TeachersFirst's Twitter for Teachers Resources
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Twitter is more than just a way to share meaningless tweets about your breakfast cereal or the traffic on the way to school. Who has time for that?
For teachers, Twitter can be a powerful tool for professional development via quick sharing with peers and colleagues whom you may or may not know face to face. Imagine running across other teachers who teach the same things you do and exchanging ideas quickly, just when you need them. Imagine putting out a plea for help and finding others willing to suggest a solution. Imagine sharing the cool finds you have discovered on TeachersFirst or a great way to make dictionary skills engaging in your classroom. We all know the best tidbits are from other teachers, and Twitter gives you a way to create a network to constantly learn.
Twitter can also be an effective way to communicate from your class to other classrooms around the globe. If Twitter is accessible inside your school's filtering, your class Twitter account can be an avenue to interact with classrooms across town or across the world. Share tweets about today's news, environmental data, hot topic opinions, and more using hashtags, mentions, or messages.
You do not have to know everything about Twitter to get started. Start out with this video for an overview of Twitter. Set up a Twitter account, and follow @teachersfirst or @cshively (the leader of TeachersFirst's Thinking Teachers) to find other TeachersFirst enthusiasts. You can even follow Geo and Meri of Globetracker's Mission to become familiar with how Twitter works. You can access Twitter on their own web site or use one of the many free Twitter sharing tools available for free download. There are many Twitter tools for mobile devices, also free. But you don't need to worry about any of these to start.
Hashtags (those funny looking things with a #pound sign at the start) are a way of indicating that a tweet pertains to a certain topic or a certain interest group/event. The term hashtag refers to the funny # mark. To see what a hashtag does, try searching for one of these education-specific hashtags on Twitter (or watch them flying by in the little "widget" below. Try to figure out what each specialty is: #edchat, #ntchat, #ptchat, #midleved, #gtchat, #edtech, #artsed, #musedchat, #mathchat, #engchat, #EduIT . This is a good way to find people with common interests so you can FOLLOW them. Send a tweet including your favorite hashtag, telling people you are new to Twitter. Teachers who have searches set up for that hashtag will see your message, and you will receive a warm welcome!
For an easy way to get started, try Across the World Once a Week, a simple way to learn about the details of daily life in other cultures. The #xw1w hashtag pulls the weekly question and responses together in a quick Twitter search. Learn more about it here.
This collection of resources will give you some ideas and places to find other educators using Twitter and some of the various other tools that maximize Twitter's power for specific sharing, such as photos. We even have some reviews of Twitter-alternatives for those who prefer to stay in an education-only network.
Set up a Twitter account, follow @teachersfirst, and we'll send you a tweet!
26 Results | sort by:
Storify - Xavier Damman and Burt Herman
Grades
6 to 12
tag(s): collages (7), digital storytelling (40), social networking (50), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
Use Storify to create weekly stories of tweets, pictures, and videos from your classroom that can be sent home to parents. Create a story of learning based on a collaboration between classrooms as a way to chronicle and reflect on the collaboration. Build a semester or year-long "story" of your class tweets and activities as a sort of online scrapbook that can be shared with families. Invite other classrooms to take part in writing a collaborative story 140 characters at a time using Twitter. Create a story for any classroom topic such as current events, American History, famous mathematicians, or astronomy. Search for tweets from a favorite author or politician to tell his/her story.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Tweet Topic Explorer - Neoformix
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): charts and graphs (129), chat (22), microblogging (21), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
This would be fantastic projected on a whiteboard (or projector) for the class to see. Use this resource by entering a Twitter username (such as a politician's) to stay up to date about what they are discussing (or to realize the overuse of certain talking points!) Enter an author's user name to follow current discussions. Use this resource over a period of several weeks to identify the changing trends or changes in stories over time. Follow any Twitter name that can shed light on any academic topic for use in a class. Does your class use twitter? Enter the username(s) to create a word cloud of what your class has done. Use the word cloud and Tweets to reflect on what has been learned in the class. Follow what a famous person or writer is tweeting. See this list of tweeting authors for some possibilities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hashonomy - Hashonomy
Grades
9 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): microblogging (21), social networking (50), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
Use this resource to search Twitter as a source for information and links on a topic. Use to identify trending topics as well as the change in the discussion over time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Memolane - Eric Lagier, Nikolaj Hald Nielsen, and Harry Vang
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): digital storytelling (40), flickr (8), images (115), internet safety (67), multimedia (17), timelines (35), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
