Saturday, July 7, 2012

In Minnesota schools, teaching and tweeting.

Mahtomedi High School language arts teacher Sarah Lorntson, who uses Twitter to communicate with students, says students complain "that I don't tweet enough." ( Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)



Mahtomedi High School language arts teacher Sarah Lorntson reminds her students about assignment deadlines and shares writing advice even when they're not in her classroom.
She takes to the social media sphere, using Twitter to capture students' attention in 140 characters or less.
Lorntson said many of her students have smartphones and are constantly plugged into social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. So, it made sense for her to start tweeting, giving her another way to reach out to them.
"My students' constant complaint is that I don't tweet enough," Lorntson said. "They want more communication from us. They want that engagement."
As the use of social media explodes, school districts are grappling with if and how teachers should connect with students via online networking. Some, like New York City public schools, ban it. But in Minnesota, few districts have policies governing use of social media. Some teachers find social media useful, but others worry it can bring students and teachers a little too close for comfort.

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