Twitter defines itself as a "real-time information network that connects you to the latest information about what you find interesting."
A common perception of Twitter is that it's just a place for people to talk about what they're doing. But the site's best function is as a news source.
Twitter has been instrumental in reporting across the border in Reynosa and it was the source for information during the election protests in Iran.
For educators and bloggers, the best reason to use Twitter is for gathering information from reputable sources that can benefit the classroom and the blog.
I was skeptical at first about Twitter. I'm already up-keeping my Facebook page. I have the blog. Why add something else to my virtual life?
Then I started Tweeting regularly, and I noticed that some of my people/groups I follow provided valuable information in a functional format.
I was getting updates from three different local news outlets during last Friday's incident in Matamoros.
I am up-to-date on the U.S. Department of State because Hillary Clinton's PR team posts tweets about once an hour, so I'm ready for the G-20 Summit.
I avoided ground beef from H.E.B.
And I'm current on the Texas Legislature (via their account @TX_Legislature), which is especially important with the upcoming session.
Twitter is also a great way to easily update your blog, via the Twitter widget like I use.
If you decide to have students follow you on Twitter, you'll want to closely monitor any comments they post. The site doesn't offer the type of comment moderation Blogger brings to the table. But in 140 characters, the damage would be minimal and you will probably have a good idea who did the Tweeting (all Twitter users must have an account with a valid e-mail address).
On a closing note, check out this cool video Twitter recently put on YouTube to promote its latest upgrade.
Interesting idea, but how realistic would it be to use it withing the district? Is Twitter blocked? Or is this something to just use outside of the school day?
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