Two years ago I signed up to Twitter at a Learning @ School Conference, but that was as far as I went. Over the 2012/2013 Christmas holidays I decided that I would take the time to explore Twitter further. It is by far the best PD that I've ever signed up for and it's free! I've also got to know some amazing teachers, some who I've even been lucky enough to meet in person at conferences and Educamp.
It wasn't long before I came across the #Kidsedchatnz blog that @PascalDresse had created. #Kidsedchatnz had the potential to provide an authentic context to teach positive digital citizenship through. It also enabled the four walls of our classroom to be taken down, allowing my year 4 class to connect, collaborate and share their learning with classes all over New Zealand. Not only did they share their learning, but they learnt so much from other children too.
Prior to tweeting live I set up a class Twitter board in my class. Initially there was the child's name and then a single space for them to post a tweet underneath. While it was great for teaching the children how to write a tweet, there was no place for conversation to take place so we ripped the names down. The names were replaced by a plastic bag filled with paper slips to write tweets on and pins dotted across the wall.
The children soon picked up how to write a tweet with a limited amount of characters and how to reply to each other, using the @ symbol. It wasn't long before our Twitter board was covered in tweets. We were ready to start tweeting live!
There was a lot of excitement prior to participating in our first #Kidsedchatnz chat. The children sat around in the campfire space, spread across cushions and couches. We decided that for our first few times that we would tweet as a class, using the IWB. I would type what the children dictated and they would take turns at sending the tweet and deciding which tweets to reply to. Tweeting as a whole class using the IWB provided a useful scaffold.
As the children's confidence and ability with tweeting grew they started to tweet in smaller groups on the iPads. #Kidsedchatnz has provided opportunities for the children to ask questions, communicate with other classes and learn how to use social media responsibly. Twitter also led to us participating in the #NZSchoolTimeLapse and exchanging class mascots with the @Palmykids.
Recently an article written by Pascal about #Kidsedchatnz was published in the Education Review magazine. This article can be viewed here (scroll to the bottom) http://goo.gl/5Z6ujo During the year I have run Twitter PD sessions in my classroom after school and have supported another class with creating a twitter account and learning how to use Twitter in the classroom.
A lot of time and effort goes into the organisation of the weekly Twitter chats and upkeep of the blog. As a result there will now be seven co-organisers of #Kidsedchatnz (the original/ regular teachers that participate with their classes in the chat). The seven co-organisers include Pascal Dresse (founder of #Kidsedchatnz) - @PascalDresse, Reid Walker -@ReidHns1, Marcelle Natusch - @MNatusch, Marnel van der Spuy - @1MvdS, Juliet Revell - @Juliet_Revell, Stephen Baker -@PalmyTeacher and me @Simone015. This was exciting news and the perfect solution. I'm looking forward to being part of a team that is committed and passionate about helping #Kidsedchatnz continue to grow.
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