All Secondary - Using Twitter and Prezi as Teaching Tools

The idea of using microblogging and social networking in the classroom seems strange, but by leveraging Twitter as a tool for teaching Business and Economics (though these tips apply for almost every subject) you can really inspire some fantastic discussions and take advantage of real time economic data.

Collins Education's twitter page @freedomtoteach

I recently set up an account and have used it in a number of different ways. These have included collaborative home study discussions on economic opportunities for the BRICS and the online issue of web links for reference prior to a lesson. Twitter is also an excellent tool for getting students to sum up an article or case study in no more than 140 letters or simply just to put the BBC and Guardian emerging business news at their fingertips. If your school has not banned Twitter from its network, then it is fantastic as a collaboration tool.
Professionally, it’s an excellent sounding board for discussing topics with prominent economists or business professionals. Many of my lesson plan ideas have come from discussions and simple conversations. I have often been able to work these ideas into the scheme of work for the department to make it that little more interesting.  Some ideas, thoughts, articles can be found in this PDF.

Another excellent resource that I have been using recently is the Prezi presentation software available at http://prezi.com/. PowerPoint can be incredibly boring for students, but this software really allows you to develop a good looking and intuitive presentation that builds in links and video incredibly easy. Its also another great collaborative tool for students should your school purchase the Enjoy or Pro versions. It’s IWB friendly, non-linear and above all interesting. I have been continually developing one Prezi on the ‘Rise of China’ and have integrated data, images and video that I have actually sourced from Twitter.

Take a look at this completed presentation here by Andrew McCarthy:
http://prezi.com/-b1mqqi3ayqw/introduction-to-development-economics/

In addition a great example of why using Prezi in the classroom can be beneficial through Paul Hills Prezi:
http://prezi.com/rfsnedhqmhqa/thoughts-on-using-prezi-as-a-teaching-tool/

Daniel Baker
Business and Economics Department, Trinity Catholic High School