So I "followed" several tech leaders on twitter to find out how they are using the website, and what they are linking. Here are the best links I found:
1. From Linda W Braun, using twitter name @lbraun2000, I found an amazing article entitled Mentoring Instead of Teaching: A Paradigm Shift. This article describes how students make more gains when the teacher takes on the role of mentor instead of teacher-only.
2. From Jim Lerman, using twitter name @jimlerman, I found 20 Excellent Free Tools for Interactive Classroom Collaboration. This article was just as it sounds. A list and description of 20 FREE tools that can be used to make your classroom more interactive.
3. "Maybe if we actually involved kids and teens in the decision making process, summer reading would take on a whole new purpose and meaning" Buffy Hamilton, using twitter name @buffyjhamilton. I found this quote and it immediately grabbed me. I love when we make kids part of the decision making process. We recently did a research project on Greek mythology in my fourth grade class. The other classes did their research on animals, but my kids wanted to do Greek mythology. They loved it! I have never seen a class get so excited about a project before.
4. "We should be as supportive (if not more!) of new principals as we are new teachers. How do you train a principal? Be kind. Be patient." The Daring Librarian, using twitter name @GwynethJones. I really liked this quote. New teachers get mentors from the school and district to help them get started. What do new principals get? Nothing. They are thrown into the job and expected to survive on their own.
5. From Tony Vincent, using twitter name @tonyvincent, I found an ipad app called Schoolkit Math. It is a really great app that illustrates how to solve math problems, and then lets the students solve their own. It would be perfect for elementary level kids.
6. From Kathy Schrock, using twitter name @kathyschrock, I found a link to www.ipads4teaching.net where Kathy gives different apps that can be used on the ipad to teach the different levels of Blooms.
At first I was very confused about how to read the tweets. After playing around for a while I was able to figure it out. Twitter is very user friendly. I was able to find some amazing resources that I will be able to use in the future.
Jenny - Twitter has SO MUCH information that it can be overwhelming at times! Last semester, I had to follow some educators/librarians all semester, and the professor suggested I look at my Twitter feeds each night. Oh my! I did good to look at loads of Tweets every Sunday night. But I did get TONS of ideas, even from my weekly approach. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteJenny - I consider myself a newbie too. I started it because of one of my classes in the program but have used so many good ideas. I like that you can always go back through all tweets. Being a mom of 3 kids it's hard for me to look everyday and some nights I just fall asleep and that's the time for me to reread tweets is only at night. Well I hope you enjoy twitter and your welcome to follow me if you'd like. @salinas16
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