That little white bird perched against it’s bright blue backdrop taunted me, picked at me, made my tummy ache, my eyes water, and I itched with anxiety. Surely, I have an allergy to that bird they call Twitter. Annoyed almost to the point of tossing my cell phone across the table and giving up on technology, for a few minutes at least, I instead signed out and sought immediate gratification by perusing important status updates on Facebook. We’ll save Twitter for a time when I’ve found the antihistamine.
I remembered the head teacher at my school mentioned twitter chats she’s joined and so I thought I’d pick her brain about it before diving into this month's TLDEUNO readings. She informed me about a few hash tags and chats worth following. And then, as any wonderful head teacher would do, she @mentioned me on Twitter, forcing me out of my comfort zone and into a twitter chat about restorative justice, hosted by NAEA. Surprisingly, it wasn't terrible. I learned ways to incorporate restorative justice into our current PBIS and Love and Logic structured discipline. I struggle mostly with the format of Twitter and the constant stream of Tweets. Sorting out who is responding to what becomes too much of a distraction for me. I also struggle with the strict limit of characters. I have a lot to say and that 140 character restriction is tough! I was surprised how suddenly "shy" I became when joining Twitter chat. In her article, Twittering, Not Frittering: Professional Development in 140 Characters, Boss refers to Twitter as "a popular platform for micro blogging." I blog. I get that. But blogging allows me the space to go on and on and edit and revise and really get my point across. I like to blog because I can think things through and formulate complete expressions of ideas. Twitter is real-time. If I post or respond too soon, I feel like I'm blurting things out. If I wait to formulate the perfect 140 character idea, then the real time moment passes and I move on without any real participation.
Boss pointed out that some people are turned off by the personal chatter on Twitter. I find myself in the category. I don't care to read the posts about what people making for dinner, who they are drinking with, or what their baby bump looks like today. But, what I do appreciate it the great amount of expertise I suddenly have access to.
In this hybrid course, we are able to reach out and digitally connect with each other outside of the classroom. I think this is something that would benefit my alternative ed classroom because students can connect with students enrolled in the same course, but taking the class in a different building. Since students are working on different sections of different course at the same time, Twitter can allow us to come together on unified topics like current event (even better if the students pick the reading). In Brian Croxall's article, Reflections on Teaching with Social Media, he makes a good point that the classroom attitude and "clicking" with Twitter makes all the difference. So, one block may love the approach and go with it while the next block could totally check out and dismiss the activity. Implementing Twitter could be a quarter-by-quarter, class-by-class, attempt. Croxall's advice seemed logical:
1. Be ready for problems
2. Be conscious of tool fatigue (I've suffered from this myself).
3. In the end, it's still worth it.
After this month's readings (and as I progress in this course) I plan to try using blogs or Twitter in my classrooms. The Twitter Adoption Matrix offered in Mark Sample's article, Twitter is a Snark Valve, seems like a terrific tool to reflect on how Twitter is being used. I'd aim for active and dialogic involvements for students and active monologic for the instructor, although at times I'd have to be dialogic to keep rapport. Sample's snark valve comparison hits on a good point as well- social media easily becomes a valve for snarky, online-bravery-induced rudeness or bantering. If this is the means of conversation we use today, we have an obligation to give students opportunities to learn how to properly conduct themselves using such platforms. I think it's necessary to try to include some of this in the classroom to ensure digital citizenship. Avoiding it and the struggle, though tempting, is truly a disservice to our students. Embrace the changes of the times.
Jumping topics slightly: I am ever intrigued by the concept of flipped classrooms. In Kevin Makice's article, Flipping the Classroom Requires More Than Video, he explains that flipping the classroom involves "assigning [pre-recorded videos of] lectures to watch at home and working on homework together in class en route to student-led mastery of a variety of subjects. This makes perfect sense in my classroom! My students are self-paced, on individualized plans, focused on different sections of different courses in an alternative environment where teacher lecture isn't a possible option. By recording lectures and demonstrations, students can view my lesson and come back to class prepared with specific questions and prepared to complete the homework that corresponds to the lesson together in class. In my particular classrooms, students wouldn't necessarily have to take this option, but it's good to at least have the option. I could see lack of internet accessibility being an issue, but honestly, the students I work with are more apt to watch the recorded lesson in class one day (which allows me to 'lecture' while still helping the other students wherever they are in the curriculum) and then coming in ready to engage on day two. According to Makice, "success with a flipped class is a combination of understanding the pedagogical goals and using the technology and method to support them." At the very least, this would give me the chance to offer some lecture emphasis on current curriculum- or even modeling the thought process and drafting of essays. I could see this being successful in my classroom environment. It makes sense in my head, anyway. Putting it to use in a live classroom could prove my mind is a fairy tale.
