Part 1: Twitter
Tweet! Tweet! Tweet! That was the first thing I thought of when I first heard of Twitter years ago. I never truly got on board with Twitter. I created an account because my employer at the time wanted us to follow them. That was the max use I got out of it. A couple of years ago, I did a fundraiser for a student who had Leukemia. I attempted to use Twitter and other social platforms to contact Roman Reigns, a WWE performer, who had just gotten over Leukemia, and the fist bumps his group did, was the same our students did on a whim. It did not work, but the fundraiser was a success.
In the last year, I have followed basketball coaches and the schools I have coached. Twitter has helped me stay up to speed with philosophy changes and ideas. I also know who is winning and losing. As Fitzpatrick (2018) said, "If you have an area of interest that you want to learn more about, Twitter will open the door." I have not thought of collaborating with other educators using Twitter before, but I am interested in it. In PLCs at school, I see that many times group thinks to begin to occur. I am curious to see how my "ideas are being built up and shared, and my questions are being answered," as Fitzpatrick (2018) states will happen. I decided to follow these groups and people:
Using Twitter to reach students and parents will only be done by sending pictures of activities to our school representative that will tweet out. I try to send images from labs, and collaboration works a lot. With our LMS system, Canvas, we can send announcements to stay in communication with parents and students, and it is the communication method we have been informed to use. Remind101 that was once big in my school has disappeared except for the principal using to tell us it is a jeans day. I will use a professional development tool, but as for now, that is all I can see using it for.
References:
20 inspiring educators to follow on Twitter in 2019. (2019, June 11). Retrieved February 17, 2021 from https://blog.planbook.com/educators-twitter-2019/
Fitzpatrick, E. (2018, September 14). Building your PLN with Twitter: A Beginner's Guide. Retrieved February 17, 2021 from https://learningbird.com/building-your-pln-with-twitter-a-beginners-guide/
Klein, C. (2021, February 10). Takeaways from distance learning. Retrieved February 17, 2021 from https://www.edutopia.org/article/takeaways-distance-learning
In the last year, I have followed basketball coaches and the schools I have coached. Twitter has helped me stay up to speed with philosophy changes and ideas. I also know who is winning and losing. As Fitzpatrick (2018) said, "If you have an area of interest that you want to learn more about, Twitter will open the door." I have not thought of collaborating with other educators using Twitter before, but I am interested in it. In PLCs at school, I see that many times group thinks to begin to occur. I am curious to see how my "ideas are being built up and shared, and my questions are being answered," as Fitzpatrick (2018) states will happen. I decided to follow these groups and people:
- Tisha Richmond whom I liked how she "supports interactive teaching methods, creative problem solving, and empowering young learners." (Planbook 2019)
- Bill Bass caught my attention. He was the President of the board of directors for the International Society for Technology in Education. (Planbook 2019)
- Edutopia because of the articles and materials we have used in this master's program. One item they posted, Takeaways From Distance Learning, caught my attention. In it, Klein states, "While student-centered learning has long been a primary goal among educators, teaching through a tech lens has made 'end-user first' essential." This is a critical takeaway and makes me question whether I think of the students' point of view enough when planning lessons.
- ISTE to stay up to date on ways to incorporate the standards and ideas that leading technology integration teachers are doing in their classes.
- Education Week had many tweets with significant participation. I want to be in a group that participates and contributes.
Using Twitter to reach students and parents will only be done by sending pictures of activities to our school representative that will tweet out. I try to send images from labs, and collaboration works a lot. With our LMS system, Canvas, we can send announcements to stay in communication with parents and students, and it is the communication method we have been informed to use. Remind101 that was once big in my school has disappeared except for the principal using to tell us it is a jeans day. I will use a professional development tool, but as for now, that is all I can see using it for.
References:
20 inspiring educators to follow on Twitter in 2019. (2019, June 11). Retrieved February 17, 2021 from https://blog.planbook.com/educators-twitter-2019/
Fitzpatrick, E. (2018, September 14). Building your PLN with Twitter: A Beginner's Guide. Retrieved February 17, 2021 from https://learningbird.com/building-your-pln-with-twitter-a-beginners-guide/
Klein, C. (2021, February 10). Takeaways from distance learning. Retrieved February 17, 2021 from https://www.edutopia.org/article/takeaways-distance-learning
Part 2: Podcast
I previewed People Behind the Science. I think I am going to use this with my students too. I want to expand their thinking of a scientist. Many students think of scientist in a white lab coat looking into a microscope. I want them to know scientist exist in many different lights. At a Title One school with a third of the population ESOL, and 50% female I think encouraging students to go into science fields is significant.
The number one idea I had to use podcast in my class was Critical Thinking. I would like to have a weekly challenge where the students listen to a short science podcast and can agree or disagree. The challenge would be for them to support their thinking. A skill that science in my school is specifically working on to build arguments. Also having the podcast versus a reading will allow my ESOL and SWD that struggle to read equal access. They can pause and rewind as much as they need.
The number one idea I had to use podcast in my class was Critical Thinking. I would like to have a weekly challenge where the students listen to a short science podcast and can agree or disagree. The challenge would be for them to support their thinking. A skill that science in my school is specifically working on to build arguments. Also having the podcast versus a reading will allow my ESOL and SWD that struggle to read equal access. They can pause and rewind as much as they need.