A Note About Success

This morning the Library Ladies met with our intern for the Spring 2012 semester.  She expressed an interest in helping teachers be successful in integrating technology into their curriculum.  Intern Jess caused me to think about our idea of success when it comes to both ours and our students’ class performance.  We get so bogged down in finding the best technology that that the true success lies in trying something new or not giving up when things go wrong such as the LCD bulb burning out.  Thomas Edison once said that "success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration." 

What do you think?

Tweets for Teachers

Educators, do you have a Twitter account?  If not, what are you waiting for? If you think Twitter is only for the Kardashians and Ashton Kutchers of the world, you're wrong.  Twitter is a useful tool for everyone to share ideas, links and news.

For eductors, Twitter can be used:

• to reate a Q&A feed for students.  This is especially beneficial to keep a running record of tips the night before a big exam.
• as a form of communication between teachers and parents.
• a live Tweet session for extra credit
• upload photos and links that will increase engagement in your content area and boost the self-esteem of your students.
• You'll find additional tips here.

One of the greatest tools for teachers are Twitter feeds for advice.  There are numerous experts in the education field who research educational trends and the only thing you have to do is follow their feed. You will find countless list of super educators online but the following link breaks up feeds by subject area.



Another valuable Twitter tool are hastags.  A hastag is simply "a convenient way of tagging and organizing ideas simply by sticking a number sign in front of any word. In Twitter, hash tags automatically become links to the entire stream of Tweets that share the same #hashtag." Source 

There are in infinite number of hastags and starting with A-Z Dictionary of Educational Twitter Hashtags is a lovely place to find exactly what you're looking for.

As you can see, Twitter goes beyond Beyonce's unborn child @BeyonceJayFetus ("I AM… Baby Fierce").  Twitter is a fantastic opportunity to reach out to students, parents and colleagues. 

Please follow me on Twitter @HolisticTechie should you have any questions about this or other posts on TTWIT.

READER RESPONSE: Please list your Twitter handle in the comments section. 

Big Thinkers

Big thinkers are not lacking in education. What’s lacking are big mouths. I have chosen a person who is not afraid to speak his mind as my Technology Education Hero of the Week. Professor Henry Jenkins of USC’s School of Communication and Journalism explains why it is important for teachers and schools not to shut out important instructional tools such as YouTube, video games and social networking in their classroom.

Thank you, Professor Jenkins for being a big thinker.