Twitter in the Classroom

Twitter can be used in a variety of ways in education. An innovative way that I have heard of Twitter being used in education is that students are assigned a character from a novel or work of fiction that they will then create a Twitter page for. They are then asked to post text, links to content, and the like that coincide with the character. I feel that this is a great reflective exercise as it requires students to take the perspective of a character and think deeply about how they would present themselves in the modern moment. Twitter can also be used as a way to share resources with a class or for students to connect with experts outside of their community or classroom.

Twitter is an example of a flexible technology. There are a variety of ways to interact on Twitter include posting, reposting, linking, and using the “favourite” button. This ability to use and share content in a variety of ways makes the website flexible and adaptable to different learning styles.

Twitter discourages the use of its site by users under the age of 13. However, this is not a requirement and Twitter does not ask the age of users when they sign up for an account. This recommended age limit makes it suitable for the 7 - 12 classroom.