Twitter...las posibilidades...

     For me, Twitter is a new technology experience that the majority of my students use daily.  On any given day, students will write "follow me @...." on my whiteboard, leaving their twitter handle for all to see.  I believe that Twitter is like a double edged sword because it can lead to endless possibilities for learning to happen; however, it can also function like Facebook and with teenagers this leads to conflicts.  In the article, A Must Have Guide On Using Twitter In Your Classroom, there are a list of various ways you can use Twitter for educational purposes which are broken down into the following categories: communication, organization, resources, writing skills, and twitter exercises.  Prior to the start of this semester I had thought about incorporating Twitter into my classroom and teaching because it is so widely used by my students.  Some possible ways of doing this are listed in the article such as using Twitter as a bulletin board, using it to keep students in the loop about assignments and instant feedback.  When I imagine using Twitter in my classroom I see it as a way to get my students to practice using Spanish outside the classroom.  I have even polled several classes and asked if their homework assignments were to follow me on Twitter and to respond to my Tweets would they.  Every time I ask this question I receive a huge "yes" from students.
     Another use of Twitter is to help me increase my network of resources and other educators.  I had never thought of using Twitter as a means of professional development until I started my account.  According to the article, A Great Cheat Sheet For Teachers, there are numerous hashtags specifically for educators.  These hashtags can help me filter the information I am looking at and also help me to send out specific information to my students if I choose to use Twitter in my classroom.  Within my first few days of using Twitter I started following another Spanish teacher from New Hampshire and she tweeted at me "Welcome to Twitter, the best professional development available".  That statement sums up Twitter for educators.  I believe you can use Twitter for two distinct functions, social or professional.  I can see how the social function can lead to undesired situations for educators/students, although, if Twitter is used appropriately for a professional growth function I think the possibilities are endless.