OK - I know most of you probably have used Twitter and follow people, places, or things! I seriously had never even thought about using Twitter - because it seemed like it was trendy and I was having a hard time thinking of a practical use. I do not want to tweet because I am BORING and nobody would want to know what's up with me (including me sometimes). But, I have really been intrigued with following people, places, or things in Spanish. The first person that I decided to follow was Ricky Rubio from the Timberwolves. He in young and tweets a lot in Spanish. This got me to thinking.... how could I use this for my Spanish students. (This year I will be teaching 10th grade Spanish 2.)
I am thinking that as an optional reading assignment (more reading in Spanish will make better readers and I just need to get stuff to them that might be of interest.) I would have them choose to follow a number (maybe 10) of Spanish speaking people, places, events, teams, etc. My list currently includes: actors, singers, Sports teams, restaurants, news papers, TV stations, and athletes. Most of these tweet in Spanish. I think that it is very interesting to read very small blurbs - it is also pretty easy to figure out the vocabulary because it is usually in context. I would have the students report interesting activity and things that they have learned both orally and in writing.
THat's a great idea...I might try to find something relevant in my classes. I think it's important to find healthy useful ways to view social media sites like Twitter because they are often overlooked as just a waste of time, yet there are countless examples of very useful applications...
ReplyDeleteEven if you didn't actually USE Twitter/Facebook one activity that my World History kids actually asked to do more of was creating a hypothetical Facebook/Twitter feed for various historical figures. They had to be creative in trying to write comments that reflected their outlook/personality etc.
Michael, I want to try that with students too! What a unique idea.
DeleteNever would of thought of following relevant people - or, as Mike shared, hypothetical feeds...nice combination of learning activities with today's technology/things kids are familiar with!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a great experience for your students to follow some pop culture related Spanish speakers.
ReplyDeleteI think this is genius! What a great way to use Twitter.
ReplyDeleteCOOL real-life application for kids!!! Authentic and engaging! Love it!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great little idea about following 10 people on twitter. I wonder how you would track whether students have actually followed them or not. I follow dozens of people but rarely actually check or read what they tweet. I can envision students signing up but doing anything with it. Developing someway of ensuring they do the activity would be great.
ReplyDeleteI do not have a Twitter account. Maybe I should check it out.
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