Kelsey Lengel

EDCI 270
Marquetta
Case 2: Toolkit for Teachers as Modern Learners - Twitter
The tool that was assigned to our wiki group was Twitter. Our group had the opportunity
to participate in the group and global wiki, a web 2.0 tool that allows many people to
collaboratively work on and write content together in the same document. This was used to
discuss with other groups how to use our tool at various levels of education. The wiki made it
extremely simple for our group to insert information into the chart and type what we thought
Twitter would be used for in elementary, middle, and high school. It was also helpful in that it
allowed each of us to see what the other discussion groups believed what Twitter could be used
for. There were some limitations to the wiki, despite its great qualities as a web 2.0 tool. For
example, one person from my group logged onto the wiki with the intent of editing the
information in the chart on Blackboard. Someone from another group was already on the wiki,
which meant that the first person who saved has their information shown. This means that only
one person can edit information at a time, which would be very frustrating and time consuming
for the members in all discussion groups who have to wait to have information saved in the wiki.
Wikis, as mentioned before, are a great tool for promoting collaboration between
students. Wikis allow students to work together and discuss each others opinions about certain
topics assigned to them. Wikis could help assist student learning by letting them see what their
peers think about the subject at hand. It allows them to express their ideas and brainstorm freely
at length whenever and wherever they are. Wikis also let students work on the same document
so they dont have to go back and create different versions. This tool most importantly gives
students the opportunity to be creative. Wikis go beyond essays in terms of representing the
information, let students show their thinking through various forms of media and work together
in collaboration with their peers.
My tool aligns with the third ISTE standard (section b) for teachers which says that
teachers should be able to collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members
using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation. Twitter would allow
for teachers to communicate and work together with these groups of people easily. For example,
at the elementary level, teachers could use Twitter as a way to inform parents about different
activities and homework that the student needs to be aware of. The ISTE standard for students
that Twitter relates to the most is the second standard (section a), which reads that students
should, interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of
digital environment and media. At the high school level, Twitter would allow students the
opportunity to band together, discuss assignments with each other, and ask the teacher questions
for clarification.
Our suggested activities and examples line up with what the ISTE standards are asking
both teachers and students to know. The way that our group suggests how Twitter should be used
promotes the collaboration between students, which would further improve their learning and
understanding. It would also allow teachers to create the digital age learning experiences that all
students need in the 21st century by incorporating this web 2.0 tool in and out of the classroom.