For my lesson plan designed to teach high school age students an introduction to the stock market and investing, I have chosen Twitter as my online collaborative communication tool. 

 

How it will be used:

First, I as the educator will create a group account so that only the designated class will be allowed to see our discussion and tweets. Then during designated class times we will put the group feed up on the board so that anyone in the class can tweet in comments or questions related to the lecture. Outside of class lectures, twitter will be used to announce extra credit opportunities, share course related links and material, and give practice test questions.

 

Why the tool was chosen:

I chose Twitter for several reasons. First and foremost it is a free tool and many of the students will already be familiar with its operation. Also, Twitter is available on almost any device whether that be a tablet, cell phone, or computer making it easier to access by the students. Because users are limited to 140 characters it will force students to make their point quickly and effectively which will save time and help the students communicate effeciently. My hope is that Twitter will help students who are otherwise uncomfortable contributing to class discussion feel more comfortable sharing their opinion. Finally, we are studying a subject that is based around real time information that updates on a non-stop basis (stocks), thus Twitter is the perfect tool because it prepares the students with the ability to read and respond to real time information. 

 

How this will enhance student learning: 

Twitter will enhance student learning in my class in a few different ways. First it will help increase the amount of communication from student to student as well as from student to teacher. By using this tool, students will also be able to increase their skill in digital writing. Finally Twitter will greatly faciliate the ability to change my in class lectures from being passive to being active. 

 

How to determine its success: 

Determining the success of Twitter in my classroom will be largely subjective. However, I will be able to tell if class participation, active learning, and motivation have increased fairly easily based on my observations. Finally I will create an end of the year survey to find out what the students thought about the addition of Twitter to the classroom.