22 Effective Ways To Use Twitter In The Classroom

Guest post by Jeff Dunn in edudemic

Using Twitter in the classroom is a no-brainer. It’s a powerful and free tool that already has wide adoption among educators, students, administrators, and parents. So how do you effectively use Twitter to resonate with students? Why not start by using the following methods that are organized by Bloom’s Taxonomy? The below visual showcases a variety of cases that should be of use for any teacher looking to effectively integrate Twitter into courses, lessons, projects, etc.

What if you could use your favorite social network in the classroom? Okay, we write about using Twitter in the classroom a lot. What if you could use Twitter in the classroom and each task or project conformed to Bloom’s Taxonomy? What if you could turn classroom sessions into 24-7 learnathons where every task you set out for students is done with gusto and active learning.

That’d be the cat’s pajamas. (For our many international readers not familiar with that term, it simply means ‘that’d be great.’)

You can actually use Twitter with Bloom’s Taxonomy thanks to this below table built by TeachBytes. It details 22 different ways to use Twitter, organized by the different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. From inventing a Twitter application to illustrating trending topics to comparing / contrasting Twitter to other forms of social media, there’s a lot you can do in the classroom with this chart.

But the best part is that you can keep the learning going outside the classroom! How will you use Twitter outside the classroom for active learning?

10 Web Tools In Every 21st Century Classroom

10 Web Tools In A 21st Century Class

If you consider yourself a 21st century educator, you should use these digital tools in your classroom in a 24/7 environment. It is important to teach students to connect, collaborate, innovate, share and create. Try these 10 web tools, I really recommend them. Try them, be a risk taker.

1- Google Docs/ Drive

This is a must have tool for every teacher. You can use it to upload, save,create, view, share, collaborate and edit documents using a Google account. It is also useful for group projects where students work together on an assignment.

2- Evernote

One of the best things you can do with Evernote is to take notes and render them accessible across different devices including phones, tablets, and computers.

3- Dropbox

As a teacher you can use Dropbox to upload your files and PDFs and share documents and images with your students. The free storage capacity Dropbox offers for basic users is enough for us in education.

4- Edmodo

Edmodo lets you create your own teacher blog as well as students  blogs. You can share, embed, and upload videos, images, PDFs, files..and many more into this platform and best of all it is safe and secure.

5- Twitter

Create a class Twitter account and encourage students to use it to share resources. You can also use it to contact them with questions about  due dates, exams,and  homework,

6- Prezi

This is a wonderful cloud-based presentation tool that teachers can use in the classroom with their students to create awesome slides that can be zoomed in and out

7- YouTube Editor

There are in fact several web tools to create and edit videos but my favourite application and the one I recommend the most to teachers and students is YouTube Editor. This is pretty basic and very easy to use and the only problem with it is that some school districts regrettably ban YouTube.

8- Engrade

Engrade has a free grade book that allows users to keep track of  homework, messages, calendar, quizzes, and attendance.

9- ClassDojo

ClassDojo is a great tool for teachers who need a little help with behaviour management. Through the site, teachers can offer students real-time feedback on their behaviour and can print out daily reports for students and parents. It could quickly become a popular way for teachers to spend less time on classroom management and more time on actually teaching lessons.

10- TodaysMeet

TodaysMeet helps you embrace the backchannel and connect with your students in realtime.Use it within your classroom to  make comments, ask questions, and use that feedback to tailor your presentation, sharpen your points, and address students needs.