Kayla NapierCI 350Harold BlancoDecember 1, 2013

Twitter Assignment

Throughout this experience, I have been able to follow some very influential individuals who

have tremendous insight into technology-based education. By following these educators on Twitter, I

have been able to learn of several effective strategies that can be utilized in the 21st Century classroom.

@CI350class:

The first individual that I chose to follow on Twitter is Harold @CI350class. During the

Thanksgiving break he posted several interesting links that discussed the need to incorporate various

Web 3.0 tools, social networking sites, and storytelling applications into the 21st Century curriculum. All

of the digital tools that Harold addresses can be utilized in today’s technology-based learning

environment.

One of Harold’s tweets that I found to be very interesting addresses the need to flip the

traditional classroom to one that is more student-centered and technology-based. In this active learning

environment, learners are encouraged to collaborate with others in order to promote student

motivation and accomplishment. Within a flipped classroom, the teachers can upload instructional video

clips that students are to watch prior to class. This essentially provides more time to complete group

projects and larger assignments within the actual classroom. Overall, I believe that this setup could

potentially promote student autonomy and academic achievement by providing more time for hands-on

activities within the classroom.

Another link that Harold has recently tweeted reveals a few different virtual world environments

that can be used to enrich student learning. Within these virtual worlds, children can explore new

subjects by experiencing the lesson within a virtual reality, which ultimately brings learning to life. The

three virtual worlds mentioned in this website are Second Life, OpenSim, and Cloud Party. Such Web 3.0

applications allow children to learn about various historical events through role-play and other

interactive activities. Overall, I believe that these technology-based educational strategies are very

meaningful to children who have grown-up in a digital world. Thus, with the right guidance and

supervision, the students can use these sites to enhance their overall learning experience.

In addition, Harold posted a link introducing several digital storytelling applications that

students can use in the classroom. My favorite storytelling tool is the Google Earth Tour Builder, which

allows students to create narratives using Google maps, video clips, images, and text. After selecting a

location, tour builder zooms in to that area on the map, and this image can then be used within the

digital story; thus allowing students to expand their creativity. By enhancing student technology skills,

learners will become much more prepared to thrive within today’s globalized economy.

Finally, Harold also brings out the importance of using social media in the classroom to connect

learners and foster collaboration between students. In fact, there are several other benefits for using

such technology in the classroom. For instance, social media sites can be easily accessed from any

browser, enabling the students quickly connect and retrieve information regarding important

assignments and projects. Such 21st Century learning strategies help to increase student participation

and communication within the classroom. Overall, Harold tweeted several links to relevant articles and

websites that discuss ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. I found these posts to be very

helpful, and I plan to utilize many of these tools throughout my future curriculum.

George Couros:

Another individual that I have been following on Twitter is George Couros, the Division Principal

of Innovative Teaching and Learning for Parkland School Division. Overall, Couros tweets of the

importance of strong leadership in schools, implementation of technology into education, connectivity

between teachers, and collaboration between students by utilizing social media and technology. Couros

believes that it is important to “make learning viral,” in that students need to be able to access

information in a variety of ways. He was even asked to speak at the TedX Burnsville Education

Convention in Minnesota on this subject.

During this opportunity, Couros asserted that educators, students, and individuals within the community

should have an “empowering voice” in 21st Century education. Thus, George Couros challenges schools

around the world to share their knowledge and strategies with others by interconnecting through social

media and other Web 2.0 tools (emphasizing the role of Twitter in education). Additionally, Couros has

helped to initiate an online meeting place using Buddypress. This is an online community where

students, staff, and parents can collaborate to share ideas and innovative learning strategies. Eventually,

this site will also be used to create online portfolios of student progress. In my opinion, such

connectivity among schools and individuals of various backgrounds and communities will function to

encourage collaboration and the expansion of knowledge between learners. This will then enable our

students to more readily succeed in today’s digital world.

Furthermore, George Couros stresses of keeping educators connected. In order to promote

interaction and mass sharing among teachers, he began to have one-on-one sessions with educators

from various schools, encouraging them to ask questions or share material through Facebook, Twitter,

Google Drive, and email; thereby keeping the lines of communication and innovation open. Such media

makes it possible for teachers to find solutions to various issues or to simply share novel ideas.

