Reflective Post #8: Using digital-age communication and collaboration tools to interact locally with students, peers, parents and the larger community

Tweeting the Night Away: Using Twitter to Enhance Social Presence

Dunlap, Joanna and Lowenthal, Patrick (2009)

According to Knowles, students who are “treated as human beings are more likely to learn and learn to learn”. (2) This is the basis for the article on the use of Twitter in the classroom. Social interaction and connection has a major influence on student engagement. (2) By encouraging contact, even through a medium such as Twitter, teachers keep their students working. With an LMS system or email, students have to log in and lose the informal chat aspect associated with Twitter. Through Twitter, they can have chats multiple times per day, share interesting or helpful URLs and news immediately. (3) Twitter is now used in public relations, project management, medical education, language learning and informational systems. (3)

Several examples of educational uses of Twitter include ability to ask and answer questions multiple times per day, post how-to videos and information and share current news events. For the teacher, it allows us to address students’ concerns and questions quickly and concisely. Teachers and students need to be sure to know their audience and tweet accordingly. Twitter can also be used to find a professional community and is a great tool for informal learning. One additional benefit is to maintain ongoing relationships with students even after the course is completed. However, Twitter can be time-consuming, addictive and, due to the 140 character limit, can encourage the use of bad grammar. (4)

There are guidelines an instructor should follow when using Twitter with their students. One should be sure to keep the content relevant to students. There also needs to be a clear purpose for the use of Twitter. Teachers should set clear expectations for use and model proper use of Twitter. Meeting their academic goals could also be a use of Twitter. The researchers also discovered that many teachers and students continued the use of Twitter after the course was completed. Students reported feeling more connected to their teacher and other students. (5)

Grassroots Professional Development: How Teachers Use Twitter

Forte, Andrea; Humphreys, Melissa; Park, Thomas (2012)

This study examined the use of Twitter by teachers for a positive change. The study found the goal of educators using Twitter was to find like-minded people who were trying to effect change. It was a great way to exchange ideas and practices with others in the field. (106) Educators reported that Twitter was their go-to source for new resources and expertise from others in the field. It was also a way to forge new and maintain connections with colleagues. Only thirty-seven teachers responded to the survey. The majority of these responders were secondary teachers; they had a diverse number of followers. (107)

Many of the teachers reported having personal and professional accounts. (108) However, most of them started with just a personal account and found that the resources available to them professionally made it worthwhile to have a professional account. (111) Four themes were examined: professional development, classroom exercises, policy change and Internet safety. (108) The most common uses of Twitter by educators found were finding resources and new ideas as well as inspiration for the classroom. Others were looking for concrete advice and self-promotion or networking. Educators also used Twitter for event promotion, requests and responses to requests by others in the field. (109)

The survey found that educators using Twitter had few connections to local educators and that they were followed more often by their students than by colleagues. Respondents were found to be tech savvy and those who were “evangelizing” the use of Twitter, more open to change and want to include social media. (110) Teachers used Twitter for a source of new ideas and keeping up with advances of new technologies. One teacher was quoted as saying if one “follows the right people, there’s no telling what you can learn”. (110) Educators have also found Twitter as a great source for resource sharing.

Many parents see the use of Twitter as “silly” and don’t realize the use of it as an important academic tool. Educators are discovering practices and ideas to use in the classroom via Twitter. Many teachers of elementary-aged students were fearful of putting the younger students out there on the Web. Others reported that it was an important tool for students to learn appropriate behaviors and to think before posting. It helps students to identify dangers and act responsibly. (111)

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/parent-involvement-survey-anne-obrien

What Parents Want in School Communication

Obrien, Anne (2012)

A survey was given to 43, 310 parents in 22 states in 50 different school districts that asked what parents want in terms of communication from their school. Parents reported that they wanted Internet communication including email, an online parent portal, e-newsletters, district website and messaging system. Social media was at the bottom of their list of preferred methods of communication.

