App for That #5: Twitter

App: Twitter for the iPad

Cost: Free

Grade Level: Teachers (or maybe supervised with your students if your division allows it)

What it does: Twitter is an online social networking site.  I have created many connections with teachers and have several professional learning networks that have sprung from Twitter.  If you want to learn more about it, see my post from a previous class here.

How's the App:  Terrible to Fantastic - see below.

Even though I love Twitter, if you had asked me last week what I thought of the iPad Twitter app, I would have said it was a disaster.  It was difficult to navigate, didn't offer all the options that the computer based version did, and every time you clicked on a link or a tweet it would open in a separate page of section.  It was terrible.

BUT, yesterday I finally got around to updating my apps, and I am now convinced that I should always update my apps as soon as a new version is available.  The new and improved Twitter app is a dream.  My options are simpler as far as navigation, and now much much more what I expect from the Twitter format.  Now when I click on a post, it enlarges it in the same window and I can still see other messages.  If I click on a link it takes me to a whole new page (not a cascading page as it did before) and there is an obvious home button that takes me back to where I was before.  With this great update, I am more incline to choose my iPad over my computer when catching up with my tweeps.


What it could be used for:Networking with other teachers.  Getting and sharing ideas for lessons, classroom management strategies and general support.  Providing another way to connect with the community.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (previously 2 out of 5)