Twitter...for Education??

I found a blog post regarding the use of Twitter, Twitter: Search Engine for People and Solutions. I read about Will Richardson’s fondness of Twitter but I could not really fathom how it would be useful in the classroom. Personally, I know Twitter as the place where a celebrity may post something interesting. I guess I saw Twitter as a “fun” place, but not as a serious tool for a teacher, and this blog post opened my eyes.
As I read the account I was immediately drawn in by the “reality” of the event! There was an issue late on a Friday afternoon and fixing it was imperative. The normal avenue of fixing the problem just would not work because of distance, time, and prior commitments. Nevertheless, quick responses on Twitter made it possible to find a solution.
It was not a problem directly related to education but it offered me an example of the power of Twitter and made me view Twitter through a serious lens. The writer talked of Twitter in the essence of Connectivism. The post said, “This, my friends, is yet another reason to network and network well. It is not all about followers - there are way too many people on Twitter obsessed with this insane follower hoo-haa - but it is about real people helping real other people in ways that are easy for them when it is convenient.”
It was great to see Siemens sentiments in this post regarding Twitter. There will be times when we as teachers may need an answer but due to circumstances the answer may not be available in our own thoughts or experiences or even those of friends or colleagues, but there is that possibility of an answer out there in all the “randomness” of Twitter.
{This post by Vicki A. Davis was found on The Cool Cat Teacher Blog!}