Twitter for Tutoring?
January 12, 2017
How to use Twitter while tutoring students
What is Twitter?
Most teens have heard about and most possibly use Twitter already. As an online social networking and microblogging platform, it allows users to communicate using messages of up to 140 characters from a computer or mobile device. Millions use it to keep abreast of a variety of topics.
Is it Good for Learning?
Twitter can help encourage and grow communication skills. Distilling what you want to say down to only 140 characters is not as easy as some might believe. Critical thinking and writing skills need to be engaged to effectively communicate using twitter. Keeping up with the fast pace conversations and trying to answer a question in one sentence encourages children to focus on the key points.
How to Use it…
As a tutor you want your students to learn to think deeper and besides learning answers, learn to foster their own questions. To further their learning past what you go over in your lessons together.
As a tutor you can use Twitter with your student to…
If you have several students you are tutoring that are on the same level and subject, get them to interact with each other, using a specific hashtag for each topic of conversation, you can monitor and encourage their conversation and help them help one-another using this collaborative platform.
Before proceeding with Twitter, run it by the parents as it is a public platform. You are able to have private conversations through the use of direct messaging.
Most teens have heard about and most possibly use Twitter already. As an online social networking and microblogging platform, it allows users to communicate using messages of up to 140 characters from a computer or mobile device. Millions use it to keep abreast of a variety of topics.
Is it Good for Learning?
Twitter can help encourage and grow communication skills. Distilling what you want to say down to only 140 characters is not as easy as some might believe. Critical thinking and writing skills need to be engaged to effectively communicate using twitter. Keeping up with the fast pace conversations and trying to answer a question in one sentence encourages children to focus on the key points.
How to Use it…
As a tutor you want your students to learn to think deeper and besides learning answers, learn to foster their own questions. To further their learning past what you go over in your lessons together.
As a tutor you can use Twitter with your student to…
- Foster interesting, insightful conversations between you and your student apart from your regular time together.
- Encourage your student to ask you questions whenever they have them.
- Ask them questions in between sessions to promote constant thought.
- Instead of assigning homework to your student, test them with occasional pop quiz questions using Twitter
If you have several students you are tutoring that are on the same level and subject, get them to interact with each other, using a specific hashtag for each topic of conversation, you can monitor and encourage their conversation and help them help one-another using this collaborative platform.
Before proceeding with Twitter, run it by the parents as it is a public platform. You are able to have private conversations through the use of direct messaging.
