These days you simply cannot ignore Twitter. It is on every advert, every website and every radio station. It is fast becoming one of the most frequently used social network tools of the 21st century due to its short, simple and concise interface. Simply type 140 characters into a message, highlight with a hash tag and everybody will be able to read it.

So what about its uses in education? Many educators, online forums, educational institutions and ICT guru’s have started to blog over recent months about its growing popularity in the education sector. There are two main ways that you can integrate Twitter in your teaching:

Step 1 make sure you have a policy: e-safety is a huge part of schools and it is vital that with all the ICT and emerging tech in schools that we keep our pupils safe. Schools will have policies in place however they need to to keep them up to date with emerging technology. With this in mind our College prepared a policy for Twitter:

…………………….. College/School/Academy Social Media Policy

We encourage teachers, students, staff to use social networking such as Twitter as a way to connect with others, share educational resources, create and curate educational content, and enhance the classroom experience. While social networking is fun and valuable, there are some risks you should keep in mind when using these tools in school. In the social media world, the lines are blurred between what is public or private, personal or professional. The leadership team have created these social networking/media guidelines for you to follow when representing the school in the virtual world.

Use good judgment

• We expect you to use good judgment in all situations.
• You must know and follow the school’s Code of Conduct and Privacy Policy.
• Regardless of your privacy settings, assume that all of the information you have shared on your social network is public information.

Be respectful

• Always treat others in a respectful, positive and considerate manner.

Be responsible and ethical

• Even though you are approved to represent the school, unless you are specifically authorized to speak on behalf of the school you should state that the views expressed in your postings, etc. are your own. Stick with discussing school-related matters that are within your area of responsibility.
• Be open about your affiliation with the school and the role/position you hold.
• If you are using a department Twitter account stick to topics relevant to your subject only
• Don’t follow students
• If replying to students use ‘us’ or ‘we’ so that your tweets are responses from your department and not one MoS
• Don’t use your own smartphones to use Twitter- use a central department computer
• Don’t share the following confidential information: Do not publish, post or release information that is considered confidential or not public. If it seems confidential, it probably is. Online “conversations” are never private. Do not use your birth date, address, and mobile phone number on any public website or in a tweet
• Private and personal information: To ensure your safety, be careful about the type and amount of personal information you provide. Avoid talking about personal schedules or situations.
• NEVER give out personal information of students and if you have your own personal Twitter account then check your privacy settings and ensure that pupils are not following you personally
• When tweeting images be respectful to any students that may not liked being photographed or who’s parents do not agree to this.
• It is generally not acceptable to post pictures of students without the expressed written consent of their parents.
• Do not post pictures of other staff without their permission.

__________________________________________________________________________

Social Media Acceptable Use Policy
…………………………………………. recognizes that access to technology in school gives students and teachers greater opportunities to learn, engage, communicate, and develop skills that will prepare them for work, life, and citizenship. We are committed to helping students develop 21st-century technology and communication skills.

To that end, we provide access to technologies for student and staff use. This Acceptable Use Policy outlines the guidelines and behaviors that users are expected to follow when using school technologies or when using personally-owned devices on the school site

• The network is intended for educational purposes.
• All activity over the network or using district technologies may be monitored and retained.
• Access to online content via the network may be restricted in accordance with our policies regulations, such as the CEOP.
• Students, if allowed access are expected to follow the same rules for good behavior and respectful conduct online as offline.
• Misuse of school resources can result in disciplinary action.
• We make a reasonable effort to ensure students’ safety and security online, but will not be held accountable for any harm or damages that result from misuse of school technologies.
• Users of the network or other technologies are expected to alert IT staff immediately of any concerns for safety or security.

Violations of this Acceptable Use Policy

Violations of this policy may have disciplinary repercussions, including:

• Suspension of network, technology, or computer privileges in extreme cases
• Notification to parents in most cases
• Detention or suspension from school and school-related activities
• Legal action and/or prosecution

I have read and understood this Acceptable Use Policy and agree to abide by it:

__________________________________________
(Staff Printed Name)

__________________________________________
(Staff Signature)

__________________________________________
(Date)

Step 2 use in PE lessons: My own GCSE & Btec Class has a Twitter account that students use for homework, research and exam questions. A great way to use it is to Tweet in homework tasks and activities, which are then used as the starter or initial discussion.

Example:This week my GCSE PE class undertook fitness testing and I got them to tweet their top 3 tests and this then formed an interesting discussion instantly on the board at the beginning of the next lesson. We were debating why certain students scored higher in some tests and not others.

There are many benefits of Twitter homework’s, pupils lives generally evolve around smart phones and the internet and because Twitter is cool, they don’t nessecarily see it as homework. It does not take that much time to tweet either and its is also good for them to find resources or websites. Again these could be tweeted in and then all responses are instantly displayed on the board at the start.

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Step 3 Departmental Twitter Accounts: Twitter has started to develop amongst educators and teachers however schools are tentative to use it as a communication tool because of it being a social network. If schools can look beyond the fact that it is totally different to Facebook  and realise its potential to let the school community know whats going on with you and your department. So where do you start and what should you consider? Questions such as what do we want to do with this account as a department, what do you hope to accomplish by using it, what do you want to communicate (EG: fixtures, clubs, results, notices, open days or homework), who will be in charge of the account and will you follow anyone and if so who (EG: do not follow pupils perhaps) ?

Great Twitter for teacher links: 

Twitter for teachers contains all the best educators and hashtags by subject area collated by educators for educators

Powerful Learning Practice have created a free downloadable PDF entitled Twitter Handbook for Teachers and is a guide for educators who are new to Twitter, or avid users wanting insights into Twitter into their classrooms.

Edudemic have listed the best teacher twitter accounts, hashtags and tis and tricks.

ACSD have produced some guidelines for education institutions so that if you are looking to implement Social Media in schools and colleges you have a solid policy.

Finally a great Blogger and Tweeter in education Nour Alkhalidy known as @missnoor28 on Twitter has created a scoopit of the best articles & websites out there for all things Social Networking, Twitter and education.

Happy Tweeting!!!!!