From Twitter to Flipped Classrooms, from Blogging to Embracing Change, I am ever aware that the classroom I teach in today is nothing like the classroom I learned in yesterday. As uncomfortable as change is sometimes, it's one of the perks of being a teacher. Change can be good. Technology can be good. Changes in technology can be good. And if the allergy acts up again, I heard Merlot, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel work as great antihistamines.
I remembered the head teacher at my school mentioned twitter chats she’s joined and so I thought I’d pick her brain about it before diving into this month's TLDEUNO readings. She informed me about a few hash tags and chats worth following. And then, as any wonderful head teacher would do, she @mentioned me on Twitter, forcing me out of my comfort zone and into a twitter chat about restorative justice, hosted by NAEA. Surprisingly, it wasn't terrible. I learned ways to incorporate restorative justice into our current PBIS and Love and Logic structured discipline. I struggle mostly with the format of Twitter and the constant stream of Tweets. Sorting out who is responding to what becomes too much of a distraction for me. I also struggle with the strict limit of characters. I have a lot to say and that 140 character restriction is tough! I was surprised how suddenly "shy" I became when joining Twitter chat. In her article, Twittering, Not Frittering: Professional Development in 140 Characters, Boss refers to Twitter as "a popular platform for micro blogging." I blog. I get that. But blogging allows me the space to go on and on and edit and revise and really get my point across. I like to blog because I can think things through and formulate complete expressions of ideas. Twitter is real-time. If I post or respond too soon, I feel like I'm blurting things out. If I wait to formulate the perfect 140 character idea, then the real time moment passes and I move on without any real participation.
Boss pointed out that some people are turned off by the personal chatter on Twitter. I find myself in the category. I don't care to read the posts about what people making for dinner, who they are drinking with, or what their baby bump looks like today. But, what I do appreciate it the great amount of expertise I suddenly have access to.
In this hybrid course, we are able to reach out and digitally connect with each other outside of the classroom. I think this is something that would benefit my alternative ed classroom because students can connect with students enrolled in the same course, but taking the class in a different building. Since students are working on different sections of different course at the same time, Twitter can allow us to come together on unified topics like current event (even better if the students pick the reading). In Brian Croxall's article, Reflections on Teaching with Social Media, he makes a good point that the classroom attitude and "clicking" with Twitter makes all the difference. So, one block may love the approach and go with it while the next block could totally check out and dismiss the activity. Implementing Twitter could be a quarter-by-quarter, class-by-class, attempt. Croxall's advice seemed logical:
1. Be ready for problems
2. Be conscious of tool fatigue (I've suffered from this myself).
3. In the end, it's still worth it.
After this month's readings (and as I progress in this course) I plan to try using blogs or Twitter in my classrooms. The Twitter Adoption Matrix offered in Mark Sample's article, Twitter is a Snark Valve, seems like a terrific tool to reflect on how Twitter is being used. I'd aim for active and dialogic involvements for students and active monologic for the instructor, although at times I'd have to be dialogic to keep rapport. Sample's snark valve comparison hits on a good point as well- social media easily becomes a valve for snarky, online-bravery-induced rudeness or bantering. If this is the means of conversation we use today, we have an obligation to give students opportunities to learn how to properly conduct themselves using such platforms. I think it's necessary to try to include some of this in the classroom to ensure digital citizenship. Avoiding it and the struggle, though tempting, is truly a disservice to our students. Embrace the changes of the times.
Jumping topics slightly: I am ever intrigued by the concept of flipped classrooms. In Kevin Makice's article, Flipping the Classroom Requires More Than Video, he explains that flipping the classroom involves "assigning [pre-recorded videos of] lectures to watch at home and working on homework together in class en route to student-led mastery of a variety of subjects. This makes perfect sense in my classroom! My students are self-paced, on individualized plans, focused on different sections of different courses in an alternative environment where teacher lecture isn't a possible option. By recording lectures and demonstrations, students can view my lesson and come back to class prepared with specific questions and prepared to complete the homework that corresponds to the lesson together in class. In my particular classrooms, students wouldn't necessarily have to take this option, but it's good to at least have the option. I could see lack of internet accessibility being an issue, but honestly, the students I work with are more apt to watch the recorded lesson in class one day (which allows me to 'lecture' while still helping the other students wherever they are in the curriculum) and then coming in ready to engage on day two. According to Makice, "success with a flipped class is a combination of understanding the pedagogical goals and using the technology and method to support them." At the very least, this would give me the chance to offer some lecture emphasis on current curriculum- or even modeling the thought process and drafting of essays. I could see this being successful in my classroom environment. It makes sense in my head, anyway. Putting it to use in a live classroom could prove my mind is a fairy tale.
From Twitter to Flipped Classrooms, from Blogging to Embracing Change, I am ever aware that the classroom I teach in today is nothing like the classroom I learned in yesterday. As uncomfortable as change is sometimes, it's one of the perks of being a teacher. Change can be good. Technology can be good. Changes in technology can be good. And if the allergy acts up again, I heard Merlot, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel work as great antihistamines.