Twitter, Edmodo, Jing, Wordle and How it Effects Education

Technology has become a very essential piece of education today.  Everyday classrooms around the world are using the computer to enhance student learning.  Many internet sites are useful in order to make learning more interesting and fun.  Websites such as Twitter, Edmodo, Jing, and Wordle are excellent ways to promote the use of technology in the classroom.  It is important for teachers to make technology a vital part of their teaching curriculum.

Twitter is a very popular social media site.  It allows it's users to send and read text-based posts which are called "tweets".  It is a service that is free to all users.  This website would be a excellent way to keep in contact with your students about classroom assignments and homework when the students are not in school.  It could also be used to get in contact with people all over the world.  I personally use Twitter quite often.  It is a great way for me to keep in touch with old friends and to keep me up to date on the latest news and events.  Twitter can be used for class discussions and to ask questions.  Organizing study groups is also a lot easier on social media sites because it helps students keep in touch with their partners outside of school.  According to the Social Learning Blog, students GPA's and grades went up by using Twitter in the classroom.  When using Twitter in the classroom it is important for the professors and teachers to engage in the program as well.  It must also be educationally relevant and structured.  The most important thing is to make sure that if a teacher uses it on a regular basis, it must be required for the students to use as well.  This video shows how successful Twitter can be in a classroom and how it can get every student involved even in a large college class.

Edmodo is a new website that I have only came in contact with since I have been an education major.  It is a social learning network for teachers, students, and parents.  The layout is very similar to Facebook and it is easy to navigate.  Teachers use this program for students to submit assignments and to get notes about class events and assignments.  For me Edmodo has been a great way to turn in assignments and to keep in contact with my professor outside of class.  It also keeps records of all grades and projects turned in. A website called 15 Ways to Use Edmodo in the Classroom gives great insight on how the program can enhance a students learning experience.  Some of the ideas that they give to teachers are that students can create groups and work on projects thru the website.  Many teachers use the program as a way to put mini lessons and assignments so that their students can start working as soon as they enter the room.  Teachers can also upload videos and can keep track of their students activities.

Jing is a really interesting tool that is great to use when a teacher needs pictures or videos from the Internet.  It is an application that takes screenshots of something on your computer screen.  It can also record screen-casts and collaborate with Snagit and Camtasia (which is older versions but can be used for editing and sharing).  This is a excellent tool to use when creating Power points and ActivInspire flip charts.  For example if a you found a great moving image that accurately displays the water cycle but there is no other way to get it, you can Jing it.  It is a really simple application to use.  How to use Jing in your Classroom blog tells about the great ways to incorporate Jing in a teacher's lesson plan.  The program makes it so easy for students to record presentations or solving a math problem for future reference.

Wordle is a program in which words can be generated into what the website calls "word clouds".  It is a fun and creative way to put important spelling or vocabulary words in a fun format.  On Edudemic it shows many interesting ideas to connect Wordle to any lesson plan.  One example is to create a book or poetry quiz for students to guess the poem or story.  It is a fun and interactive tool that can be use to enhance any lesson.


Twitter, Edmodo, Jing and Worlde are wonderful tools that can make learning more fun for students.  Wether it is keeping better contact with students outside of school or even enhancing Power points the Internet is excellent to find new ways to make lessons more creative.  Hopefully schools will push students, teachers, and parents to use these types of technology to help a student succeed.