Along with a healthy array of social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and blogs, NIST International School chose Twitter as the focus of our social media for teaching and learning based on four main points:

1. reach
   
   
2. connection
   
   
3. flexibility of use across apps
   
   
4. moderation
   
   

Twitter has a vast reach to the globe. Very quickly a post can go viral, a thought or action can spread. The app is able to share photos, links, video, even livestreaming. It is a powerful tool for crowdsourcing information and connecting students to experts in the field. Additionally, Twitter ‘talks nice’ to many other apps such as pic collage, wordpress, (find a few more) so that students and teachers are able to share their learning with a far greater audience than those within their classroom. This can lead to greater innovation, problem solving, collaboration and international mindedness. It enables parents to have near real time feedback and access to their child’s learning. Most importantly, Twitter is an app that allows teachers to manage more than one account, allows coaches to moderate from the backend and allows a gradual release of responsibility to the students.