As can be seen from the above tweet, Couros expresses the need to make education more

relevant to the students. Children who grow up in a digital world must be taught with technology, if we

are to make learning meaningful. Therefore, Couros refutes the saying that individuals can be great

educators without technology. In fact, he challenges such old-fashioned opinions with the following

words: “My question is, in our world today, can you be an effective learner without using technology?

We constantly talk about preparing kids for their future but I am concerned that some of them are not

even prepared for their world right now.” Students cannot effectively collaborate, create, or

communicate unless given the opportunity to connect and share through the use of technology and

social media. Thus, Couros emphasizes that we must make education meaningful by giving students the

digital tools they need to succeed.

By following George Couros on Twitter, I have learned of the importance of global connectivity

within the classroom. His tweets have provided numerous strategies to incorporate technology within

the classroom, which not only promotes collaboration among teachers but also encourages

collaboration between students. Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed following George Couros and

reading his tweets which contain vast amounts of knowledge and advice regarding 21st Century

education.

Aviva Dunsiger:

I have also been following Aviva Dunsiger, an elementary school teacher who is currently

teaching fifth grade. Mrs. Dunsiger tweets many insightful pieces of information regarding various

teaching strategies that can be used within the classroom to incorporate the many different learning

styles of students. She also tweets about inquiry education, feedback, hands-on teaching strategies, art

integration, and the role of technology in the classroom.

One of Mrs. Dunsiger’s favorite quotes is that, “Good feedback causes thinking.” Thus, she is

constantly trying to keep her students actively involved in the learning process. Therefore, Mrs. Dunsiger

has just recently begun utilizing instructional methods that provide quick feedback to students so that

they can reflect on their work. Such feedback always includes specific things the students have done

correctly as well as one or two areas that could be improved. However, instead of traditionally telling

the students what to do, she instead asks the students questions. This enables the children to reflect

and critically think about what could be done to improve their work. Such strategies promote

independent thinking, because students are then encouraged to learn by exploration.

Furthermore, Mrs. Dunsiger encourages the use of technology within the classroom. For

instance, she incorporates student blogs and digital storytelling to promote self-expression throughout

the learning process. She also utilizes a website known as Radio for Learning (105 the Hive) which

enables students to audio-record projects and speeches. Such technology motivates students and allows

them to become more comfortable in sharing their voices. I believe that these experiences help to make

education more relevant to students by incorporating technology into education.

One of my favorite teaching strategies that Dunsiger uses is called inquiry learning. This method

encourages students to ask questions that they themselves must answer after conducting various

experiments, observations, and research; thus placing students more in control of their own learning.

Such a student-centered environment encourages hands-on learning within cooperative groups. This

prosperous learning environment can be seen in the picture below.

By following Mrs. Dunsiger on Twitter, I have learned several great teaching strategies that I

hope to incorporate into my own curriculum. My main goal is to include inquiry-based education within

my future classroom to promote student involvement and participation.

The Daring Librarian (Gwyneth Jones):

I have also been following Gwyneth Jones (the Daring Librarian), who is one of the ISTE Board of

Directors and an international speaker/blogger from Washington, D.C. By far, she has been the most

eccentric educator that I have followed on Twitter, tweeting about such topics as: her favorite television

episodes, types of makeup, various snap-chat apps, photo and animation tools, music clips, and a few

educational articles regarding the implementation of technology into the classroom. Despite some of

her more eccentric posts, I have learned of a few new technologies that I can incorporate into my future

curriculum.

One useful educational resource created by the Daring Librarian is the At-a-Glance Tech Tutorial.

These creative comics give teachers needed technological advice, while encouraging the implementation

of digital tools into the classroom. For example, the following tech tutorial describes how to create

animations and characters for a particular lesson. This tool promotes student creativity and sparks

excitement about learning by allowing the students to more actively participate in the lesson through

digital applications. A few of the tools she suggests for such a project would include: Glogster, Comic

Creator, and GoAnimate. These websites allow students to create graphics, videos, and animated

stories; thereby encouraging students to use their creativity and imagination to enhance their

educational experience.

Another educational tool that the Daring Librarian tweets about is a website called Flocabulary.

Flocabulary produces educational rap/hip-hop music for practically any subject and can therefore be

used as an instructional resource. This website allows students to listen to educational lyrics or even to

create their own that can be used as study material. I hope to use this tool in my future classroom to

provide differentiated instruction for my audio learners.

