Week 6 Journal Entry

The first article I read was Once blocked, Twitter and Other social media become classroom tools for students. I found this article very interested because once a teacher who pursued school administration he unblocked sites that he could incorporate social media into his lessons. He wanted students to use twitter for serious research and discussion. Students said they liked using Twitter to engage with their peers and other student’s across the country. Students could engage in their social tools as more of an academic resource. A lot of teachers are using online educational tools to help them with curriculum and for planning different activities. Twitter helps get information out there about different events and classroom activities that might be happening. Students discussed how using Twitter increased their educational experience. When social media is used collaboration is successfully. In many school district teachers are able to use Twitter, Facebook, and blogs with their students. Then in other districts they are not able to use them. This could be something maybe that one could work out with their district. This can be a powerful tool for teachers and students when used the correct way. Professionals in education must be careful with personal social media networks if they interact with students and parents. It would be a good idea to have two accounts one for personal use and the other for education use. Teachers are able to build a good connection and get to know the student's better. Teachers should not like student personal photos, do not post pictures that are inappropriately, do not post vacation photos if one has called in sick, one should control privacy settings, and do not post negative comments. I opened my eyes up to Twitter after reading these articles. I currently do not have a twitter account. I now have a better understanding of what it is now. It connects one to the lasted stories, opinions, and news. You may choose what you would like to follow. One does not ever have to tweet but can follow others. Educators can share different ideas among each other. The elements of twitter help me to better understand the functions of it. Professionals have many uses of Twitter if they choose to use it in the educational field. I learned more about hashtags and whom they involve. Anyone can hashtag and it gets one involved in longer conversations. I found the Twitter chats very interesting. The ones that I would like to learn more information about and even join in on the chats would be #edtechchat, #mathchat, and #DENchat. This is a good way for educators, parents, and teachers to interact with each other. This week I have opened my eyes up to Twitter and continued working on my website. I have all of my pages completed and I will continue to revise each of my pages. The page I am currently trying to revise is my homepage. I have learned a lot from my website and will continue to update it. I got to show my website to a parent this week and they thought it was very beneficial.