I'll start this off very honestly, I had avoided Twitter as much as I could. It's easy enough to use so far, and a very simple tool. Something about the permanence of my comments online, and the availability of my thoughts to a huge audience had turned me off to using it (and facebook as well). I guess what I'm getting at is I am concerned with saying the wrong thing and it being on display for many to see, and in our career field it seems so much can be used against us that we
really have to be careful with what we say, especially in print.
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| Once you hit publish, there's no going back... |
My true hope this semester is to move past these issues, and not just see a meaning and relevance to using it in education (I already do after this week's reading, but I'll get to that at a later time), but to feel
truly comfortable using it. I know many in our field get set in a certain way about
how we teach, and the more we are reading and discussing, the more I see very big changes ahead and we can choose to work with or against these changes. They're happening with or without us, and ultimately it's our students who should be the ones to benefit from the classroom of tomorrow. My hesitance is usually not with using a new tool, it's the security concerns I have, but maybe I worry too much, maybe your comments will tell me if I'm alone in my thinking....(the book mentioned this as well so I know they gave
some voice to my point of view)
Feel free to call me out if I'm being too pessimistic, I usually am!
More to the point! This week's reading: I had planned to just talk about what the book said about Twitter, but instead something else stood out to me in this chapter beside what I mentioned above. The book pointed out the tools we have now are amazing but they will change quickly, instead we need to focus on the networks, connections, collaborations, and interactions we are making instead. Those underlying principles are what makes a PLC work, not just the 'what cool ideas does someone have for this tool in the classroom?'. Our tools will change, but if we keep that mindset we can adapt easily.
I understand your hesitation, as I had the same feelings and no enthusiasm about having a Twitter account. I am finding, though, that there is such a wealth of information for professional development. It reminds me a lot of Pinterest, in that you look at other people's posts and repin or retweet what you like. Instead of having your own boards that you attach your likes to, you create columns of key words that you want to follow. Have you found any useful information on Twitter yet?
ReplyDeleteBrandy, when you say you create columns of key words that you want to follow, is that on tweet deck? Or what exactly do you mean? Does that go along with hashtags? I'm so new to this!
DeleteBTW, do you have a Twitter name we can follow?
ReplyDelete@feanormaedhros
DeleteShould have put that in the post !
I feel the same way too Ryan. I agree though, that there are some things we just have to get over to benefit our students in the long run. With technology growing, we have to advance as well, and I do believe that Twitter will help us with that professional learning.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a great point, and one that you should teach to your students often. As we at my school found out very recently, what happens on Twitter can hurt people, get people in trouble, and throw an entire school into a tizzy. Read all about it here: http://goo.gl/t4In6 Yes, we should make sure we have said exactly what we meant, no more, no less, before we hit that enter button.
ReplyDeleteGreat article. I know we'd be held to even stricter standards and punishments
DeleteHoly cow! I am saving this article! To think that there wouldn't be consequences for inappropriate public online choices is crazy. It is no different from employers looking at your online behavior- if you make your personal life public, it needs to be what you want everyone in your life to know. As it is said, one's character is built on our actions when we think no one is looking.
ReplyDeleteYou expressed some of my concerns also. I checked my school's twitter tonight and there was an apology about some comments that were posted in the past view days. The comments were not made by school personnel and have been deleted. Since I have been away from internet for the last 5 days(!), I don't know what the comments were and it makes me a little nervous on how the comments were posted on the school account. I am hoping as I become more comfortable with Twitter I will be able to use the tool more. I just don't want to become so comfortable that I become careless.
ReplyDeleteI avoided Twitter as much as possible, I only got an account for this class. I try not to do to much social media for the safety of my family. So, that is why I try to limit the amount of personal information that I allwow on these types of sites.
ReplyDelete