Whilst perusing through my Twitter network the other day I discovered Priory Community School’s own account. This then led to linking up with Jason Edwards (their Deputy Headteacher) and then onto their school website. Within 2 minutes my brain started firing up: ‘That looks interesting… I like the idea of that… I’ve always wanted to set that up but never got around to it…’ You see, schools are doing great things – but we rarely hear about them. School Twitter accounts could stop that.
One of the greatest enemies to the teaching profession is working in isolation! Being aware of what goes on outside of your own classroom’s walls can often be difficult, never mind what goes on in other schools and whilst the enemy is isolation, one of our greatest friends is the concept of networking. Exposure to new ways of working enables us to tailor them to our own ways of working – that’s why I’m so excited that 11 of our teachers are going to Cramlington’s festival of Learning.
School websites are often static, boring things that do not represent the learning and excitement that goes on within their buildings. We are extremely proud of ours as it celebrates the community of our student’s learning and achievements, and also communicates with parents.
Click here to view my own school’s Twitter account
Wouldn’t it be great if all schools had Twitter accounts that celebrated such things, and allowed others to learn from them? If you’re reading this and your school does have a Twitter account please get in touch with me.
Would you use #SchoolTwitter when replying on Twitter or add the details to this Google Doc. Lets see if we can build a network of schools where we can read all about the great things that go on within them.
* Read about how we used social networking during our school fire crisis here
Links:
Showcasing whole school events through ‘CoverItLive’
Sharing practice: C Magazine
Parental engagement: Facebook, Twitter & Web2.0 apps
Working in isolation is indeed an enemy of teaching. I started working with computers at university in 1975 and started using them in class in 1981. I have seen them grow and expand as technology improved over the years.
I started using the internet in class in the late 80s using a personal account at the rate of $5 an hour (and with a threat of harm from the Principal if my reassurance the school only had to pay for the local call cost made by my early modem was wrong). Since then, online has burgeoned to what it is today. How else could I now sit at home in Australia, view the work of children in the UK, comment on their posts and share ideas with their teachers?
As much as I sometimes despise technology when I have to work on one of my network computers, or that of a friend, what they can do far outweighs any annoyance when they can’t. Your blog post is excellent as is the use of Twitter made by your school. I think Australia, at least in some states, is starting to grow their use of Twitter and blogging.
I wait to see more.
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