Over the past two week’s I’ve been introducing ideas for how to integrate social networking in the classroom. This week we’ll continue the discussion with the micro-blogging site- Twitter!

When it comes to social networks, Twitter is probably one of the least complex. Created and launched in 2006, Twitter is a micro-blogging site that allows users to send and read text-based updates limited to 140 characters.

When it comes to uses in the educational setting there are many possibilities. One of the perks of twitter is that people do not need an account to access someone’s twitter feed (the exception being if the feed was only available to followers). If you wanted to create a classroom twitter account to post announcements, links to supplemental materials, or reminders the process is quick and simple.

From there, you have the world at your fingertips! I’ve compiled a list of some ideas I’ve found around the web and heard from others about using Twitter in the classroom!

Like I mentioned last week with Facebook, don’t require students to follow you on Twitter as many may not have accounts or may not be allowed to by their parents. Find other ways to share information with them if this is the case.

Keep The Conversation Going: Use a classroom hash tag to facilitate continuing discussions after class has ended. Use hash tags to create a specialized Tweet feeds to share information and discussions. I’ve been to many conferences where a specialized hash tag was used by attendees and presenters to share what they were experiencing. It’s a lot of fun! I even use the tag #JoshOnTour when I’m on the road so family and friends can keep tabs on what I’m up to! Students and educators will also use this tag to share their experiences during my programs! Tweetdeck is a great tool to help keep you organized!

Follow and Share: Use a classroom twitter to follow and share ideas with other teachers at school and all over the world! Maybe another classroom is learning about the same topics and a you can tweet ideas to one another. Stay in touch with other educators to discuss teaching trends, classroom ideas, or upcoming events and conferences.

Real-World Updates: Big news event going on? Follow hash tags and buzzwords to get a real time stream of news coming in from all over the world! (Again Tweetdeck is a great tool in these situations to help filter in content surrounding what you want to be tracking)

Share Links And Videos: Find an interesting article or YouTube video that goes along with a class discussion? Use the “Share on Twitter” option to instantly send the information out to your students. Discuss what you found the next day in class.

Classroom Tweeting: Watching a video in class? How about taking a field trip? Encourage students to tweet during these events to share ideas and thoughts about what they are experiencing. This can be helpful in creating discussions and sharing ideas. You might also find some of the shy students standing out in these discussions! Remember to create a hash tag to easily follow the proper discussion! You never know who might be watching! I’ve heard great stories of authors, filmmakers and even myself jumping into classroom discussions via Twitter!

These are just a few of many ideas out there. I also recommend checking out Edudemic’s blog post “100 Ways to Use Twitter in Education, By Degree of Difficulty”

Have you used Twitter to enhance the classroom experience? I’d love to hear about it!

Josh Gunderson is an award-winning Bullying Prevention and Social Media Specialist. Josh has appeared on MTV, Comedy and National Geographic. For more information about Josh and his educational programs please visit www.HaveYouMetJosh.com

You can purchase Josh’s book “Cyberbullying: Perpetrators, Bystanders & Victims” on Amazon! Available in paperback or for Kindle.

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