1. WHAT are you going to do?2. WHEN are you going to do it?3. With WHICH class(es)?4. WHAT do you need to do to prepare?5. HOW will you evaluate it?

Carol Cooper TaylorCooper-Taylor Training

W: www.cooper-taylor.comE: carol@cooper-taylor.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/victoriapeckham/164175205

QUESTIONS?