100 Scientists. 140 characters away: Using Twitter in the classroom

As many of you already know from reading previous blogs, we’ve long been fans of using Twitter in the classroom. Not only is it a useful tool for sending our students shout-outs and quick reminders, parents are equally enthusiastic about it; all they have to do is follow our Twitter feed and they’ll always know what’s going on in class, what’s due and when. But we’ve found yet another reason for you to start using Twitter in the classroom: It offers users a window into the lives, work and perfunctory musings of some of the most important contemporary intellectuals in the world.

In our search for useful technology resources we can pass along to you, we recently came across a comprehensive list of more than 100 scientists who regularly update their Twitter accounts—and everything has been categorized for you. Are you teaching astronomy, environmental science, biology, physics, health or medicine? How about brain science or technology? No problem, this list has you covered.

100 Scientists. 140 characters away: Using Twitter in the classroom

Extraplanetary Sciences
From astronomy to rocket science, these scientists are dedicating their careers to exploring what lies beyond our own planet.

@SethShostak: Astronomer Seth Shostak offers up insights into the cosmos through great links to space news in this feed.
@astroengine: Here, you’ll find Dr. Ian O’Neill, a solar physicist who now works for Discovery News.
@BadAstronomer: If you love this feed, make sure to check out astronomer Phil Plait’s blog, Bad Astronomy.
@plutokiller: Dr. Michael Brown teaches planetary astronomy at Caltech. Through his feed, followers can read about new planetary finds, our solar system, and other space-related topics.
@DrMRFrancis: Physicist, former planetarium director, and science writer Matthew Francis shares his love of all things astronomy through his Twitter feed.
@Earth2larryo: Larry O’Hanlon works for the Keck Observatory in Kamuela, Hawaii, which because of its high altitude and the island’s relative darkness gets some great images of space. Follow his feed to keep up with the latest at the observatory.
@DrLucyRogers: Lucy Rogers is a mechanical engineer, but we’ve included her in this grouping because she specializes in helping to protect Earth from space debris.
@skyponderer: Astronomer Colin Stuart freelances for the Royal Observatory while writing and speaking about science.
@professor_astro: You’ll find some great space-related tweets on this feed courtesy of a UT Austin astronomy professor.
@elakdawalla: Former planetary geologist and current writer Emily Lakdawalla shares some amazing photos and commentary on space here.
@flyingjenny: Jen Scheer is a former space shuttle technician at the Kennedy Space Center who today is working to teach middle and high school students about mechanical engineering.
@apacheman: You’ll find rocket science aplenty in this feed by former space shuttle technician and current NASA employee Andy Scheer.

Biology
Zoology, entomology, genetics, and biotech are just a few fields these amazing biologists focus on.

@JCVenter: American biologist and entrepreneur John Craig Venter was one of the first to sequence the human genome and to create human cells with synthetic genomes. He’s a superstar in his field, and well worth following whether you’re pursuing a degree in biology or not.
@franciscollins9: Dr. Francis Collins is another pioneer in the Human Genome Project. Through his feed, you can learn how he reconciles his strong faith with his dedication to pursuing scientific knowledge.
@JaneGoodallInstitute: Few people know chimpanzees as intimately as primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall. Follow this feed to learn about the amazing work her foundation does to preserve primate populations.
@RichardDawkins: Many people know Dawkins through his often extreme positions on religion, but he’s also made some amazing contributions to anthropology and zoology as well.
@pzmeyers: Biologist P.Z. Meyers posts about biological and science issues from a political perspective.
@sciencegoddess: Joanne Manaster is proof that you can be both attractive and smart. This former model now develops science courses at the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois.
@phylogenomics: Keep up with biology news, learn a bit about open science, and find great commentary on evolutionary biologist Jonathan Eisen’s feed.
@Stephen_Curry: Followers will find a wide range of tweets on structural biologist Stephen Curry’s Twitter feed.
@kzelnio: Always dreamed of being a marine biologist? Live vicariously though Kevin Zelnio’s feed.
@kejames: Check out Dr. Karen James’ feed for great tweets on topics like genetics, biology, zoology, and even space.
@bug_girl: This female entomologist studies natural ways to control insect populations. She shares insights into the insect and academic worlds through her feed.
@AFBR: Richard Martyniak is an expert on bees and his feed is full of amazing links and information to help the curious learn more about these insects.
@attilacsordas: Here you’ll find tweets from bioinformatician and stem cell biologist Attila Csordas.
@BioInfo: Justin H. Johnson is another bioinformatics expert worth following, with tweets that touch on everything from computer science to genetics.
@ drbrian: Dr. Brian Degger has a Ph.D. in biotechnology but posts to his feed about a wide range of topics.
@alexbortvin: Here you’ll find Dr. Alex Bortvin, an expert on germ cells and epigenetics. He shares great links related to science, but some content is in Russian.

We’d like to thank our friends over at Educational Technology and Mobile Learning for sharing this list with us. To find a complete list, check out their blog post here.

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Permalink Reply by Colleen Young on April 3, 2013 at 11:50am

Re the free download - why would you want a phone number?

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Permalink Reply by Karen Cameron on April 5, 2013 at 9:00am

Hi, Colleen:

If you'd rather not give out your number, just type in, "Please do not contact" and the download will still go through.

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Permalink Reply by Ally Shin on April 9, 2013 at 12:32pm

Hello, I'm very glad that I found this great resources here.

I definitely believe that using Twitter has a lot of positive effect. And many students, educators, and parents are enthusiastic.

However, in our school, we don't have that many parent follower. How do you possibly think you can have parent know Twitter is a good tool to communicate with the school in which their children are attending.?

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Permalink Reply by Karen Cameron on April 9, 2013 at 2:20pm

That's a great question, Ally.

In my humble opinion, it is on the administration and teachers to "legitimize" this form of technology and make a concerted effort to get parental buy-in. Maybe a letter home with students explaining how the school would like to begin using social media to connect with parents? Following that, perhaps the school could offer simple social-media training sessions with parents so that they know how to use the technology. Interested in your thoughts.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment.

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Permalink Reply by Ally Shin on April 9, 2013 at 9:37pm

Hello Karen,

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Your simple social media training sessions will definitely work that more parents want to communicate with their kid's school, since it is very easy to "follow".

Since the diversity of parents are so huge, and it's going to be challenging all parents engaged via Twitter or other social media. Still we have to have hard copy of newsletter for the parents who don't want to use technology.

I appreciate your kind comment!!

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Permalink Reply by Thomas J. Hall III on April 9, 2013 at 5:52pm

I love how you implemented Twitter into using it for keeping parents up to date, and giving them more of an insight into what is happening with the classroom as a whole.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Cameron on April 10, 2013 at 10:04am

Thank you so much, Thomas and Ally for taking the time to read and respond. I just posed a new blog that may be relevant to the conversation we are having; it provides a few suggestions for getting social-network technology into the hands of all parents--even those who are economically challenged. I'd be interested in your thoughts on this one.

You can find it here: Social networking and parents: reaching parents--all of them.