Module 3 - assignment 2 - Twitter -the anti educator "GASP!"

I am assuming, since we are in the midst of an educational course that allows us to express our feelings and our thoughts freely, that I can say this without failing immediately. Twitter is a "dis-educator". So spell check won't support it, and I know the articles I read give great ideas for using Twitter as a way to create thoughtful, well spoken comments. Still, I feel that Twitter, at its very basic level, teaches students to over-simplify, and under-express themselves. Twitter may be a great notification tool - but I got a nice phone call from HCPS tonight that told me that schools were on a 2 hour delay tomorrow and that worked just fine. And more importantly, I worry that Twitter really does hit that digital divide of the have and have nots. With papers, and tests and assignments, etc it's easier to make sure that we get copies from those students without the digital connection, but Twitter should only, ever, be used as a back-up. I cannot image HCPS using it as a primary means of communication. Too many children in our area are lacking the resources to access it.

That doesn't mean that I don't agree with the clever ways to use it. But for every great way I think of to use it in high school, I think of a conflict. And that really challenges me. Twitter is great for reminders, but students often claim they "didn't get it". Twitter has no feedback to say whether or not they did - so I have to assume they didn't. And that puts me in an awkward situation. I can prove I posted it - I can't prove they received it. A flaw that I can't fix, versus handing them something in person or emailing it with a "confirmation". Students have twittered questions, which are great, but then they have never checked for the results. Again - there needs to be some type of confirmation.

I dislike Twitter. I don't like to post every day. It's personal, Just gotta say. Many of my kids dislike Twitter as well. It's a technology that seems to be disappearing. Just saying. Twitter is constantly hanging over your shoulder, waiting for a post, and I am not the type to use it daily. I don't want it hanging in front of me and my kids tell me they don't want me "THAT" involved in their lives...