Information and minimalism make Twitter an excellent teaching tool.
Community Review for Twitter
My Take
Taking away sources of information from students is stupid. The knee-jerk reaction to Twitter in a school setting is that it must be bad because it's a social networking product and kids use it on their phones. A lot of school internet filters have it blocked. I like it because it's an efficient way of getting information: news breaks on Twitter now. What could be better than having a classroom full of students who are informed on current issues immediately?
Of course, this information transfer can create some problematic situations. It seems like every few months a celebrity death is erroneously reported because someone started a rumor on Twitter. This can be a great teaching tool, however, because it allows students to evaluate sources of information.
How I Use It
There are two things I like to do with Twitter. The first is student outreach. Students ask if you're on Twitter, and if they follow you your account can be a valuable way to show them cool stuff in off hours.
There is also a very specific activity I like to do with Twitter and "Twisters," which are short (very short) stories that are written in 140 characters or less. Students really start to value the power of a few words and minimalism when they are so restricted in writing their stories. I usually show them a few examples (@arjunbasu, @veryshortstory, @gumballfiction) and then have them write a few of their own stories. It's a great way to get students to think about what they DON'T need.
More community reviews for Twitter
Engage students inside and outside of the classroom. They are already social, why shouldn't YOU be??
