Twitter as Teacher's Aid: Guest Blog by Feature Writer David Wetzel

Posted by Emma Worbeck Apr 16, 2009

Suite101 launched its Twitter profile in February 2009 to share our editorial musings with our social-media savvy writers and readers. The response has been positive: we're gaining an ever-increasing following and are enjoying the opportunity to connect with our audience on a more personal level.

David Wetzel, Feature Writer for Continuing Education, shares his thoughts on how Twitter can also be advantageous as a way to connect in other work environments.

“Twitter is a Web 2.0 tool teachers can use to support teaching and learning, 140 characters at a time. Twitter works best when teachers or students organize a trusted network of other teachers and students to share information and collect data.

The value of Twitter is real-time networking for teachers, by allowing teachers to communicate beyond their classroom walls for support from other educators. This can occur when a teacher requests assistance for curriculum support or shares a teachable moment with colleagues.

One example of how students used Twitter was writing a collaborative story with other students around the world and country. This was a progressive writing exercise where students agreed to take turns contributing to the story.

Biz Stone, a co-founder of Twitter, stated in an interview with Steven Colbert, ‘Twitter is the service we didn’t know we needed until we had it.’ (Steven Colbert Show, April 2, 2009)

Using Twitter to Break Down Classroom Isolation provides additional information and applications of Twitter in education.”