Additionally, the Daring Librarian suggests that Infographics be utilized in the classroom as a

type of assessment. Infographics are a visual representation of data that enable students to combine

information with visual images through technology-based applications. Thus Infographics can be used

for either formative or summative assessments, allowing students to demonstrate their knowledge or

mastery of a particular skill. For instance, children can create Infographics that represent statistical data

using charts and graphs. Another creative assessment technique would be to encourage students to

create a histogram on Instagram, describing a historical event using today’s social media tools and

technology. I believe that such innovative assessments would spark intrinsic motivation among

students; and thereby increase academic achievement.

The Daring Librarian also encourages the use of social media among educators as form of

collaboration. To see other what other educators thought, she sent a few requests asking her Twitter

followers to share why they use Twitter in education. She received the following responses:

As I read these tweets, I began to see the potential ways to use Twitter as an educational resource. One

such reason is that it allows for increased connectivity and sharing, creating a community of educators

who are able to offer tips and advice. Previously, I had no idea of the educational advantages that

Twitter could provide or of the network that it created allowing educators to collaborate and

correspond.

Although I did not appreciate the numerous tweets of trivial information that the Daring

Librarian constantly posted, I have found many of the technological applications that she has suggested

to be very useful within the classroom. Thus I plan to use many of these ideas for future projects in my

own curriculum. Such assignments could include: creating educational comics/animations and

Infographics or even histograms to encourage student involvement throughout the learning process.

Stephany Madlinger:

The last educator that I have been following on Twitter is Stephany Madlinger. She is a mother

of four, a former elementary school teacher, and currently the Director of Teaching and Learning in St.

Louis, Missouri. Mrs. Madlinger posts many meaningful quotes as well as interesting articles regarding

character education, leadership, technology implementation, and various teacher resources. Thus, it has

been a privilege to follow her over the past month, because it has enabled me to collect information

advice that I will utilize throughout my teaching career.

As can be seen, Mrs. Madlinger encourages the implementation of character education within

schools to promote future achievement and success among students. One such topic she believes

should be taught throughout the 21at Century classroom is Digital Citizenship. Such meaningful

applications will function to mold a generation of learners who are well aware of how to act when using

digital technology and social media. In order to implement such a topic into one’s curriculum, Mrs.

Madlinger encourages the use of Microsoft’s free lesson plans. This curriculum features digital

citizenship and intellectual property rights while offering numerous activities and best practices that

align with national academic standards and objectives. Overall, there are four units that teachers can

choose to incorporate within their current curriculum. Each unit contains activities, questions, and

assignments centered on creative rights and the importance of digital citizenship within today’s digital

world.

Furthermore, Mrs. Madlinger encourages the implementation of digital media throughout the

21st Century classroom in an attempt to make learning more relevant to students. Thus she believes that

individuals should be taught media literacy, which comprises essential skills for learning and

collaborating as “citizens of a digital world.” According to Mrs. Madlinger, media literacy involves

engaging the students with a variety of media tools and technologies, so that they will be able to

communicate and succeed within today’s digital community. Such a curriculum promotes critical

thinking and communication skills among students. Due to our ever-increasing digital

culture/environment, I agree with Mrs. Madlinger; in that, children should be taught the essentials of

media literacy within the classroom so that they will be “educated for success” and be able to

participate and collaborate with others in today’s globalized and digital world.

Not only does Mrs. Madlinger encourage students to utilize technology in the classroom, but she

also encourages educators to do so as well. One of her suggested tools that I found to be very useful is

an application known as “Doctopus,” a Google spreadsheet that can help keep teachers organized by

allowing educators to manage and share their materials on Google Drive. This digital tool allows

teachers to share the class roster or other documents with students and provide them with immediate

feedback. Overall, I have found such advice to be very useful and applicable to my future teaching

career, and I hope to implement many of these digital tools in my own curriculum.

Although I have gathered a lot of useful information throughout this assignment, I found this

project to be very time-consuming. In fact, it was at first difficult to collect all of this information,

because a few of the educators are not as faithful to their Twitter accounts as others. Despite these

initial difficulties, I was able to learn of several digital to that I can incorporate within my future

classroom.