Tweeting Your Way to Better Grades

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singapore escorts of AL 12:42PM January 17, 2011

The public has clearly stated they want their children well schooled in the basics Reading, Writing, and Arithmatic. If in doubt relook at A Nation at Risk, Why Johnny Can't Read, and Why Johnny Still Can't Read.
Children need to focus on how to critically think first, studies in Austria are showing that this trend towards technology in classroom is actually causing reading difficulties especially in elementary and middle school age children.
So why should we promote a practice that is proving to be detrimental to our children? Especially when we are removing other engaging social items from school budgets and programs
As for internet safety lesson that should be the province of the parent using these programs is akin to cell phone usage.

Eldon Golden of MD 11:00PM October 08, 2010

n response to David's comment above, I agree with him completely. Social networking sites should not be used for classroom assignments in school. The only place they have in the classroom is to check if students have done their assigned readings or not.
Yes the Internet opens students up to predators but that is why the Internet should be used in the classroom to some extent. Students need to learn how to use it safely so they don’t get themselves into trouble. But the traditional learning methods should still predominately be used. Reading books and so forth. This is where students learn how to focus on a subject and use their creative juices to problem solve, which is what life is about most of the time. How to get over this hurdle and what is next. Digital media annihilates this focus because there are so many other stimuli that are attacking the reader via advertisements, sound effects, pop-ups, multiple web browsing and video. No one can learn to concentrate when so much is going on and this is part of the reason why people today always expect instant-gratification. The Internet gives us that present but life isn’t always like that. Life is about thinking and making the right decisions in order to lead a happy life so we feel fulfilled when we die.
The solution to the problem of where our education system should side is a merry meeting or happy medium between the two. The traditional form allows students to concentrate, focus and imagine with ease and creates better “out-of-the-box” thinking. Whereas digital media literacy allows students to multi-task, connect with the world and find the answers to nearly every question imaginable. If a middle ground can be found between the two in a learning environment then learning will be much more effective. The most important thing to focus on is of course our future.

Thomas Pacino of CA 3:45AM May 25, 2010

i think kids should just pay atention on the subject their on.

Bob carter of MI 11:52AM January 19, 2010

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jennavieve of KS 2:54AM December 03, 2009

When aasked to write a 6 word novel, Ernest Hemingway posed this:
"For sale, baby shoes, never worn."
Imagine what some of our budding young writers might do with the additional 112 characters Twitter allows.
The challenge of education has always been to get the students involved and keep them that way. If Twitter or any other social media site helps to accomplish that then I can only say hooray. I have marvelled for years that students will complete reading assignments online while they resist opening books with all the power of their being.
Is Twitter limited? Of course. Limited, but so powerful if used creatively.

David Sousa of ME 9:00AM August 04, 2009

Tony: I see Twitter (and the other technologies discussed) as supplementing the classroom experience, not supplanting it. A quick review of student tweets can help an educator assess, prior to class, whether a) students are current in their reading assignments and b) if there are any obvious misconceptions about the passages. This knowledge could then help focus the classroom discussion on a more in-depth exploration of the text.
Brian: I agree with the criticism of using the "internet predator" strawman as a reason to reject these technologies. Aren't they just as likely to be approached by a "physical predator" on their walks home from the school or the bus stop?

David Henkhaus of IA 7:57AM August 04, 2009

uNkItd

Lkefnnrx of DE 9:53AM July 16, 2009

This winter my school district experienced several snow days, which impacted my unit on Othello. I wanted to finish the play before the kids took off for their week long February break; because of the snow days, there was no way this was feasible. Out of desperation, I created a wikispace without really knowing what I was doing and told the kids that they would have to post comments and thoughts on Acts 4 and 5 of the play (we were practicing socratic seminars, so the students who were the discussion leaders for those groups had to perform the same role online). It was an amazing experience. I read insightful comments from students who hated speaking in class but have powerful ideas, and they felt comfortable communicating in this format. Kids were able to be themselves, and I felt like I had an excellent opportunity to get to know my more shy students because they had let their guard down. One girl even told me, "She never had so much fun doing homework, that it didn't even feel like homework." Because it was such a success, I continued the wikispace discussion for the kids to use on their book circle novels in the spring. This summer my advanced placement literature students will be blogging away on the wikispace for an online discussion of Hamlet. It has completely added a new dimension of communication in the classroom not only between teachers and students but students to students.

Brooke Dobson of CA 8:02PM June 18, 2009