If you have a classroom Twitter account reviewed here, you could conduct a class review for a unit of study or test, using twitter for the questions and answers, and Memolane will post that on your "Memolane." Use the embed code to share it on your website, so all of your students can see the review from home. Embedding avoids any issues with seeing inappropriate content. Drama teachers can video skits or plays and upload them to your classroom YouTube or Vimeo account throughout the year. Art and photography teachers can upload images and photos of student work for a year in review. Select a few public Memolanes to share during lessons about digital footprints and Internet safety. Ask student groups how much they can learn about their assigned "person" whom they do not even know. How might this information help or hurt that person if viewed by a potential employer or college admissions officer? The message: trails on the Internet can be good or bad, depending upon what you share.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Explania - explania.com
Grades
4 to 12Embed the videos easily into your blog, wiki, or site for use with students. This site does allow users to submit their own videos, but this appears to be for a fee and mainly for businesses looking to advertise or promote a service.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): advertising (19), animation (38), myths and legends (8), sports (55), twitter (23), video (66)
In the Classroom
Share these short videos on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Find videos related to the content you are teaching. For example, the "What is the flu?" animation gives a great amount of information about colds and flu. Begin your lesson by asking students common statements or questions about what they understand about the cold or the flu. Show the results on a board and then share the video. (Embedding it in a site that you already have is a really great idea.) Identify the actual information to counter the common misconceptions. Find great animations related to technology and using computer and Web 2.0 tools. Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Have them report information learned to the others. Challenge groups to create an animated explanation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge animation tools here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twitario - Twitario
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): twitter (23)
In the Classroom
This site could be used for students to submit an assignment of tweets they did over a period of time. Or use this site during a presentation on how Twitter works, showing the information contained in a succession of tweets. Have students submit a record of tweets that show their learning over time. Follow a Twitter user who provides resource links for a diary of resources that have been shared. Trace the tweets from the White House, any high profile political figure, or author over a period of time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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What is your #Eduwin? - EdReach
Grades
K to 12It takes almost no time to share an #Eduwin. Build media and public awareness of positive teaching stories (and reflect on the good about your career after a bad day). This site provides a simple place to enter your #Eduwin without accessing your Twitter account. It will automatically take you to Twitter where you can log in and send the tweet. You can read the #eduwin messages of others on the same page. Want to know more about Twitter? See TeachersFirst's Twitter for Teachers. Note that #Eduwin can also be added as a hashtag on student projects, wikis, and anywhere search engines might find it! Of course, you can add the #Eduwin hashtag to tweets sent from any Twitter tool, not just from this page.
tag(s): twitter (23)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your favorites for quick access. Make a habit of reflecting on --and sharing -- the positive steps you witness on a daily basis. Tell your teacher friends. Watch this page for positive words (and ideas) from teachers you have never met.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twextra - Viewista, Inc.
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): twitter (23)
In the Classroom
Use this tool for teacher professional development. If using with students, be sure to discuss appropriate use prior to sending a message.Use longer version of texts to translate large passages into another language. Organize comments, questions, backchannel, and feedback posted by students in a class. More students will be engaged in discussion using this flexible format. Use to create more student centered learning and increase engagement. Looking for more ways to use Twitter in the classroom? Read more about Twitter from TeachersFirst's Twitter for Teachers page.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Requires registration/log in (NO email)
Products can be shared by URL
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Snag Learnng - Snagfilms LLC
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use videos in your subject area to inform students about the topic being studied. Share on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Consider using backchannel while viewing the documentary to allow students to express their feelings and thoughts. Try using the site "Get your students talking about what you want them to talk about" (reviewed here). Follow viewing with blog posts that include student reactions and topics related to what has been discussed in class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Literary Tweets: 100+ of the Best Authors on Twitter - Mashable
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
A whole class twitter account can follow favorite authors and authors' read through of class novels. The class can direct message them with questions about the book: how they came to write the story, are the characters based on anyone the author knows, and any other ideas your students might come up with. In literature circles a different member of the group each week can Twitter the author of the book as part of the "author analyzer" job. Learn more about Twitter and find many more ways to use it from TeachersFirst's Twitter for Teachers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Screenr - Articulate Global, Inc.
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Press the Record button. Use and re-size the rectangle on the screen to determine the portion to be recorded. Press the "Record" button again to begin recording and then "Done" when completed. Be sure to allow time for the site to process the recording.Use this free resource by using a twitter account to login. No other registration option is available. Check our review of Twitter for information including creating a Twitter account.
