BP2_Twitter

'Twitter - Taking Education To A Higher Level!'

I remember my first visit to ‘Twitter.’ It was like finding out there was another world in the galaxy. I still laugh at that moment, like see my teeth laugh. Twitter is a milky way of quick pieces of mind candy. Now I am a tech savvy type that was cautious to get pulled into this time warp called The Internet. You are thinking, “What did he type in first?!” I typed: ‘Technology’ – and who shows up one the page that causes me to skip all the rest? Bill Gates. I really like him. Bill was the first person that caused me to hit “follow.” Thanks for your inspiration Bill. Then, after five minutes, I had hit 17 “follows.” You almost feel like you are someone’s friend just because you get to see their tweets.

So this first time on Twitter, how do I see these tweets? What is all the buzz about?!! I hit some button by accident, and saw those streams of gold. Pure overload that my brain should never have seen. Unbelievable, now I know why people swarm here. It is total play land. It is fluttering of brain waves peaking every curiosity to infinity and beyond. I need help, maybe therapy even. I’ve just seen Twitter.

So now I’ve been unleashed and wonder how can I use this Web 2.0 Platinum hit in my classroom? Grab a chair in case you faint. I’m going to give my next exam on Twitter! Every student has a computer. Every question pops up. They bolt online to for research and every essay question is submitted by email to me. They type with a fury of opinions. I’ll even throw in a true/false question for assessment authentication! How do I keep them from sharing or sending answers? I will give them all a separate question matrix. This will be the hottest thing since sliced cheese in plastic wraps.

Then after the exam, I’ll lure students to content related sites and soon they’ll be hitting “Follow” on several places related to my course. It works. Why? Twitter makes you feel connected. Research has proven that people crave connection. There is an increase in social isolation today, so Twitter is students’ way to connect and engage at a higher level than before. Web 2.0 Twitter will save us. It will enhance a feeling of connection, it will offer students new quick sources of information streams related to my course topic, it will help my class go green to save paper, it will acclimate students to use of Web 2.0 tools, and it will offer a unique change of pace to testing assessment. “Twitter me my test,” they will say, because of what has happened today!