Microblogs - Twitter - An Assignment for EDTC614

I don't know about how much y'all've used Twitter in the past, but I haven't used it in ages since my school district went through a phase requiring teachers to have one (and then we promptly weren't allowed to use them anymore). 

I get very self-conscious about my tweets and don't feel that many of my comments or thoughts are that terribly worthy of sharing. I don't feel like my tweets are witty enough or interesting enough. 

I've noticed that a lot of people's tweets can get pretty whiny or demeaning to others, whether it's from celebrities or just average people who like to hide behind the seeming anonymity of social media. Not that that is an issue isolated just to Twitter. 

Also, I don't feel I have enough characters to say most of what I'd like and I battle between weird abbreviations or rewording the entire thing to fit. 

I find I have a similar problem with my Remind.com account/app. I use Remind to remind my students and their families about upcoming events, quizzes, tests, fees due, etc. With the same 140 character allotment, I find myself wrestling between sending 2 messages or using the abbreviations. Last year I had parents complain about the abbreviations (it was quite the ridiculous mess). I think that my district had intended us to use Twitter in the way we use Remind now, but I feel more comfortable with Remind than Twitter since only my students and their families can see the messages.

What is a Blog? - Assignment for EDTC614

Blog = web + log    (learn something new every day!)

I love connecting with others on my blogs. It is so fast and simple and in many cases FREE! It is so exciting to get comments from people all over the world!

I used to keep a blog in high school and college just to have a place to vent. I loved that I could make posts private, where only I could read them or select a few friends to read them and comment, or make them public. It was a great way to share the teenage/ college student years.

I have used blogs before in my elementary classroom to host student discussion topics and as a digital portfolio for Reader's Response and Literacy Circles. I kept our blog private so that only the students, myself, and their parents could view it.

I currently use Blackboard for my middle and high school students and their parents to learn Spanish through posted videos, tutorials, and infographs. I often have homebound students or students who transfer in without any previous experience with the Spanish language, but with the tools I've provided online, they can catch up or stay on track with the rest of the class.

I have used blogs for online Professional Development in my school. I've had digital meetings with discussion boards where teachers with different planning periods can meet online and discuss hot topics and work in our Professional Learning Communities.

I am currently using this blog to connect with other teachers and promote my products on teacherspayteachers.com.

I love http://creativelanguageclass.com/ because I get so many good ideas from them.

And of course, blogs are not just for education. I love food blogs! I get great recipes and advice from  http://theclothesmakethegirl.com/, http://www.againstthegrainnutrition.blogspot.com/, http://practicalpaleo.blogspot.co.uk/, http://paleomg.com/, http://www.primalpalate.com/, and my favorite http://nomnompaleo.com/. The pictures that go with the recipes are amazing and I get excited to make healthy food from scratch!

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I'd love to hear your feedback! Positive feedback and constructive criticisms are so helpful to creating things that are useful in your classrooms!