Twitter: a useful tool

After using Twitter for a few weeks, I have to admit that it has exceeded my expectations. I am glad that that I gave it a chance, and now see it as a tool that can be useful for me both in the classroom, and in everyday life. Going into it, I expected to see the same old status updates like you encounter on FaceBook all the time, but instead I was pleasantly surprised. Getting to choose who you follow gives you a lot more control of what kind of information you see. Of course, there are still times when you run across those completely irrelevant updates, but I have to say for the most part they are quite informative and useful. Having to constantly follow everyone’s updates can be very time consuming and I don’t want to be glued to a computer all day. In moderation though, it is a useful tool for coworkers and professionals alike to stay in touch and offer valuable information to each other. I see it as being more useful for me personally as a professional tool rather than simply a social tool, but to each his own. For me, I can see Twitter helping me to both learn and teach in the classroom. Being able to see updates from experienced members of the teaching community will help me with lesson plans and classroom management. Also, outside of classroom hours it provides an avenue of communication to students to help remind them of assignments and to help with the organization of group projects I know that Twitter has exceeded my expectations and provides a large upside for use within my classroom. Give it a chance, and most likely it can be a beneficial tool for both professional and social use.