Students use Twitter to join conversations and share ideas in 140 characters or less. Links, hashtags, images, and other media can be included in tweets. This makes it possible for many conversations to happen at the same time.
Traditional classrooms ask students to raise their hand and allow one person to talk while 20, 25, 30 or more others remain quiet. This takes time, especially when a teacher has to discipline students into 'appropriate' classroom discussion (stay quiet while the teacher picks the one they want to respond to a question or topic).
Students shouldn't have to remain quiet, particularly when they feel an idea is good. A teacher doesn't necessarily know whether a student has a good idea or not. All ideas should be shared and then other students have the opportunity to decide whether they like it or not.
The open market works this way. A product is made and consumers vote on whether they like it by purchasing the item. If it remains on the shelf, it's a clear indication that the product needs improvement.
Classrooms should function this way. Students should have the opportunity to share their ideas, test them out in the open classroom market, and see if others approve. Is there a risk that students' ideas will be rejected or received negatively?
Yes, but is it even more risky to tell a student all their ideas are bad and should be kept to themselves and not worthy to share? I submit that it is.
Let's open up the classroom for more dialogue and not just more of one person's opinion in a lecture style lesson. Students should share their ideas with each other and decide which ones hold the most merit. You never know which opinion or idea will spark a new way of thinking about the topic!
