A couple of months ago, I was at a tech conference for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Technology Coordinators.  One of the frustrations mentioned to the panel was the district blocking of so many sites like YouTube, Facebook, etc.  One surprise revelation came from the panel: They have no intention of blocking Twitter.  They see it as a potential educational tool.  So do I.

Communicating with Parents/Students:

A teacher can set up a classroom Twitter account like: WilsonRm200, and set it to protected/private, so that only those the teacher approve can see the updates (like parents, students, administrators, etc).  The teacher could post general updates, such as:

• Homework Assignments and their due dates, so there are no surprises.
• The weekly/monthly classroom newsletter link (possibly in the form of a blog post, or a PDF hosted on a free server)
• General announcements/reminders of upcoming days off, or to look for the progress report that’s being handed out that day (so the child doesn’t hide it)
• Nice random updates, like “Today was a great day. Everyone completed their assignments so we had some free time.”
• Retweeting news from other twitter accounts that is relevant, like from BreakingNews, CNN, or other educational twitter accounts that would benefit those reading.

Obviously, this type account would stay away from embarrassing kids, like “Johnny Bravo didn’t do his homework so everyone missed recess.  Thank HIM for that!” Mentioning kids is fine, since it’s private, as long as it’s approved, first name, last initial, and you’re being POSITIVE.  ”James L. was the student of the week! If you see him, please congratulate him on his success! Your kid can be next!”

This would be a great tool, since the message is short (140 characters or less), so it gets to the point, and parents can get the updates on their phone or computer instantly.

How else could Twitter be used in the classroom?  Does the classroom have a place for it?  Leave a comment below.