It started out with setting up Instagram and them asking me my interests. Easy enough. Cute animals? You know it! I click follow and immediately my feed is filled with stories about the Kardashians and I am watching a video about bras you can glue on to yourself for maximum control and support! How did I get here??? Well, it turns out the lady who runs the Cute animals page has a thing for the Kardashians and strange fashion choices. I've learned my first lesson--Twitter is not a cut and dry land and you can quickly end up somewhere you never intended to. So, I have to think and plan carefully before using it in my classroom. That's all I need on Parent-Teacher Conference night..."Mrs. Tisa, could you explain how your assignment caused my daughter to glue.."
Some initial thoughts, however:
- I could use this to send out quick reminders to students about upcoming assignments/events!
- I could find interesting cultural items from Spanish speaking cultures and use the links/pictures as supplements to my classroom without actually having to interact with students or have them interact with Twitter.
- I could use this as a way for students to reach out to me without having to give out my phone number. They could reach out with questions, etc.
- Bonus work: I could pose questions and have students respond for bonus points. I could re-tweet cultural posts and students could respond/reflect on it.
Long story short, there is lots of potential (albeit risky at times) here in Twittersville. I need to do more research, make more contacts, find true resources instead of glue loving, Kardashian fan girls.
Those glued on bras sound a bit painful.... Like instagram, lots of possibilities and some pitfalls too. Experiment and see what works for you! And definitely use it to look for relevant materials for your own teaching. Did you find any hashtag related to spanish language teaching or language teaching in general?
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