A living bulletin board creating a truly transparent environment
Community Review for Tagboard
My Take
I think Tagboard is invaluable. It is a free service (there is a paid upgrade but I've never found it necessary) that allows you to share the successes of your classroom with the world. More importatnly it is a concrete example for stdunets about how things posted on social media can be cureate and shared. In teaching lessons on topicx such as digital citizenship Tagboard is a great resource to put multiple posts from multiple users side-by-side, connected only be a hasthag. It is a great way to compare content, purpose, and perception. It is also a great way to discuss what happens when a hashtag is used inappropriatly nad how that might impact the intended purpose of the hashtag.
To be able to see, in real-time, all the social media posts around a single hashtag is an amazing way to see the true nature of a conversation online. It is not just tweets, but the Instagrams, Vines, Google+ and Facebook posts as well as Flickr pictures. Tagboard goes beyond the service that visual tweets since Tagboard visualizes hashtags across multiple popular platforms.
I am a huge fan of Tagboard and the way it can bring a concrete visual to the sometimes abstract notion of simultaneous, yet parallel online conversations.
I have written a few pieces about how I've used Tagboard at two of the school I've taught in:
http://heathcotetech.blogspot.com/2014/10/twitter-heathcoteschool-our-h…
http://thecasalos.blogspot.com/2013/05/twitter-ps10brooklyn-our-hashtag…
http://thecasalos.blogspot.com/2014/02/we-tweet-ps10brooklyn-lot.html
How I Use It
I have used Tagboard in many ways and think it is an invaluable resource within, and outside of, the classroom.
In my previous school I created 3 boards. One for general school information, one specifically for sharing student work, and one for tweets (and other social media posts) written exclusively by students. I wrote about my initial experiences here:
http://thecasalos.blogspot.com/2013/05/twitter-ps10brooklyn-our-hashtag…
Tagboard is great for creating a dynamic, living bulletin board the world can see. We are able to share, in real time, things that were going on in multiple classrooms to a single site. Students were able to see the work, and writing, their peers were doing on a global, easily accessible stage. And students and parents alike were able to have a concrete example of the power and positive potential of using social media to share and learn.
It is also a great way to create a classroom backchannel so students can contribute during lectures and discussions without having to raise a hand. Student "moderators" can keep track of the board and bring up the recurring themes or point out the feedback from students who may not be as comfortable contribute verbally.
Tagboard is a great tool for breaking down the physical walls of the classroom and school. It is also a great way to leverage a BYOD environment, allowing all members of a community to be able to contribute and have a voice, even if they aren't always comfortable speaking up.