Teachers have never lacked creativity in communicating with students.
Now, several staff members in the Schreiber community have began participating in the Internet age by bringing social media into the classroom.
Teachers and administrators on Twitter bring a much-appreciated dimension of fun and accessibility to the classroom.
Schreiber staff members who can be found on Twitter include Principal Mr. Ira Pernick (@SchreiberPrin), and social studies teachers Mr. Craig Medico
(@MrMedicoInfo), Mr. Jeremy Klaff
(@SocialStuds), and Mr. George Muhlbauer (@MrMuhlbauer).
For example, during Hurricane Sandy, spending a week without electricity strained communication between students and school officials.
Mr. Pernick’s Twitter account was filled with tweets from students looking to receive immediate responses to pressing questions, including many about when school would re-open. Other teachers use Twitter as a productive means to share enriching information with their students outside of the classroom.
“I joined Twitter because I thought it would be a good way to review for the Regents,” said Mr. Klaff. “Also, I wanted to share interesting tidbits of history. I don’t use it to communicate with students, because I feel it’s unfair if I’m not on it all day.”
Furthermore, these days students are always on the Internet, tweeting or chatting on Facebook.
“Klaff knew that most of us would be on the computer, especially on Twitter, so I feel that using Twitter is a great mode for teaching students,” said Pepe.
But if you’re looking to have a chat with a teacher, this is not the place to go.
“I don’t think it’s a good way to have constant communication with students, because not every student uses Twitter,” said Mr. Klaff. “If students want to talk to me they can find me and talk to me in person, I’m not going to tweet to them.”
Still, Twitter has proved to be extremely beneficial for many reasons, and is now an overall positive influence on students and teachers alike. Social networking keeps students informed in a fun way.