Stuffed Animals and Twitter = LEARNING!

Tonight, I took part in  #whatisschool chat on Twitter. I must say, the conversation was fast and furious - like always, but I come away with so many more ideas. I can jump on to my online PLN in 20 seconds - and that is getting the app or computer up and running. By that time, I can then connect world-wide: asking questions or just putting a thought out there!

Seriously, this is a life saver for me.

We are a small school - being able to go onto Twitter allows me to get other's input, from all over the world! My staff rocks, but I know we end up looking at a problem seeing just our experiences: when we get more input, we can find more solutions to our problem.

My next big hope: opening my class to the power of Twitter. We have used it some to contact state officials, but I can see students using it as a resource for finding information. Why can't a hashtag search lead them to resources for what they are interested in? Why can't we connect outside our area through the advantages of mini-blogging on Twitter (like getting feedback quickly!)?

The answer - we can, and we will.

I've started a new project to help students understand geography.

Say "Hello" to Blizzard - follow his travels on this blog - he has his own page! Or, #FMSBlizzard on Twitter.

The idea is simple, Blizzard is going to show off his hometown of Faith, SD. Then, he is going to head out - where he ends, I honestly don't know! I'm going to package him up, and send him on his way to another teacher - hopefully, they / their class take some pictures, send a tweet, comment on his blog page, email: something to let us know how he is doing, and then send him on to a new place.

I hope to track him world-wide: a stuffed animal and Twitter can be an AWESOME learning experience!

PS - if you want to be the one I send him to next, let me know!