School Year: 2011-2012

My First Blog. Okay, this is not my first blog.  I’ve actually tried this before and it failed miserably.  So, I’m going to consider this my first blog. Why?  I actually have something to say without trying to say something. (If that makes any sense!)

Twitter. Tweeting in the classroom. Social Networking with kids. *gasp!* The kids in the classroom?! No. The young adults in my presence while learning? Yes!  This school year, I decided to take the giant leap from social networking for fun (I’m a habitual facebooker on my own time) to social networking with and for a purpose.

The Backstory

I’ve been a user of Facebook since 2006, I believe.  It’s hard to remember because I think it was right around the same time our twin daughters were born.  I was a My Space user prior to that.  So, I’m not new to the idea of social media or networking online. Then, Twitter came out and I avoided it.  I avoided it mostly because I didn’t know what its purpose or function was.  Facebook equaled fun for me. A time-waster. Although, I’ve managed to connect with every living person I’ve ever met it seems. So, yes, I do waste time on Facebook connecting with friends.

Professional Development. Technology Integration. Middle School Computer Teacher. Career & Technical Education (CTE) Instructor. 1:1 School. Personal Learning Goals.  Every single one of these career strands began to tie into each other over the last five years. As a new teacher (which I still consider myself one even after 10 years), it is sometimes hard to see the connection, to actually understand the connection, or tie each strand together and have it make any sort of sense.  Then, I saw Kevin Honeycutt several years ago at my state SDACTE (SD Association for Career & Technical Education) Conference. He is technology man! “If our kids are using it, why aren’t we?” “If the cyber world is where they [kids/students] are going to live, why aren’t we teaching them how to survive there?” Questions similar to these are the basis to many of his keynote addresses and workshops that he provides and I began to ponder it slightly and continued on my quest to master a variety of Web 2.0 tools and integrate them into the classroom.  At a TIE (Technology & Innovation in Education) Conference a few years ago, Twitter came back into my curiosity, but I still wasn’t sold on the idea.

Then, I got an Android phone for Mother’s day.  Well now, THAT made huge difference! It allowed me to be a part of the “anti-social” network (as my husband calls it) anytime, anywhere. I still wasn’t sold on Twitter. I used it to Facebook and play on the Internet among other fun things you can do on an smart phone.

Fast forward to Spring 2011.  Meg Ormiston & Kevin Honeycutt were both speakers at TIE and really talked a lot about Twitter and social networking.  They both encouraged teachers to jump into the conversation not only with our colleagues, but with other professionals in our region, the nation, and even globally.  I’m not sure what the hook was, but I was finally sold on Twitter and I had to try it.  All summer long, I spent hours learning what I could. A few pointers from people I knew in person were helpful. A normal face to face conversation is still a great way to learn.  I practiced. I don’t know if I was doing it correctly, but at least I was trying.

I spent a significant portion of my summer reading articles from trade magazines, news pieces from various sources, and more blogs than I can count.  I read and studied arguments for and against using social networking sites in the classroom.  Through the process, I learned a few things:

1. There are lots of schools, teachers, and administrators that use Twitter and Facebook to inform.  What a great concept. That’s how I learned. At any rate, they gave me ideas on how I could use Twitter with a purpose. I love that an interesting tweet pops up in my feed, I click on the link and can quickly read an article. No subscription. No filing of or throwing away a newspaper, magazine, or book.  If it’s worthwhile, I’ll just “favorite” it so I can reference or go back to it later. Convenient and informative.
2. There are so many resources out there that offer good advice, tips, tricks, and best practices for the classroom. They are even willing to share. This is fantastic! Now, I have a PLN.  No, that’s not a misspell.  Twitter allows me to create and use a Personal Learning Network. Mine has become other professionals in Education, in Technology, in CTE, in News, in Technology in Education, and more.
3. Junk. Education has a plethora of methodologies, standards, objectives, theories, and tools to wade through until we find our fit. That means we have to weed out the non-essential information, or quite simply: junk.  If it isn’t worthwhile, discard it or “unfollow” them. Easy.
4. Mindless Creative Repetitive Artificial Pleasure. CRAP. Yes, it is out there. Yes, some of it is creative (we are inspired or motivated or awed by it). Some of it is repetitive (we get bored for seeing the same thing in different words; the creativity was squeezed out). Some of it is artificial (imposters, posers, plagiarisers, myth, or fiction: we need to check & recheck our resources). And, some of it is pleasurable (it feels good to laugh and be entertained).  So, yes, I do follow some CRAP, but we all need mental breaks.  Some of that stuff is ok.
5. Twitter has a feature that lets me seperate. Catagorize. Organize. List. Then, I can focus. This also allows me to best utilize my PLN. I have a News list: all of my news feeds and weather updates are a part of that list.  I have a SDACTE list with all my fellow members from across the state. We can still connect and converse even though we aren’t in the same room. I have lots of lists: Education, CTE, Technology, and even a Just 4 Fun list (that’s for all my CRAP).

Now, since there are so many arguments for using Social Networking (I didn’t really try hard to find the cons of it.) I decided to jump in with both feet.  However, because of that decision, I also decided that I should blog or journalize my reflections. I think it would be best for me to record both the good and bad experiences I have with my social experiment in the classroom.  The additional pages are general categories, but are not inclusive of every single Twitter use day.  Some days are the norm. They aren’t good and they aren’t bad. There weren’t any gains or setbacks, so I may not record any reflection.  I will, on the other hand, include significant moments I feel are important to using Twitter in the classroom.