Twitter me this...

In the L2 classroom, teachers can utilize the social networking and microblogging service, Twitter, for a variety of purposes in order to enhance both learning and instruction. As a language teacher, I would integrate Twitter into writing assignments as a great way for students to hone their digital writing skills. The articles “28 Ways Teachers Are Using Twitter” and “Twitter for Academia” both mention how the 140-character limit requires students to be both creative and concise when conveying their intended message to an audience. Students can even write short stories or poems over Twitter, which would allow them to receive real-time feedback from their peers and instructors.

Additionally, Twitter is an excellent medium for language teachers to actively engage students in a Word of the Day. (see "28 Ways teachers Are Using Twitter") L2 teachers can tweet the Word of the Day to their students and require them to send a reply in which they use the word in a sentence. Students can also use the Word while interacting with each other over Twitter. In addition to encouraging students to use the Word of the Day outside of class, L2 teachers can also integrate the word of the day into classroom activities and assignments. Using Twitter to promote the use of a Word of the Day is an excellent way for students to incorporate new words into their vocabulary. 

Be sure to check out the two aforementioned articles for more ways to use Twitter to improve instruction both inside and outside of the classroom. 

2 Thumbs Up for Teacher 2.0

Teacher 2.0 is a space where educators from various different backgrounds can come together to share ideas and discuss ways in which they can improve their instruction by utilizing technology in the classroom. The site is easy to navigate and full of relevant information to accommodate the teacher of the 21^st Century. The site provides a list of related social networking sites, as well as book recommendations to further support teacher who desire to implement the use of technology in the classroom. Although this site is not specifically for L2, it contains an abundance of useful information that could benefit teachers of any discipline. It also doesn’t hurt that it is one of the best-designed social networking sites for teachers that I have come across thus far in my web browsing. 

The Weaver

A teacher today is like a weaver. Just as a weaver intertwines the threads of a fabric, the teacher weaves together information, ideas, and people in order to facilitate learning. Each thread, no matter how small, creates new nodes, or connecting points with other threads, and contributes to the overall quality of the fabric. In his YouTube video, “The Network is the Learning,” Siemens argues that, “adding a node to a network increases the entire network exponentially.” The more threads that a teacher is able to weave together, the stronger the fabric.

The teacher’s role as the weaver is to help students to recognize the patterns used to create the fabric and to encourage their students to add their own thread to the fabric. It is also the teacher’s responsibility as the weaver to stay current with the evolving methodologies of their field in order to continuously improve their craft. As students become accustomed to the patterns used to make the fabric by adding their own thread, they will be able to take control over their learning and make their own fabric. Over time, students will eventually be able to alter these patterns to create entirely new connections or patterns. In his article, “Connectivism: Learning in the Digital Age,” Siemens writes: “Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today.” By teaching our students how to recognize patterns and digitally collaborate with others, it is our aim as teachers to help our students develop into independent thinkers and life-long learners.