As most teachers do, I like to reflect upon my days as a high school student. I look back upon what my interests, passions, and future plans were when I was a teen. Oh how things have changed! Often times I think of how bored I became in classes in which I was not engaged. Have you ever wondered what you would be like in today's education setting? Have you ever wondered how engaged today's teen is when they come to your class? Maybe you can take a couple of tips from this video. Take a look at this and see if anything pops out at you.
To me, that is pretty useful information for any teacher to know! For the past couple of years I have been using Twitter to communicate with my students OUTSIDE of class. This is the easiest and most productive way to communicate with our 21st Century Learners. Believe it or not, there are more students that have Twitter over email. Below are the best methods I use when implementing Twitter for my classroom.
#1 Golden Rule for Twitter-
I ALWAYS tell my students that they can follow me, but I WILL NOT follow them back. Aside from the legal liabilities we would have as teachers, I do not need to know all the high school gossip. I think this also gives the kids some faith in me that if they post something (even if they shouldn't have) that their teachers will not know about it. Believe it or not, most students actually care what we think!
Reminders-
Frequently I will remind students to check class websites (i.e. - TL Campus or WebAssign) for homework or helpful videos. As teachers, we need to guide our students to resources that help them understand new material they learned in classes. I have sent some individual students specific websites that they can use to help them with a new topic. I will also tweet out helpful websites or other "interesting" tidbits about math that they may find interesting.
Answering Student Questions-
The use of a smartphone with a camera is one of the most useful tools a student can use to ask teachers questions when they have them. Students have really taken to the ability of asking me questions they may have while working on their homework. I have had great success with students sending me pictures of their work where I can see what they have done. This is the best way for me to review their work and help them with whatever mistake they may have.
Videos-
For my upper level classes I will tweet out videos of example problems I have done from their notes. I find that if I send a tweet of the video, as well as post it on my website, students are more apt to use it as a "reminder"/study aid for helping them with their homework. If a student asks me a specific question, then I can solve it on my iPad and give them instructions as I solve the problem. I can them tweet it back to that student. I also like to tweet out some funny videos that I find or that I have created in the past. This just keeps the students engaged and keeps them watching my feed.
Use Hashtags-
I use 4 main hashtags for my math classes--#tlmath #tlprecalc #tlalg2 #tlalg1 These hashtags allow students to search for any tweets that relate just to their class. Hashtags are also useful for students to share any questions they have for other Twitter users to help them solve their problem.
Student Accomplishments-
Need I say more?!?! What a way to get student engagement outside of class. Who doesn't like having their accomplishments broadcast to the world?
Finally, here is a little video that may make you laugh, cry, or just run away from Twitter. Ha! With that being said, if you have any questions, please feel free to connect with me (@MrKline_TL) or email me. I'll be looking for you on Twitter soon!
Frequently I will remind students to check class websites (i.e. - TL Campus or WebAssign) for homework or helpful videos. As teachers, we need to guide our students to resources that help them understand new material they learned in classes. I have sent some individual students specific websites that they can use to help them with a new topic. I will also tweet out helpful websites or other "interesting" tidbits about math that they may find interesting.The use of a smartphone with a camera is one of the most useful tools a student can use to ask teachers questions when they have them. Students have really taken to the ability of asking me questions they may have while working on their homework. I have had great success with students sending me pictures of their work where I can see what they have done. This is the best way for me to review their work and help them with whatever mistake they may have.
Videos-
For my upper level classes I will tweet out videos of example problems I have done from their notes. I find that if I send a tweet of the video, as well as post it on my website, students are more apt to use it as a "reminder"/study aid for helping them with their homework. If a student asks me a specific question, then I can solve it on my iPad and give them instructions as I solve the problem. I can them tweet it back to that student. I also like to tweet out some funny videos that I find or that I have created in the past. This just keeps the students engaged and keeps them watching my feed.
Use Hashtags-
I use 4 main hashtags for my math classes--#tlmath #tlprecalc #tlalg2 #tlalg1 These hashtags allow students to search for any tweets that relate just to their class. Hashtags are also useful for students to share any questions they have for other Twitter users to help them solve their problem.
Student Accomplishments-
Need I say more?!?! What a way to get student engagement outside of class. Who doesn't like having their accomplishments broadcast to the world?
Finally, here is a little video that may make you laugh, cry, or just run away from Twitter. Ha! With that being said, if you have any questions, please feel free to connect with me (@MrKline_TL) or email me. I'll be looking for you on Twitter soon!
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