(still from my twitter account)
I was actually planning on deleting all of my social media accounts this year. I had actually done so with everything but Instagram when the semester started, and I was prompted to create a new Twitter handle for my class. Needless to say I wasn't happy. However, it has quickly turned into a valuable experience in networking tools as I make the transition from Novice/Pre-Student teaching to just student teaching.
Twitter seems like an especially poignant tool in the age of social distancing...
Twitter has allowed me to connect with a larger body of educators, whom I normally wouldn't have had access to. This has become increasingly true during Twitter chats. "A Twitter Chat is a public Twitter conversation around one unique hashtag."
This month I participated in my first ever #k12ArtChat - note this isn't my first Twitter Chat, but it was my first one that was geared directly toward art educators. This is a network that even ten years ago (Twitter is 14 years old) would not have been available to people on this platform. Or if it was, what teacher was really utilizing this tool for such a goal?
This month I participated in my first ever #k12ArtChat - note this isn't my first Twitter Chat, but it was my first one that was geared directly toward art educators. This is a network that even ten years ago (Twitter is 14 years old) would not have been available to people on this platform. Or if it was, what teacher was really utilizing this tool for such a goal?
As technology becomes an integral part of our lives, and our survival, Twitter has been carried with it. One of the earlier forms of social media (though not as early to the game as MySpace or Facebook) I would never have thought some 14 years later that I would be sitting here writing a blog about the amazing benefits of Twitter. Especially during a pandemic. Cue the music.
(still from a recent Twitter chat I had)
I don't think we should be ashamed of finding inspiration in popular culture...
The Zeitgeist is the Zeitgeist for a reason, and I don't think we should be ashamed of finding inspiration in popular culture. I learned this lesson through my use of Twitter. Twitter itself is positioned in this realm as politicians, celebrities, and influencers alike utilize the tool to get their message across to the masses. It can be easy to overlook the potential for an education among the clatter, but it's there, and I encourage you to seek it out.
As some schools plan for not re-opening until possibly Fall 2021, Twitter seems like a poignant tool in the age of social distancing. With these new stipulations in place, it's high time for us as educators to embrace these tools for just this reason. Our students are already engaged in this technology, and it can only serve to benefit them, and our role as their teachers, to invest in these as well. This is how we can pull from our students daily experiences to get them re-engaged in learning.
Much like my recent Twitter chat, where the subject steered toward pop star’s role in innovation, one person commented that their students tell them they don't like art, but that same student can turn around and describe all the aesthetics of the concert they just went to. Our students are already engaging in art on a level that interests them, and that isn't something that we should be afraid of. Instead, I feel this is something that we as educators can use toward our advantage.
I was recently working on a unit in my novice placement (prior to schools closing down) that had students who had little exposure to the Elements and Principles attempt to define them in modern day album cover art. The results were really satisfying. Students were engaged, and ready to share their knowledge, and whether it was the right answer or not (and they usually were right!) their responses were really in depth for middle schoolers.
Much like my recent Twitter chat, where the subject steered toward pop star’s role in innovation, one person commented that their students tell them they don't like art, but that same student can turn around and describe all the aesthetics of the concert they just went to. Our students are already engaging in art on a level that interests them, and that isn't something that we should be afraid of. Instead, I feel this is something that we as educators can use toward our advantage.
I was recently working on a unit in my novice placement (prior to schools closing down) that had students who had little exposure to the Elements and Principles attempt to define them in modern day album cover art. The results were really satisfying. Students were engaged, and ready to share their knowledge, and whether it was the right answer or not (and they usually were right!) their responses were really in depth for middle schoolers.
It does stand to reason then, that when we as educators take the time to engage in what our students are engaging in, we will find a world of possibilities to educate them in the discipline we are working with. Twitter is just one of those tools, and it provides you with a virtual PLC group in a sense, especially with education chats like the one I discussed in this blog. So don't listen to the hype about Twitter trolls, and go make yourself an account, and start getting engaged.
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