Twiducate

With the widespread use of Twitter and other social media tools, it’s no surprise that people in education are finding ways to incorporate microbloging and other like applications into the classroom.

We’d like to introduce you to Twiducate, a tool for teachers and students to communicate in an online classroom where ideas and thoughts can be shared and discussed and collaboration is encouraged. We had the chance to ask Twiducate’s Brian a few questions about the project.

Tell us about the people behind Twiducate. What made you decide to get together and start this social networking site for schools?
Twiducate started as a means to teach students the value and importance of online privacy. It is also meant to be a new medium for teachers to promote critical thinking, provide feedback and allow students to collaborate on their work – in a microblogging format. The value for teachers using Twiducate is that the content is private and students never have to enter an email address.

Twiducate seems like it’s a great tool for opening lines of communication between teachers and students. What are some other ways Twiducate can improve the overall learning experience?
First and foremost is student engagement. If kids are interested in the topic, they are more likely to write about it. All of our students are using Facebook already. Twiducate can improve learning experiences by allowing students to publish work, collaborate on work and provide feedback to each other, outside of the classroom in a private / secure manner. We have used Twiducate for story starters, open response questions, brainstorming sessions and general communication.

Okay, so we know it’s an awesome tool…but how exactly does Twiducate work? Just like Twitter? What additional tools does Twiducate have that are specific to teachers and students?
Twiducate is a micro-blogging tool. What makes it unique is the ability for teachers to create private networks. After signing up, teachers add students to their classrooms. A password is generated for students to login, thus never entering personal details, such as email. After all the accounts are created, students and teachers alike can begin posting messages. Twiducate also offers the ability for teachers to “pin” posts to keep them at the top of the timeline. Students and teachers alike can also comment on posts. Teachers can share links in the “bookmarks” section for their students.

Twiducate seems to be geared for middle and high schoolers. Can teachers and students in higher education use Twiducate?
Ironically, we are K-8 teachers and Twiducate was developed for this audience. After many suggestions, the ability to add multiple classes per teacher account was added – ideally for high school. Initially Twiducate was to be used in elementary schools where students must learn how to remain safe online and learn how to blog in simplest forms. It has had a huge following by high school and post secondary school teachers and students.

What else should we know about Twiducate?
Twiducate is still in beta mode and may contain bugs. We are constantly testing and editing the tool to meet the standards of different school board policies. We encourage ideas for functionality and tools. As is the purpose for the use of Twiducate, it in itself is a collaborative project by all teachers in all countries.

Want more information on Twiducate? Check out the website or sign up if you’re ready to use it in your classroom.

• Share this post