If you follow my blog then maybe you read that this year I moved to a different district. I absolutely love how innovative an on board everyone is! With that being said, our school decided to push out Twitter as our focus of classroom communication. I am all things technology and couldn’t contain my excitement with this idea! Every teacher, specials teachers, and even secretaries created their own twitter handle and account to post!
Here are some of the ways that I use Twitter in the classroom:
“Hey Suzy, what did you learn in school today?” –Mom
“uh……nothing really, lunch was good” —-student
Yes, you know this happens. Too often parents want to know what is happening in school but their kids just ‘can’t remember’. I push out at least ONE tweet a day that at least involves what our kids have completed in class. This is a great way for parents to see that you are not just sitting at your desk but allow the parents to see kids collaboratively working together and enjoying themselves in group work!
Parents also have a wonderful conversation starter with their kids when they get home from school!
We have some AWESOME specials teachers. Our librarian, PE teacher, and Music teacher love to tweet what is happening in their classroom as well. I can re-tweet their post to my feed so parents can see the information!
I am the first to admit it when I say that I sometimes maybe may forget to remind a parent about a specific date. I could also spend about an hour creating the perfect flyer.
Borders and font choices are just as important as the content, am I right? 😉
Here are some examples:
My parents LOVE this way of communication! I don’t think there are enough fingers in the world to count how many time a child has lost a piece of paper that was supposed be sent home. My parents receive the tweet that important information is going home in their PAWS folder and they know that they need to check it and ask their child where this paper can be found.
If the paper gets lost, now it’s totally fine because the parent was still able to receive the information!
As a reward or a classroom job, allow a child to tweet what they learned from any lesson today!
What a great reflection tool for kids!
Okay, you read this post but all you were thinking was:
I think this is fascinating but my parents are NOT going to want to get on Twitter.
False, I know they all play Candy Crush and Farmville on Facebook—
they are ENTIRELY capable of creating an account 😉
But maybe they just don’t want to.
Have you ever heard of Fast Follow?
Fast Follow is a way for parents to follow everything you post on Twitter via text message. When you post, they will get the update from their phone. If you attach a photo to the link, it will post a link in the message for the parents to click and view.
Last year, I used Remind101 and I did enjoy it. I immediately discarded it when I realized how versatile Twitter can be! With Fast Follow, It works exactly like remind 101 except I can now post pictures and create a community within my school and even district!
I created this video to demonstrate how to set it up.
These are one of the first tutorial videos I have ever created so patience please 😉
I also created this Twitter tutorial that I sent out to parents if they wanted to create an account.
I hope this sparks motivation to try it out in your classroom!
Chat with your teammates to see if you can jumpstart it together!
If you would like some ideas check out these twitter handles:
Check out more APPy ideas by clicking the link below!
I have read them and they’re awesome!
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Amber is veteran teacher that built a successful TPT business before being recruited to lead social media and content marketing strategy for two Ed-Tech brands.
She loves using her unique knowledge of the teacher marketing space to help teachers grow and scale their business with the right digital marketing strategies.
Amber, I love this! So many great ideas. I am still using Remind & I can post pictures to those that follow, but I am going to check out other options. Thanks so much! Karen Planet Happy Smiles
Amber!!! This week I have been reading and rereading virtually every blog post you’ve ever made haha – you are inspiring! So many great ideas!! I feel like I’m getting hours of professional development from the comfort of my couch. 🙂 I definitely like the idea of having a twitter account for the classroom for parents. Is it difficult to have two different twitter handles, your classroom and your personal? How do you go back and forth? We’re so lucky to have such a creative and techy gal in our district! I might be copying like everything you do… 🙂
Nancy Alvarez
February 17, 2015 at 12:08 amLove this post. I wish more teachers used Twitter with their students. Thanks for sharing great information and good examples.
Jennifer Kimbrell
February 17, 2015 at 1:20 amGreat post! I agree with Nancy. I think using Twitter is a great idea. Thanks for linking up.
Destiny Christian
February 17, 2015 at 2:28 amLove this post Amber! Lots of great tips.
Destiny
Terrific Teaching and Learning
Sandy Cangelosi
February 17, 2015 at 3:14 amThanks, Amber. I love reading about using Twitter in the classroom. Sandy
Suzy Palmer
February 17, 2015 at 3:20 amThis is amazing! Now I just need to wait until my district gets on board!
On the Go Teacher Mama
Alison Karen
February 22, 2015 at 11:27 pmAmber, I love this! So many great ideas. I am still using Remind & I can post pictures to those that follow, but I am going to check out other options. Thanks so much!
Karen
Planet Happy Smiles
Sami
July 14, 2016 at 7:48 pmAmber!!! This week I have been reading and rereading virtually every blog post you’ve ever made haha – you are inspiring! So many great ideas!! I feel like I’m getting hours of professional development from the comfort of my couch. 🙂 I definitely like the idea of having a twitter account for the classroom for parents. Is it difficult to have two different twitter handles, your classroom and your personal? How do you go back and forth? We’re so lucky to have such a creative and techy gal in our district! I might be copying like everything you do… 🙂