Create screencasts showing how to use do various computer tasks or use web sites. Demonstrate how to use a web site or software for specific tasks within the classroom. For example, show how to use the comment feature in Word for annotating class notes, reading passages, and other items. Make how-to demos for instructions on using and navigating your class home page, class wiki or blog, or other applications you wish the students to use in creation of their own projects. By narrating how you want students to navigate through a certain site or section, you can eliminate confusion, provide an opportunity for students to replay the information as a refresher for the future, and maintain a record for absent students. Software demonstrations add an increased flexibility with helping students who need it while allowing students to begin and work at their own pace. Added audio is a great asset for many students including learning support and those who might need to access the material in smaller "chunks." Use this site for students to give "tours" of their own wiki or blog page. The presentation of their web-based projects and resources can be more engaging. Use screencasts to critique or show the validity of websites, identify a resource site they believe is most valuable, or explain how to navigate an online game. Social studies teachers could assign students to critique a political candidate's web page using a screencast. Reading/language arts teachers could have student teams analyze a web site to show biased language, etc. For a powerful writing experience, have students "think aloud" their writing choices as they record a screencast of a revision or writing session. You will probably need to model this process, but writing will NEVER be the same! Math teachers using software such as Geometer's Sketchpad could have students create their own narrated demonstrations of geometry concepts as review (and to save as future learning aids). Teachers at any level can create screencasts to demonstrate a computer skill or assignment, such as for a center in your classroom or in a computer lab. Students can replay the "tutorial" on their own from your class web page and follow the directions.
Edge Features:
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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Across the World Once a Week: Collaborative Microblogging for Cross-Cultural Understanding - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): cross cultural understanding (38), cultures (62), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
Join XW1W with your class using a single Twitter account or any blog or wiki tool where you can share student answers to the weekly question. If you cannot access Twitter at school, that is not a problem. You do not even have to use Twitter (though this is a great way dip your toes into Twitter). See the FAQ page for specific hints on using XW1W with your students. Share the XW1W idea with teaching colleagues in other places, and perhaps even with families to try at home. Want to learn more about Twitter and teaching. See TeachersFirst's Twitter for Teachers page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cybraryman Educational Chats on Twitter - Cybraryman
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): chat (22), social networking (50), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
New to Twitter? Learn more about Twitter and how to set up searches to see these chats on your own time using suggestions and other reviewed resources included on TeachersFirst's Twitter for Teachers page.Comments
So helpful, very completeFrances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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Paper.li - Smallrivers
Grades
K to 12tag(s): twitter (23)
In the Classroom
Keep track of trending topics for your students or for yourself. Keep up to date professionally by following several education hashtags such as #edchat. Links posted using the hashtag appear in your "newspaper" and can be viewed at any time. Share your daily newspaper with others by clicking on "Promote it" or "Share." You do not need to ever send a "tweet" to read and learn.Teachers at any level can see what their teaching peers have to say. Secondary teachers can share the latest on a political topic, disaster, or other hot news story by creating a "newspaper" about it for students to investigate. You can even "embed" the newspaper on your class web page or wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tweetdeck - Tweetdeck
Grades
K to 12tag(s): social networking (50), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
Set up Tweetdeck by providing information such as your Twitter and Facebook name. Create columns for the various conversations such as "All Friends," "Facebook status updates," "Direct Messages," and more. Click the Create a Column icon to follow all the tweets of a particular person or a specific hashtag. Simply enter the username or the hashtag to instantly follow all conversations. Have more than one twitter account? No problem. Follow all conversations with the same Tweetdeck by clicking the "Add more accounts" icon in the upper left. Click "Settings" in the upper right to customize your Tweetdeck. Hover over the picture of each follower for simple commands such as "Reply," "Retweet," "Direct Message," or "Other actions" to manage the user or the tweet given. Easily follow or unfollow others. Create a column for each hashtag for the best way to keep track of chats on education topics.Use Tweetdeck to manage some of the best professional development around. Check that Twitter is accessible at school. Twitter is safest used as a whole class activity for better safety. If using Twitter with students, be sure you are following the students in order to monitor their use. Tweetdeck is the best way to manage any type of Twitter conversation.
Manage Twitter with Tweetdeck to follow great Professional development, learn from other like educators, and challenge thinking and learning to greatly impact the lives of your students. Create connections that help you grow as an individual and an educator. Find more ideas in TeachersFirst's Twitter review.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Requires download/installation of software
Comments
My favorite way to see everything going on with Twitter without going crazy watching too many tweets moving too quickly. We set up searches on curriculum-related science or current events topics and check them on a projector at the start of class.Thinking, PA, Grades: 5 - 10
Makes Twitter so much easier to follow.Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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Get your students talking about what you want them to talk about - Kevin Jarrett and Mary Ann Devine
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): chat (22), microblogging (21)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your favorites to revisit before you try backchannel chat and afterward as a refresher to improve the process. You might even want to share it with other teachers in your school.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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New Teacher Chat - Lisa Dabbs
Grades
K to 12tag(s): social networking (50), substitutes (13), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
Users must be have a Twitter account to follow the chat. Alternately, view the chat archive. To really receive value from the group, be sure to participate in the scheduled chats. View the wiki for times and days.Use Twitter and the New Teacher Chat for the best professional development available today. Create connections with other educators, both new and seasoned, to support and challenge you as you begin your teaching career. Consider also joining Edutopia's New Teacher Group as well.
