Using Twitter and Storify for Good Not Evil

8/16/2011

Here is my latest Storify, sharing ideas and online resources for using Twitter, Storify and other social media in the classroom. Presented this in part during my show-and-share, titled by Al Tompkins as "Using Twitter and Storify for Good Not Evil," during the "Teachapalooza" seminar for journalism educators at the Poynter Institute in Florida. The positive feedback from that presentation coupled with interest from my fellow educators at the recent NABJ convention in Philadelphia inspired me to look for even more such resources online. Let's continue to "teach it!"

9 Comments

Allison Kruschke

8/31/2011 07:00:32 am

Mallary Jean Tenore makes a great point in saying,

"having to make your point in 140 characters teaches you to write succinctly and with confidence. It teaches you to consider what your audience wants, the value of capturing reaction and what it's like to be among other writers."

I've often struggled with being concise, and I've never thought of Twitter as a way of helping me break the habit. Great tip!

Kyle

8/31/2011 07:08:53 am

I don't see the big deal with Twitter. Maybe I will be enlightened this semester about its uses but for the most part it is used and abused. At least you keep it professional and informative!

Eric

8/31/2011 07:44:19 am

I enjoyed the article, and I can definitely see that Twitter will one day be innovated in the classroom. As for Kyle's comment, I believe that Twitter has already done enough to establish itself as a "big deal." Twitter is a short and concise way to share news and information to numerous people very quickly. It's like email, but shorter and more concise.

Katie Doherty

8/31/2011 08:40:14 am

I have also had a Twitter account since 2009, but I did not start using it professionally until a few weeks ago. I actually revamped my entire Twitter account because I knew you would have me do it for class this year anyway.

Ben Sheehan

8/31/2011 11:58:44 am

I agree with Eric on this. Even though Twitter can be used to tweet meaningless things sometimes, that does not mean that journalists can't use it to quickly and concisely spread important news and also develop a personal following among their readers.

Erin Caughey

8/31/2011 01:21:27 pm

I agree with the tips suggested at the bottom of your Twitter & Storify in the Classroom posting. Learning to frequently use Twitter on a more professional level will lead to a positive outcome within the classroom. And I also agree with your final sentence that Twitter and Storify will grow more willingly that the Associated Press Stylebook. Social networking is just more relatable with our generation.

Alec Brooks

9/1/2011 02:53:51 am

I thought your comments on how you started using twitter regularly was interesting. I wouldn't have thought a seminar on teaching writing would be what convinced you. But now that I think about it, it makes sense. When characters are limited - such as in tweets and headlines - your writing has be as clear and tight as possible.
Your ideas about how to use twitter in the journalism classroom are interesting. Along with the links to resources, they make it practical.

Heather Ronaldson

9/1/2011 03:49:13 am

Prior to reading this post, I did not classify Tweeters as writers. However, Mallory Jean Tenore tells us that Twitter teaches you to consider what your audience wants, the value of capturing reaction and what it's like to be among other writers. That description sounds a lot like the job of a journalist when writing the lead of an article. Knowing that Tweeters are in fact writers, I feel less likely to use Twitter for chat, but rather, to reach other writers and attract a readership.

Ben Stanley

9/1/2011 04:01:41 am

I understand that Twitter is extremely useful and important for breaking news, but I have just found it very difficult to use it effectively. I will definitely keep these tips in mind.

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Using Twitter and Storify for Good Not Evil

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