If ever the argument for Local Authorities to embrace social networking, and other web2.0 services needs evidence, then what I have been watching over the past few days must go to the top of that list.
A few days ago on Twitter, a fellow teacher - @chrisleach78 - posted the following;
Intrigued, I kept an eye on the @LCS_RCatesby account and pretty soon I was amazed with what I was seeing.
Bringing history to life, the children of Little Common Primary School had obviously been studying the Gunpowerder plot, Guy Fawkes, and the leader of the plot - Robert Catesby. Their project involved the pupils tweeting in the disguise of Robert Catesby. As the days progressed towards November 5th, tweets began to give some idea of how the plot was going. The first was received on November 3rd;
"Some of the others are getting nervous. Apparently a letter has been received by Lord Monteagle warning him about our plan "
Other tweets kept arriving as the plotters began to get more and more nervous. On November 4th;
"Fawkes insists the gunpowder has not been touched - maybe they didnt believe the letter"
And on the 5th November, the simple tweet;
"Guy Fawkes has been captured we need to flee!"
As the days after November 5th arrived, the tweets continued, showing the panic that the plotters were feeling as they deperately tried to escape from capture, ending with the last tweet on November 8th;
"OH NO some of the men have been captured but i fear im dying !! this could be the end !!!"
That was it - no more tweets from @LCS_RCatesby.
It was a fantastic use of Twitter to bring history alive - seeing how the children had interpreted the feelings, worries, fears and thoughts of those plotters all those years ago was nothing short of inspirational, and it was achieved with relative ease.
After talking with Chris to find out just what was involved he explained that the class thought about what was going to be written as the events unfolded. He had already set up the twitter account to use, and used HootSuite to allow the children to type in the tweets and schedule their time for release (I had wondered whether he had had to give the children access to the account to post from home, or whether he was having to sit by a computer and publish each tweet at the right time).
That was it - with everything pre-planned the children could watch as their work began to appear on the internet. With using Twitter too, they were able to see how many "followers" were keeping up to date with their work.
Finally, a Wallwisher wall was set up for viewers to the topic to leave comments - again, another way for the children to see that there work was being seen, and appreciated, by others.
Congratulations to Mr. Leach and his Year 6 pupils on such a creative use of social networking. If anyone ever says "What can social networking offer education" - point them to that project. Nothing more needs to be said really. It's just a shame that so many other schools will not be able to do something similar, as Twitter (along with most other social networking services) are blocked as a matter of course within education.
His own views on the whole project can be found here.
