Twitter for teachers

Twitter for teachers
What is Twitter and why should teachers care?

“ Watching from the outside, Twitter is like the dumbest thing you’ve heard of: “Why would anyone want to tell others what they are doing in 140 characters?” And yet to dismiss Twitter is a mistake because it’s an incredibly powerful tool for your personal learning and connecting with others.” ( Sue Waters , http://suewaters.wikispaces.com/twitter, @suewaters Original quote: Alan Levine)

NB:Twitter song from Youtube

What is Twitter?
The guys at Common Craft explain it for us.

Twitter video from CC

Who tweets?

Survey Results
Survey conducted over 3 days via Twitter beginning June 2009 - 85 people responded from all over the world.

Demographic Information
Length of time tweeting
Occupation

Length of time tweeting
15 2+ years
32 1-2 years
10 6-12 months
15 less than 6 months

Tweeters by Occupation
37 Teachers - both Primary & Secondary
35 involved in some kind of ICT facilitation - some as part of teaching job
4 Librarian or Library Specialists
6 Senior positions - Principal/AP/DP
7 Other jobs - some in education, some not

Four key questions
What are the top 3-5 reasons you tweet?
How has Twitter helped you professionally?
What sage advice do you have for educators wanting to tweet?
Who would be the top 5 people you’d recommend others to follow?

Why tweet?
Connection
Collaboration
Collegiality
Information
Fun

To Connect

Link with people in NZ & around world with similar interests/global connection
Participate in conversations with other educators
World-wide group of people to bounce ideas off
Other teachers/educators have same vision for enhancing teaching/learning in their classrooms
Connection for isolated people (location/job)
Degrees of separation
Personal Learning Network
Keep my thinking fresh by extending my prof. network & interacting with people I would not normally have the chance to connect with
Participating in global conversations

Collaboration & Collegiality

Discussions, controversies, new thinking
Putting concerns into a global/better context
Sharing victories and disasters/low points
Support when looking for new ideas
Coffee conversations with e-colleagues
Establish connections with other teachers
Real-time conversations
24/7 access to collaborators
Building connections

Information

Asking and answering questions
Sharing tips and resources
What’s the latest ICT trend
Staying up-to-date
Online PD
Finding/making recommendations
Problem solving
Sharing own & others blogs
Publicising own blog posts
Creating wider audience for class blogs
1/2

Keep up to date with what’s happening in the world
Snap-shot of what is happening in life right now
Breaking news - Mumbai/Plane in the Hudson
Keep in touch with what is happening in the outside world - especially important for people free-lancing
2/2

Social/Fun reasons

Quizzes
Planning fun stuff like Flash Mob @ conference
Games
General chit-chat
Comedy acts - Stephen Fry!
Personal - friends & family
Personal interests & hobbies
Sharing memorable and humorous events
Interest, curiosity, new things

How does it help me professionally?

Keeps me in touch with the outstanding role models in our (global) education system
Participate in ‘unofficial’ PD
Difficult to find funds to attend prof. dev. workshops - depend on Twitter & peers to learn and grow
Able to tear down the walls of my classroom & give my students a chance to connect with people around the world
1/4

Find information & resources to use with students & colleagues
Connected to a wide range of people who are at the cutting edge of education
True networking with teachers around the world
Allowed us to restructure our classes to take advantage of Web 2.0
Given me a PLN which I wouldn’t otherwise have
2/4

I’ve ‘stolen’ and used many ideas in the curriculum or own personal life; made friends; shared my own ideas; collaborated with others; reflected on my own practice and more
Twitter provides hands on tech support - questions are ALWAYS answered
Got a job through Twitter - contacts etc
Relationships with people normally unavailable - Derek Wenmouth, Wes Fryer, David Warlick, Tony Ryan etc
3/4

Introduced me to a wide range of e-learning specialists from different disciplines & educational systems
Has grown my PLN, challenged my thinking & ideas about education & specifically the impact of e-learning on pedagogy & student learning
First place I go to when I have a problem or need inspiration
No. 1 tool for prof. dev.
4/4

Who should I follow
besides me ... @dragonsinger57 ... the people surveyed came up with 162 people - here are the top 14 names ...

@allanahk (13)
@teachernz (11)
@tombarrett (10)
@suewaters (8)
@wfryer (8)
@willrich45 (7)
@angelamaiers (6)
@coolcatteacher (6)
@dajbelshaw (6)
@larryferlazzo (6)
@betchaboy (5)
@dorothyjburt (5)
@jutecht (5)
@mscofino (5)

Sage advice for newbies
From newbies

Have fun
Don’t try to follow too many people
Find strong people to follow
Get involved
Just start
Connect with educators
Have a code of conduct for yourself
Enjoy the spirit of the community
Don’t quit
Make connections with people with similar interests
Lurk/Listen/Question

Sage advice for newbies
From old hands

Tweet your lesson ideas
Add web link & some info about you in your bio
Give yourself time to develop connections
Use a Twitter client
Follow many people
Be eclectic in your mix of people you follow
Find someone you know/trust to follow first - then follow people they follow
Remember what you say stays online!
Jump in & connect

Final words

Don’t worry if people don’t follow you back
Don’t worry if it takes a long time to ‘get’ - just about everyone says that
Visit the Blogger’s Cafes at conferences to meet up with people
It can be addictive
Persevere
Join the conversations
140 characters leads to tight, focussed writing/thinking
Poem Next

I Dream in Twitter (listen to the podcast http://www.box.net/shared/static/gqkaej08ww.mp3) I dream in Twitter in 140 characters that cut off my thoughts before they are complete and then I wonder, why 140? Ten more letters would serve me right as I write about what I am doing at that moment in time, connecting across the world with so many others shackled by 140 characters, too, and I remain amazed at how deep the brevity can be.

I find it unsettling to eavesdrop on conversations between two when you can only read one and it startles me to think that someone else out there has put their ear to my words and wondered the same about me. Whose eyes are watching? Twitter is both an expanding universe of tentacles and hyperlinks that draw you in with knowledge and experience and a shrinking neighborhood of similar voices, echoing out your name in comfortable silence.

I dream in Twitter in 140 characters, and that is what I am doing right at
this
moment
by Kevin - @dogtrax

http://twitter.com @dragonsinger57 http://twitter4tea chers.pbworks.com /

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http://techrav.blogspot.com	30
http://www.slideshare.net	28
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http://gettingteachersconnected.pbworks.com	5
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Twitter for teachers

by Jo Fothergill on Jun 14, 2009

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