Today, something very interesting happened: I asked my B Block English 12 class to write love poems in 140 characters and by the time I repeated the class in D Block - an hour and half later - #ibblk was trending third!
Now, I have to admit that I don't often pay attention to what is trending, preferring to read the tweets and retweets of people I follow, who in turn, I hope will have the latest and greatest news and opinions. It was actually one of the students in my D Block class who noticed it and by then, there were comments from other twitter users who weren't connected to my classes in anyway whatsoever:
"What the heck is #ibblk?"
"Can someone tell me what #ibblk is?
It began as a Valentine's Day activity - there were balloons around the room and unopened treats on desks... I knew there was no way we were going to have any serious conversations around what we were currently reading, so I thought we'd have a break and write - what else - poetry! (I had planned on reading and discussing poetry in the next month anyway.) I gave students the time to compose (what they deemed) poetic tweets and asked them to hashtag: #ibblk.
I am a bit embarrassed by the quality of the tweets; the poems are not really that great. I can say that because my B Block students admitted to just having a bit of fun. They also didn't like the 140 character limit and felt bound by rhyme. My D Block students were a bit more creative with sound and image (especially since I tweeted about it earlier)... in hopes of trending too, I think!
This isn't the first time I've done tweet poems, but the fact that #ibblk actually trended today was surprising. My students got a kick out of it and realized that they do have voices and that other people can and do read what they write - even if it's just out of curiosity or trend. It became a lesson, too, in understanding audience and the great responsibility of leaving something meaningful even when "just tweeting".
Showing posts with label All Things Twitter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All Things Twitter. Show all posts
14 February 2012
23 June 2011
hash-tag e block: a case for twitter in the classroom
I should have started blogging about #eblock when I started using twitter in the classroom, but truthfully it started out as an experiment. I didn't realize it would gain the momentum it did!
The very reason I got on to Twitter, in fact, was to use it with my classes. Last December, I walked into one of my English 12 classes (E Block) and said,
"Listen, I want to try something different with you. I don't know how it's going to work, but let's get to using it together..."
At first, I used Twitter as a medium for students to complete exit slips. I'd ask things like: What did you think of Hamlet's reaction? or How are you finding the language of the text? Students were already accustomed to responding using pen & paper and by posting to my blog, so I didn't actually think that tweeting their responses would be any different. The first few tweets from students were quite simple - there is a 140 character count, after all - and quite frankly, vulgar (from an English teacher's perspective, anyway.) I started to worry that I was perpetuating lazy text-style conversations.
What started happening, though, really amazed me. Since students could see each other's immediate responses, they started policing each other. They would say things like, "Dude, you know everyone can see your tweet, right?" "This is Senior English, I'm sure there's a more correct way to say that..." I started to realize that my students had to think about their tweets; they had to be more concise (and precise) with how they expressed their thoughts; they were becoming more and more aware of audience. We started using Twitter regularly: as exit slips, as back-channel opportunities to respond (I used Twitterfall to project tweets during discussion)... We even composed twitter poetry.
It was also interesting that my students developed very strong opinions of how others represented themselves online. We discussed digital citizenship alongside literary texts and the consequences of producing a "forever text". In fact, one of my students walked into class one day after seeing the youtube video of the UCLA student ranting about Asian students and said, "She did not leave a very good digital footprint, did she?" What more could I say of the learning that was happening?
There will always be naysayers when it comes to twitter, but I have to remind myself that even if it is a fad, our students still have to live in that fad-world. I'd better darn well teach them how to use it in creative and constructive ways! In the end, what my students and I realized was that twitter (and social media in general) has the power to inform, reform, and transform learning... if we actually practise using it!
The very reason I got on to Twitter, in fact, was to use it with my classes. Last December, I walked into one of my English 12 classes (E Block) and said,
"Listen, I want to try something different with you. I don't know how it's going to work, but let's get to using it together..."
At first, I used Twitter as a medium for students to complete exit slips. I'd ask things like: What did you think of Hamlet's reaction? or How are you finding the language of the text? Students were already accustomed to responding using pen & paper and by posting to my blog, so I didn't actually think that tweeting their responses would be any different. The first few tweets from students were quite simple - there is a 140 character count, after all - and quite frankly, vulgar (from an English teacher's perspective, anyway.) I started to worry that I was perpetuating lazy text-style conversations.
