Are you having a hard time convincing parents of the value of Twitter?
A group of teachers in South west Ontario have developed a free software application Twiducate that provides a secure environment for teacher to use to teach students how to twitter. Here is your chance to let student explore social networking in a classroom setting.
From the twiducate team:
With so many students using social media and promoting unprotected profiles, we thought twiducate might help teach proper online etiquette in schools.
Twiducate.com is a free resource for educators. Developed in 2009, our goal is to create a medium for teachers and students to continue their learning outside the classroom. We attempt to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners in a social networking environment.
We understand that many social networking sites exist, however the control of content is limited for teachers. Also, many of these social networking sites are continuously being blocked by school firewalls and administrators.Our service proudly differs in that only teachers and students may view classroom posts, thus creating a private network for you and your students and a safer online learning environment.
Many students already use social networking sites. Why not give them an opportunity to develop their learning in this type of environment but with control over visibility and content. Talk about student engagement!
It is a fact that students will need social networking, blogging and basic internet skills to compete in today’s business world.
As educators with an interest in web 2.0, we understand how education has and will continue to change. We want to provide an opportunity for our students to explore web 2.0 but are constantly facing barriers with existing social networking sites.
Not only will twiducate.com give your students the web 2.0 skills they need, but also expand their reading, writing, thoughts and ideas beyond the classroom setting.
Writing from near Windsor, Ontario
-The Twiducate Team
They also pointed me the way to a Youtube video to give you a better picture. Here is Twiducate explained.
