Ok...so maybe tweeting isn't JUST for the birds.

Alright, alright, so I suppose Twitter isn't so bad. In my previous post I stood on my soapbox declaring the evils of Twitter and it's societal role as a useless distraction. This is not to say that I don't think that it can be a useless distraction, because I still think it can be. However, I see it now as having the capability to play a useful role in obtaining information.

Antonia Barkley's presentation in class played a particular role in helping me to see Twitter as something other than just another way for people to post about their new haircut, or (even better) read about a celebrities new haircut. How exciting. Rather, Antonia discussed the ways in which she, as a teacher, is able to use Twitter to gain useful information concerning her lesson plans. As she showed us the list of all the different "streams" in which we could ask people a question on pretty much any topic we want information on, I began to realize that this Tweeting business may indeed prove itself useful after all.

Hearing Antonia talk about all the great information she has found, and how this information was obtained in such a fast and easy way on Twitter, made my ears perk up a bit. I found myself wanting to know how to go about finding the answers to questions I may have concerning fun ideas to try in the classroom, other people's take on what works well when presenting a specific lesson, effective ways to introduce different topics, etc. Basically, I wanted to know how to go about making use of all the information out there to help me along in my quest at becoming a good, effective teacher. I thought, "If there is information out there that would help me to teach my students more effectively than I could otherwise, why not use it?"

I decided to test this out. I joined a couple streams on my Twitter account. I joined one on education chat, and one on English chat. While I haven't actively participated in the chat itself, yet, I quickly found some topics that people were discussing particularly intriguing. Within the first 10 minutes of following the stream, I had learned the names of some great websites to find useful information on concerning teaching, as well as a great list of Creative Writing prompts to use for students. I have to say that I found myself excited about the seemingly endless amount of information and possibilities available to me through this.

As one who has struggles with knowing how to go about finding information efficiently on the internet, the ease of Twitter and the abundant amount of information available on it, is a very welcoming relief. While there is an overabundance of information constantly coming in on the Twitter stream, and I can sometimes feel overwhelmed trying to follow it all, it is better to have an excess of information to draw from than not enough. As Franz Kafka says, "Better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have." While I don't think he was talking about Twitter, the basic principle still applies.

So, while I don't see myself spending unnecessary amounts of time on Twitter, nor do I believe that it is a tool I will incorporate into my classroom by having my students Tweeting during class, I do indeed see the potential that Twitter possesses. I will definitely turn to Twitter in my quest to find new ideas for lessons, to have a question answered, or to stay informed on any new news impacting the education world. While I will continue to use the methods I've used in the past for obtaining information, I do believe that Twitter can play a role as well, filling in the information gaps I may need filled when the other methods fall through.

I will no longer see Twitter simply as a "siren call of distraction" as I stated earlier. While I do think it has the potential to be just that, I believe it has, at the same time, the potential to be a fountain of useful information. While I still don't see its' necessity in the actual classroom, I do see it as a very beneficial tool for preparations outside of the classroom. I suppose you could say that I've had a change of mind, and I suppose a small change of heart as well.