What started happening, though, really amazed me. Since students could see each other's immediate responses, they started policing each other. They would say things like, "Dude, you know everyone can see your tweet, right?" "This is Senior English, I'm sure there's a more correct way to say that..." I started to realize that my students had to think about their tweets; they had to be more concise (and precise) with how they expressed their thoughts; they were becoming more and more aware of audience. We started using Twitter regularly: as exit slips, as back-channel opportunities to respond (I used Twitterfall to project tweets during discussion)... We even composed twitter poetry.
It was also interesting that my students developed very strong opinions of how others represented themselves online. We discussed digital citizenship alongside literary texts and the consequences of producing a "forever text". In fact, one of my students walked into class one day after seeing the youtube video of the UCLA student ranting about Asian students and said, "She did not leave a very good digital footprint, did she?" What more could I say of the learning that was happening?
There will always be naysayers when it comes to twitter, but I have to remind myself that even if it is a fad, our students still have to live in that fad-world. I'd better darn well teach them how to use it in creative and constructive ways! In the end, what my students and I realized was that twitter (and social media in general) has the power to inform, reform, and transform learning... if we actually practise using it!
06 June 2011
Twitter: I want to know why.
THE email I've been waiting for all year arrived, today:
Dear Ms. Ignacio,
[My child*] asked for permission to open a twitter account. I need some justification as to why she needs to use twitter... I do not allow the use of social media [in my home]. I do not have facebook or twitter. The family uses a communal computer.
Also, at the general meeting at [the school] there was mention of all these social media and the dangers associated with them. I'm glad that my children are not using it, but when [*] mentioned using it in your class, I wanted to know why.
What a great question, right?!
At first, I was a bit defensive - actually, a lot defensive. I started stressing because I knew I now had a responsibility to respond. I thought back to my own initial resistance to both Facebook and Twitter. I thought about the news stories and other narratives around identity theft and bullying. I thought about the current separation I still have between my three twitter handles. Then, I realized that she was not entirely misguided in her decision to disallow the use of social media in her home. I decided that I wouldn't try to convince her of anything, but instead I'd tell her why I use Twitter.
"...I use it to engage students in discussion, to assess learning, and to teach digital responsibility and citizenship...students have to learn to be concise - since they may only use 140 characters, students have to present themselves publicly and engage each other in meaningful discussion,... I get to hear from everyone..."
I sent links to articles. I told her that her child would not be "penalized" for not tweeting - the student had already mentionned that she was not allowed to use Twitter and we had already found other ways for her to participate (exit slips, posts to my blog). Maybe the parent will read the articles, maybe she won't; maybe she'll try it for herself before allowing her child to get a twitter handle, maybe she won't. The one thing I know for sure is that she has to realize the great potential social media has to affect learning, in her own time.
For me, Twitter has definitely made me more aware of my awesome responsibilities as an educator.
Dear Ms. Ignacio,
[My child*] asked for permission to open a twitter account. I need some justification as to why she needs to use twitter... I do not allow the use of social media [in my home]. I do not have facebook or twitter. The family uses a communal computer.
Also, at the general meeting at [the school] there was mention of all these social media and the dangers associated with them. I'm glad that my children are not using it, but when [*] mentioned using it in your class, I wanted to know why.
What a great question, right?!
At first, I was a bit defensive - actually, a lot defensive. I started stressing because I knew I now had a responsibility to respond. I thought back to my own initial resistance to both Facebook and Twitter. I thought about the news stories and other narratives around identity theft and bullying. I thought about the current separation I still have between my three twitter handles. Then, I realized that she was not entirely misguided in her decision to disallow the use of social media in her home. I decided that I wouldn't try to convince her of anything, but instead I'd tell her why I use Twitter.
"...I use it to engage students in discussion, to assess learning, and to teach digital responsibility and citizenship...students have to learn to be concise - since they may only use 140 characters, students have to present themselves publicly and engage each other in meaningful discussion,... I get to hear from everyone..."
I sent links to articles. I told her that her child would not be "penalized" for not tweeting - the student had already mentionned that she was not allowed to use Twitter and we had already found other ways for her to participate (exit slips, posts to my blog). Maybe the parent will read the articles, maybe she won't; maybe she'll try it for herself before allowing her child to get a twitter handle, maybe she won't. The one thing I know for sure is that she has to realize the great potential social media has to affect learning, in her own time.
For me, Twitter has definitely made me more aware of my awesome responsibilities as an educator.
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