Using Twitter in the Classroom
Here are some guidelines for using Twitter
in the classroom:
1. Model safe and responsible behavior by tweeting about
positive discoveries.
2. Follow people who are sharing their professional work and
discoveries about their experiences that enhance learning.
3. Get permission from parents before tweeting images of children
in photos and video.
4. Don’t use students’ names with photos and videos that you tweet
out. The students in my class know that when we use video, we
do not use names. I thought this would be a difficult concept to
comprehend, but the children understood this right away.
5. Be selective about whom you follow. On my class Twitter account,
I follow only kindergarten classrooms that are using Twitter with
their students.
6. Use correct spelling, and avoid text speech.
When another parent called us from South Africa, the
students had an opportunity to learn about another culture. And when one student stayed home sick, he Skyped
in because he was missing kindergarten and wanted to
ask what everyone was doing. This is a great way for my
students and their families to experience the value of connecting with others around the world.
Twitter. We also have a class Twitter account
(@vermontkkids123), and we tweet through-
out the day about whatever students feel is
important. Parents who follow us on Twitter
can see what we are up to and can ask their child about it
at home.
Using Real-World Tools
I use Twitter, Skype, blogs, podcasts, Voice Thread, wikis,
video, and real-life experiences that help capture the es-
sence of what we are exploring and discovering in kin-
dergarten. My students are comfortable using a variety
of technologies to share, reflect, and connect with others
because I model this all day. I get my parents involved prior
to the start of kindergarten. This way everyone has time to
read, listen, and interact with the web tools and sites I have
developed so they can experience what it will be like for
them and their children.
Throughout our busy days, my students get comfortable
with the tools and discover how they can enhance their
learning when they use them in meaningful, safe ways.
I see evidence of this every day, in many ways. Here are
some examples:
• When we began to create self-portraits, a student suggested we take pictures of ourselves using the iPad camera.
• One student asked me to Google the word bike because
he wanted to see how to draw one.
• A student sent me a podcast via the iPad to ask if she
could change her seat on the rug.
• Another child asked his mother to videorecord him reading so he could show me how he uses his finger to point
to the words he is reading.
• A parent used her iPhone to take a photo of her child’s handwriting so she could ask me why his letters were reversed.
• At home, a student playing “kindergarten” set up her
dolls collaborating with iPads.
These are just some of the ways that illustrate the benefits
of teaching my students and their families how to become
good digital citizens.
—Sharon E. Davison teaches kindergarten at the Allen Brook School in
Williston, Vermont. She uses a variety of technologies that help engage,
enhance, and inspire children to pursue their ideas, and she
focuses on digital citizenship.
