The document is about a Twitter session presented to parents on using Twitter in a kindergarten classroom. The session covered why educators use Twitter, what skills students can develop using Twitter, how hashtags work, and how to set up an account. The goals of the session were to explain how teachers use Twitter, discuss the skills kids can gain, define hashtags, and help parents create accounts. Teachers can use Twitter to share learning, participate in discussions, and document field trips, and it helps students improve writing, communication, collaboration and reading skills.

1. Twitter Session
Are you ready to tweet?
Kindergarten Pizza Night
February 13, 2014
Presented by:
SLU Kindergarten Team
(@msalvarezkinder) (@lisaakl1)

2. What is Twitter?
Twitter is an online social networking service used by millions
of people to send short messages to groups of friends. Twitter
users can send and read text-based messages of up to 140
characters.
Follow this link for an online user manual created by Pete
Cashmore @Mashable: http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/

3. Today's Goals:
Goal 1: Why are educators using
Twitter?
Goal 2: What skills will my children
learn?
Goal 3: What are Hashtags?
Goal 4: Set up an account.

4. Goal 1: Why Are Educators Using
Twitter?
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Share learning with parents
Participate in real-time, authentic learning
Consolidate students learning (summarize)
Teach digital citizenship
Teach print concepts, numeracy, literacy skills
Learn & share with other kids
Keep parents informed
Live tweets from field trips
Explore technology as a communication tools

5. How to use Twitter in the Classrom?
60 ideas
Simple Ways to Use Twitter
Twitter in the Kindergarten Classroom

6. Goal 2: What Skills Will My Children
Develop?
●
●
●
●
●
summarizing skills
writing skills
communication skills (start conversation with others)
collaboration skills
reading skills (making connections, comparing &
contrasting)
geography
●
● tweet our learning, discoveries, questions
● connect (authors, classes, parents)

7. Moving from Teacher-Directed to
Student-Directed

8. Connecting & Learning With Others

9. Student-Driven Tweets
To demonstrate to the parents when their child is writing the tweet on their own, I
created a hashtag (#kindertweet). It reminds us that the student is writing the tweet
by themselves. In addition, it provides me with an opportunity to assess the
students’ thinking, writing and reading skills and abilities!

10. Goal 3: What are Hashtags # ?
The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark
keyword or topic in a Tweet. Any Twitter user
can follow topics with hashtags or create a #.
Those hashtags (usually) mean something and
are a great way to get a tweet to appear in
search results or discussion monitoring.
Class Hashtag: #kwhiteboard
Educational Hashtags

11. Global Projects
#werememberocsb
#signsoffall
#lunchbox
#decocsb
#olympicsocsb
#kinderchat
#GRA13

12. Goal 4: Creating an Account
● go to twitter.com
● choose your name (real name, or interest name, or
organization)
● choose a password - 6 characters or more
● add your profile information, edit your bio, add a
picture, include a link to your blog or website...
● be selective on who to follow (what are your
interests?)
● you can block people
● find 1 person & see who they follow
● it's ok to be a lurker
● tweet: articles, links, resources, questions, answers,
● take & give

13. Who should I follow?
@msalvarezkinder
@ottcatholicsb
@LisaAkl1
@
@stlukeottawa

14. Twitter Lingo
Follow
Following
@Sign
DM: direct message
#Hashtag
RT: retweet

15. Guidelines & Best Practices
● Personal, Professional and Classroom
Accounts
● Use appropriate language
● Think before tweeting or retweeting!
● Your profile is open for all to see - but you can
make your account private (your tweets).
● Be respectful. Be fair. Be accurate.
● Give credit (via, @mention)

16. Are You a Twitter Beginner?
Follow this link for 100’s of tips, apps
and resources for teachers on Twitter!
http://www.onlinecollegedegrees.
org/2009/03/19/100-tips-apps-andresources-for-teachers-on-twitter/