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Twitter - Twitter, Inc.
Grades
K to 12tag(s): microblogging (21), social networking (50)
In the Classroom
Though overwhelming, be sure to start out slow and look at conversations that catch your eye. Follow people with experience in your areas of interest to gain from the conversations. Start off by following @teachersfirst or @cshively (our leader). Learn about hashtags -- ways to mark and follow conversations on a specific topic. For example, the #ntchat tag is for new and pre-service teachers and the #edchat hashtag is for all teachers. Participate in these chats which are scheduled at certain days and times. Find archived tweets from these chats to learn from some wonderful and motivated teachers weh it is convenient for YOU. Use other Twitter applications such As Twapper Keeper reviewed hereto archive specific tweets.Safety/security: Users can decide whether they wish to make their tweets private or public. As people follow you, decide whether you want them to see your tweets or block them easily to prevent access. Wondering about the usefulness of Twitter with students? Be sure to check with your District's policies. Many Districts block Twitter. If using it with students, be sure that you can monitor their use in class and follow their conversations. Be sure students understand the appropriate and inappropriate use of this service as well as consequences. Here is a blog post about using Twitter in the classroom.
Bring teaching and learning to new heights by using this service as a great form of professional development. At conferences, use Twitter as a backchannel to expand upon thoughts and ideas during presentations and after. Have a question to ask others' opinion about? Throw it out to Twitter to see the great perspectives given by those who follow you.
If your school does permit Twitter, consider using your teacher account to send updates to other teachers across the country or across the globe. A whole-class, teacher account is the most likely way to gain permission to use Twitter in school, especially if you can demonstrate specific projects. That can be as simple as making sure you and that teacher are FOLLOWING each other, then sending a direct message (start the tweet with D and the other teacher's twitter name) or creating a groups with your own hashtag for a project such as daily weather updates. Even if you are not "following" someone, you can send them a tweet using @theirtwittername in the body of the message. This is called a "mention" but can be seen by others, too. Compare what your class is observing in today's weather, which topics you will be discussing today, or ask for another class's opinions on a current events issue. Ask for updates about local concerns, such as talking to California schools about wildfires in their area or a Maine school about a blizzard. Challenge another class to tweet the feelings of a literacy character, such as Hamlet, and respond as Ophelia, all in 140 characters or less.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
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The Daily Shoot - James Duncan Davidson & Mike Clark
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): critical thinking (55), images (115), photography (96), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
Have photography students participate in the daily assignments. Since Twitter is the choice platform for sharing, be sure to check with a school administrator before setting up individual accounts. Consider setting up a single teacher account and have all the students use that login to avoid safety concerns. Check to make sure your school does not block this site. To avoid some of the above issues create your own class blog for students to post their photos to. Use tools such as Glogster as a space for students to post and share their photos reviewed here. Have students write poetry or short stories to accompany their photograph. Publish student work online using a tool such as Bookr (reviewed here) reviewed here. Participating photography students may enjoy saving their work in online portfolios such as Pullfoilio (reviewed here). Remember to get parent permission before posting any student work on a sharing site and to post a link to projects on the class website.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TodaysMeet - James Socol
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): microblogging (21), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
No special skills needed except the ability to create a name for your chat and to share the URL with others. Create "room" by giving it a name; decide how long you want it to last; and add a Twitter hashtag (optional). The room name becomes part of the URL. For example, The room called tfedge has URL http://todaysmeet.com/tfedge. Give participants the room URL. They join in simply by entering a name (or initials, to keep it safe) and clicking Join.Use backchannel chat on laptops during a video or student presentations. Pose questions for all to answer/discuss in the backchannel, or ask students to pose their own "I wonder if..." questions as they watch and listen. Keep every student engaged and THINKING as an active listener. The first time you use backchannel, you will want to establish some etiquette and accountability rules, such as respectful language and constructive criticism. Assign students to watch a news program or political show and have a backchannel chat during the broadcast. Revisit the chat on a projector in class the next day or post the chat transcript to a class blog or wiki and have students respond further in blog posts or on the wiki discussion tab. The advantage of backchannel chat is that every student has a voice, no matter how shy.
In world language classes or even autistic support class, have students backchannel descriptions of what they see as classmates act out a scene from a video, using new language vocabulary and/or describing the feelings of the actors. In studying literature, collaborate with another class to have students role-play a chat between two characters or - in history class - between soldiers on two sides of the Civil War or different sides of the Scopes Money trial. Make brevity an impetus for well-focused thoughts and use instantaneous response as an incentive for engagement.
Edge Features:
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
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