Unit 2- Assignment 2- Digging Deeper Into the Mainstays

I choose three different websites to review and share my experiences with. I have listed them below:

Twitter: I chose to review Twitter for my social review because out of the many social platforms, I have the least experience with Twitter. I have used the others in my Web 2.o decertification class, and thought that it might be wise to branch out a bit!  I found that Twitter is pretty easy to use and manage, as long as you remember to literally keep it short and sweet. You have a maximum of 60 characters that you can include in your "tweet" including, symbols, hashtags, etc. Most major websites and apps have their own Twitter account, or "handle" and follow many other similar companies or individuals. I love that once you follow someone, they have an option to either follow you back or not follow at all. You have lots of choice and freedoms when using Twitter. I love that you can access information so quickly using the Twitter app and can update and post within seconds. 

I found myself trolling others tweets and posts and getting lost in the Twitter web for hours! A large number of teachers in my building use Twitter and many of them use it as a platform to communicate with parents and other educators. Photos, videos and other cool classroom happenings are tweeted and often re-tweeted. I found that if you were a teacher of older aged students, you could easily have them use their smartphone and follow the class page or retweet and tag current/relevant events to the other class members. You could easily create a classroom hashtag to help students identify the content that they would search and tweet. I love that Twitter makes it so easy to search hashtags and tweets. This could make finding certain information readily accessible to find. I have posted a sample tweet below from Manal, my coworker who I interviewed this week. See below:

VoiceThread:  VoiceThread is an excellent tool that I have had a small bit of experience with. VoiceThread does just what it means!  It allows you to record your voice and add images to create a presentation or lead a discussion. VoiceThread can be accessed by computer or via the VT app, which is available in the app store. VoiceThread is much more engaging to use than typing a post or paper  because you are able to make your point by using voice and not words. I find that words are at times great, but voice recordings with inflection and tone are much more engaging to read and respond to. 

VoiceThread would be an excellent alternative to papers and summaries because it would provide students the opportunity to plan, write, and execute a recording that is relevant to the material being covered. 

Pinterest:   Pinterest is an excellent organizational tool that allows you to create boards that house links to content. This content can be found on blogs, other websites, or places on the web. You can house images, videos, and just about anything else that you can imagine on Pinterest. Others can follow and re-pin your posts, similar to what can you on Twitter. Pinterest gives you the ability to create "secret boards" to house information that you may not want others to see! I love this for planning things that I may not be ready to implement or try. The one way that I would use Pinterest in my classroom, would be to organize Pinboards that are based on the current concepts being taught in class. Students could pin and repin to gather information and sources for a project or topic!