Polly Fasick

SLM 521

July 12, 2009

Twitter Course Module

Goals –In this assignment, students will learn what twitter is and how to use it. Students will be able to create their own tweets, expand their social network by choosing trusted people to follow, and learn effective ways to use twitter in the classroom.

Introduction/Content Overview – Most people have heard of twitter, but many know nothing more than it’s the latest trend in communication. This assignment was designed to encourage students who have not yet signed up for twitter to understand more about twitter – the fastest growing social networking tool today! Twitter was designed several years ago as a free internet service for friends and family to stay connected with each other through simple status updates. By using a website or mobile phone, it is a way to share moments in your life as they happen. It is sometimes called microblogging because the simple messages, called tweets, must be 140 characters or less. Twitter has evolved into much more than just simple status reports between friends. Twitterers, or those who tweet, have turned it into a powerful and useful communication tool. It can also provide live commentary during real time events, like a conference call to thousands. In some cases these important events could be emergencies where tweeters send live feeds to update the events as they unfold. Businesses and consumers have used twitter to market or obtain great bargains that can be snapped up fast.

Additional software has been developed to expand twitter into a valuable search engine to find topics, people, or groups that interest you. In this way, teachers can also use twitter to find the latest trends in the teaching community. Since it’s important for teachers to be up to date with the times, twitter is a great way to engage with the latest technology. This search engine is especially helpful in finding other professionals who are interested in sharing teaching resources. There are many wonderful teachers who twitter and share ideas, resources, and links for the classroom. There are even twitter resources that explain ways teachers are currently using twitter in their lessons.

This activity will take you through the steps so that you will be able to get started on twitter. You will create an account, begin sending your own tweets, and search for useful information and teaching professionals to follow.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

1. Create a twitter account with a customized profile.

2 .Search and choose to follow at least ten people from the teaching profession.

3. Create tweets containing useful links to search results.

Readings – Before you sign up for twitter, you will need to learn more about what it is and how to do it. There are many websites listed below that give you a general overview on twitter. These readings/videos will familiarize you with what twitter is and the steps you’ll need to know before you create your own account. There are also many sites for teachers that will help you gain perspective on finding relevant and beneficial teacher information. Some of the links overlap or repeat, so only read enough to help you get started. Once you’ve read enough to grasp an understanding of twitter, go ahead and start the course activity.

General overview

Twitter in Plain English (Click Watch a Video!) First watch twitter’s own video that explains what twitter is -http://twitter.com/help/how

How to use twitter – Another twitter video that tells you in 10 steps how to get started.- http://help.twitter.com/portal

Time Magazine- How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live – June 2009 article -http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1902604,00.html

About Twitter Search Capabilities - http://search.twitter.com/about

Dictionary for Twitter - http://twictionary.pbworks.com/

Mistakes with twitter - funny – ABC reported news - http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/Story?id=7169644&page=1

Twitter Tips- Writing Better Tweets -

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9132410/Twitter_Tips_How_to_Write_Better_Tweets?taxonomyId=18&pageNumber=1&taxonomyName=Software

Time Magazine Article - Ways Twitter Will Change American Business - http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1901188_1901207_1901197,00.html

For Teachers

Twitter for Teachers - information about how teachers can use Twitter to create a PLN (personal learning network) as well as using Twitter in the classroom. - http://twitterforteachers.wetpaint.com/

Twitter4Teachers - A wiki directory of teachers on Twitter. You can find people to follow and add yourself to the list.- http://twitter4teachers.pbworks.com/

Top 100 Tools for the Twittering Teacher - an overview of 100 tools you may find helpful from ways to manage Twitter to classroom tools. - http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2009/04/02/top-100-tools-for-the-twittering-teacher/

Nine Great Reasons Why Teachers Should Use Twitter - a great list to help convince you. - http://mrslwalker.com/index.php/2009/03/29/nine-great-reasons-why-teachers-should-use-twitter/

10 Things Teachers Should Know to Get Started with Twitter - a great blog post to help you as you start out. Explains @replies, direct messages, retweeting, and other Twitter-isms. - http://www.azk12.org/blog/archives/46-10-Things-Teachers-Should-Know-to-Get-Started-with-Twitter.html

Activity-

Now you are ready to create your own account. It’s free and takes only a few minutes. First go to Twitter.com and click on the Get started-Join button on the bottom of the Twitter page. You will need to create a unique username and set your password. After you’ve filled in all the info, you can click - create my account.

