witter as a tool for social expression!

 

 

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WHAT IS TWITTER? 

 

  -Entertainment updates-

 

 -Means to rally a cause-

 

-Social networking-

 

-Source for political news-

 

-Insider on sports-

 

-Virtual voice-

 

 

 

 

  A      real-time     information     network  

 

 

 

Twitter...

                             was launched in 2006 by a software architect named Jack Dorsey ^{_{(wikipedia.com)}}

 

 

                             is free to join (requires a username, email address, and password)

 

 

                             provides a network of worldwide communication by way of tweets

                                               140 characters or less                                                          

     140 characters might not seem like that much, but it can be enough make a statement! Choose your words carefully-Tweets are short and sweet!

 

 

(exactly 140 characters!)

 

 

 

Okay, I've signed up. Easy enough. Now what?

 

     Personalize your profile

          -Add a photo, a bio, and a background image

     Post a tweet

          -Something on your mind? 

     Follow other users

          -Subscribe to the posts that certain users make

 

 

Whoa, whoa. Are we speaking a different language?

 

TWITTER VOCABULARY

 

tweet - (noun)  a 140-character statement that is posted to Twitter

                    "Dude, did you read that tweet about penguins? Rad."

             ( verb ) to post a statement on Twitter

                    "I'm totally going to tweet about that. Hold my ice cream cone."

follow - (verb ) to subscribe to a certain user's tweets, those tweets will show on your real-time feed

                    "I'm following Tay Swift, Justin Bieber, and Selena Gomez. I'm the coolest kid on Twitter."  

 hashtag - (noun ) a topic or category attached to a tweet that allows it to be searched for, notated by #

                    "I would so win the #HungerGames. But I refuse to prove it."    

retweet - (verb) to post something that has already been tweeted by another user

                    "Britney Spears tweeted that her next tour will feature a petting zoo! I'm retweeting that."

 

 

 

Super cool real-time networking!

 

 

As a teacher,

how can I use Twitter to engage my students?

 

 

 

KEYWORD:

 

RELEVANCY

 

 

 

Twitter may seem like a hub for gossip and pop culture, but it is also used by organizations, political figures, and advocates.

Twitter can be a very quick, efficient, and widespread way to communicate a message to the masses.

With almost any current topic, students can research related activity in the "Twittersphere" or "Twitterverse" (the virtual realm of Twitter).^(pcmag.com)

 

Specifically a secondary Theatre Arts teacher?

 

• DEVISING PROJECT
• Devise a piece with your students based on Tweets
• Together, choose a viable topic to focus a theatrical piece on. (ex. bullying, war in Iraq, 2012 election, environmental causes, Kony 2012)
• Over time, continually watch the Tweets posted for this topic. Record these Tweets, make a few Tweets of your own - perhaps ones requesting response.
• Work with students to incorporate their own voices and the digital voices of the Twittersphere into a "social viewpoint" piece.
• EDUCATIONAL VALUE:
• Express the viewpoints of yourself and others through theatrical elements.
• Become involved and informed on a relevant topic or event.
• Work with others to communicate a message and a theme.
• SEARCH AND SHARE
• Have your students stay up to date on the current world of theatre
• Follow users such as the Denver Center for Performing Arts , broadway.com , Playbill , and TheaterMania
• Even follow actors and actresses such as Idina Menzel , Tom Hanks , or Neil Patrick Harris
• Create a daily / weekly time for students to share updates and news in the world of theatre
• EDUCATIONAL VALUE:
• Utilize technology / the internet to stay in tune with what is happening in the world around you. 
• Better prepare for becoming an informed, responsible citizen in the age of digital media.
• HASHTAG COMMUNITY
• Create communication for your class by using a specific hashtag
• Ask students to tweet thoughts, questions, helpful information, and general musings about the class or school activities with the same hashtag
• Students can then search that hashtag and find all related tweets, responding to one another if they so choose
• EDUCATIONAL VALUE:
• Students actively support one another in a digital community
• Students learn to represent themselves online, as they will be required to do professionally with growing digital communication

 

 

 

 

SO MANY MORE WAYS TO USE TWITTER!

TAKE A LOOK!

Find out how you can personally take advantage of having an active Twitter account!

Who should you follow on Twitter to get news about educational technology?

Click here to read about Twitter for Academia!

Read even more innovative ideas about the integration of Twitter in any classroom!

 

Sources

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=Twittersphere&i=60386,00.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

https://twitter.com/about