Parents reported wanting updates on the progress of their student and timely notice when the students’ performance was declining. They also wanted information on expectations and the teacher’s homework and grading policy. In elementary, parents were more concerned with updates on behavior where secondary parents needed to know to best communicate with the teacher. Parents were also interested in curriculum descriptions, a calendar of events, student safety updates, educational changes, the performance of their district and changes in instructional programs.

Parents reported wanting updates as soon as decisions were made. One administrator who began using social media and had a great response found that the feedback received from followers shaped his messages and helped him develop a communication strategy. O’Brien hypothesized that social media ranked at the bottom of parents’ communication lists for several reasons, the most likely reason being unfamiliarity with the tool.

Five Steps to Better School/Community Collaboration

O’Keefe, Brendan (2011)

O’Keefe set out to determine how to best make community connections in order to “raise our schools”. He found the following themes emerge from these surveys:  community and business school partnerships parental collaboration, curriculum connected to real world experiences, student voice, cross generation learning and locals designing solutions to local problems.

Step one, according to O’Keefe’s findings, is to include the community in our schools. By making these community connections we can expand our classroom to the real world and use these resources provided by community members. He also encouraged educators and students alike to reach out to all community stakeholders. Creating a community resource map of all businesses and the services they offer can also be beneficial. These ties to the community can also help educators connect the curriculum to the real world. By using the input of the community, teachers will have an easier time answering the age-old question of “when will we ever use this”.

Reflection

These articles confirmed what I know to be true: social media is not just a frivolous, time-sucking tool, but a valuable resource for educators and a way to connect with our students, their parents and other educators outside of the classroom.  When Dunlap and Lowenthal quoted Knowles as saying that when students are “treated as human beings, they’re more likely to learn and learn to learn” I immediately felt a connection to this sentiment. I believe that is one of the most important keys to a teacher’s success. When students see an educator as a real person who has feelings and truly cares about them on a personal level, they will believe that the educator also cares about them on an educational level and are more likely to succeed in your class. Students now have phones with Twitter and Instagram right in their hand and use them often. Twitter is a simple and easy way to connect with them on their level. It can also be a great way to encourage them, provide them with resources and answer questions. Dunlap and Lowenthal encouraged educators to be relevant in their use of Twitter and have clear expectations with their students. It is just as in the classroom when you model behavior and expectations; it doesn’t change simply because you’re on the Internet.

I use Twitter personally and professionally. My students are over the moon that I have a Twitter account. They engage with me personally and academically and, I believe, it is mutually beneficial. From sharing funny quotes or stories, to reminders of homework, to sharing helpful websites or videos, Twitter makes it easy to quickly and concisely connect with my students. I don’t have any parent followers yet, but I’m sure as it becomes more popular with the students, the parents will catch on. I already communicate with parents through email, a weekly e-newsletter and our parent portal just as O’Keefe suggested in his article. I’ve found that many parents still do not check the parent portal as often as I would like. Most of my parents still prefer email communication.

Professionally I’ve also found much value in using Twitter and Pinterest and Facebook for resources for education. As Forte et al found in their study, Twitter is a great way to exchange ideas and practices with others in the field. I’ve connected with other educators and educational organizations on Twitter that I’ve found helpful. Some days Twitter is just a nice way to know I’m not alone especially when it comes to high-stakes testing. The Chicago Facebook page was very intriguing to me as my husband and I (both teachers as well as parents) are trying to start an anti-testing revolution of sorts in our community. I believe social media can be a powerful tool in this area.

I agree with Forte et al that tweeting back and forth with students allows them to learn appropriate behaviors and act responsibly. By modeling the appropriate use of social media, my students will have a better understanding of how to correctly use it. Lastly, Twitter is fun and enjoyable. I love finding and following celebrities and friends. I like the concise nature of Twitter and the real-time connections to others. My students think it’s “cool” that I’m on Twitter and really enjoy connecting with me in this way, even if we don’t “talk shop”.