Social+Networking


 * What is Twiducate? **



Twiducate is a social networking site that provides a private micro-blogging service specifically for schools and teachers. Similar to twitter, with a few distinct differences ...

• Teachers can create a private closed system to network with their class. • The teacher can moderate all posts and remove any if unwanted.


 * Why Use Twiducate? **

One of the "big" ideas underpinning e-Learning pedagogy (as I understand it), is that kids learn and communicate using social media. As Joan Dalton says, "I learn with and through my friends" (collective intelligence). Twiducate is a tool that has the potential to encourage this kind of collaboration.


 * What are the features of Twiducate? **

//Some other features include ... //

• Teachers can "pin" their posts to keep them at the top of the timeline. • Teachers can share relevant links with students in the "bookmarks" section. • Students can upload their own avatars to identify their "accounts". • Teachers can also open and operate multiple classes on one account. • Check out the "public" button for questions / comments.

The teacher sets up the account (it's free) and then adds the class to the account. Each student receives a generated password to access the account.

Here is a useful video that explains twiducate.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">media type="youtube" key="1biNVGyS2Iw" height="312" width="512"

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 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">How can you use twiducate in the classroom? **

//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Some suggestions ... //

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">• Sharing weekly homelearning tasks with your class. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">• Groups of students can collaborate on tasks sharing ideas. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">• Whole class brainstorming sessions. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">• Publishing work

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">The chat facility is a great feature that allows students, who may not readily share their ideas in a whole class discussion, to participate and contribute their opinions and ideas in a less threatening environment.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Here also is an example of students using the chat feature to discuss aspects of their homelearning.

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Click on the link below for some more excellent ideas ...

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">[|Twiducate in the Classroom] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">One of the limitations of twiducate (at the moment) is that you can't private message an individual student. I was hoping to use this option to offer feedback / feedforward on students work. I'm told by the developers that such an feature is already in the pipeline.

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