Now you’ll need to search for people to follow. First search for people you know from your email contacts list that may already be using twitter. Just enter in your email address and choose the service that you use. After entering your password and email address, a list of names and pictures will appear for all your contacts who have Twitter accounts. Make sure that the box next to the name is checked if you want to follow them, or unchecked if you don't. “Following" someone is the same idea as adding them as a friend in a social networking site or as a contact in your email. When you choose to follow someone, they are given the option to follow you back. You may also invite contacts from your address book, or you can search by name or location to see which of the people you know are already Twittering and follow them.

Now set up your profile. Go to Settings and set up your Account. Here you can change your email address, and user name, and add a URL for your blog or site. You should add a brief bio, set location, language and so on. Under Notices you can set how, when and how often you receive notifications. You can turn on sleep times and more. When you're finished, just click save and your changes are registered.

Now customize your profile by choosing a picture image from your computer and click to save. Be sure to follow the suggested tips. Go ahead, customize your Twitter page by selecting design and colors, and click to save.

Now you are ready to tweet! Answer the question,” What are you doing?” Do not be intimidated! Twitter runs on people sharing little details. Posts must be under the 140 character limit set by Twitter. (Remember you can use @ or Direct Messages to send as a private message).When your message is composed, click update.

Congratulations, you have sent your first tweet, but you still need to learn how to search for topics that interest you and find some teachers for networking. Have fun with this! Refer to your readings about searching so that you can find additional tweeple (or people) to follow!

Assessment/Assignments – 20 points

For this assignment, you will create a twitter account. You will need to set up your profile and customize it with a picture and a bio. This will help others to decide if they want to follow you. You will also need to search for topics and people that interest you. Refer to your readings to help you choose people that interest you. Choose at least ten people to follow that are from the teaching profession – one of these selections should be your instructor. During your searching, you should submit at least five tweets or updates. You will also need to find at least one useful link that you would like to pass on about something you learned during your twitter experience (need to use tiny URL). Remember, your experience on twitter is only as high a quality as the people who you follow and the information you share.

Rubric

	unacceptable	developing	accomplished
Twitter Account	Created with no profile bio or picture.	Created with incomplete bio information.	Created with complete customized profile.
Selections for “Following”	Selected fewer than five people to follow, whose bios indicate no connections to the teaching profession.	Selected fewer than ten people to follow whose bios indicate some connections to the teaching profession.	Selected ten or more people to follow whose bios all indicate a connection to the teaching profession.
Tweets or Updates	Fewer than five tweets sent, with no link provided and no explanation of experience.	Fewer than five tweets sent. One useful link was provided with some explanation.	Five tweets were sent and one useful link was provided with good concise explanation.

ISTE Standards:

3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning

Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.

Teachers:

a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical

behavior in their professional practices.

Teachers:

c. promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional

community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.

Teachers:

a. participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning

Submission - After tweeting, searching, and adding your followers, send a tweet @reply to your instructor to indicate that you are finished with this assignment. As part of this tweet to your instructor, send a useful link to something you learned during your experience and briefly (140 characters or less) explain your twitter experience. (If you are unable to find your instructor’s twitter username, it will be provided via email.)

Other Resources- It takes many weeks to select and establish a trusted group of people to follow. Since you are just beginning, keep tweeting! Here are some other resources that could help you in your process.

Install twitter clients. Twitter clients are installable software in your computer, which makes it easier for you to follow your tweets. It’s optional but it makes following tweets a little more organized:

Tweetdeck - http://tweetdeck.com/beta/

TwitterFox (it’s a firefox extension) - http://twitterfox.net/

Top 20 twitter There are other twitter clients out there. You can find the list of clientshere.http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_twitter_clients_definitive_list.php

More Uses in Education!

19 ways to use twitter in education.Go through this presentation on:- http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_118cfb8msf8

Learn from 50 ideas on using twitter for educators -http://cooper-taylor.com/blog/2008/08/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-education/