ICT Skills: Communication and collaboration
Communicating via Micro-blogging
Twitter Twitter
Tweet Tweet
IA LOB

Basic ICT Skills
Communicating via Micro-blogging
Outcomes
By the end of this e-torial, you will be able
to:
 Communicate using a micro-blogging
system
 Create a learning network
 Learn on the fly!
Tools
This e-torial makes use of the following
programmes or tools:
 Browsers: Internet Explorer/Firefox
 Twitter (an online tool)

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Index
 What is micro-blogging
 Some motivation to twitter (or not)
 What do your tweets say about you?
 Get twittering!
 Sign up
 Update your settings
 Create your first tweet
 Some guidelines
 Reading and replying to tweets
 Re-tweeting
 Create your twitter learning network
 Directories, lists and networks
 Followers
 More things you can do with twitter:
 Twitter straight from your cell phone
 Direct messages
 Change your profile picture
 Finding stuff: Using Hashtags #
 More resources and reading
 Discussion

Basic ICT Skills
What is Micro-blogging?
What are you doing right
now?
Tell me all about it in 140 or
less words!!!
Why would I like to
know about what you
are doing all the time?
Video: Click here to Play
Some reading….
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro-blogging
 Nine reasons why you should use twitter in schools
 # Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom (a collaborative effort)

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Some motivation to twitter (or not)
Cosand became a Twitterer about a year
ago, and he now considers Twitter one of What articles are you
his best sources of real-time professional looking at?
development. \"I'm able to get information
and find opportunities I wouldn't have been
able to gather on my own,\" he says.
Teachers who are fans say they appreciate the easy-
Check out this to-use tool as a quick way to network with colleagues.
cool new resource They like being able to ask and answer questions,
learn from experts, share resources, and react to
events on the fly.
Critics argue that it's nothing but a high tech
Live reporting from
distraction. Meanwhile, new ideas for using
an event
Twitter in education continue to emerge and
evolve. The best way to weigh the pros and cons
of this free tool is to try it for yourself
Source : http://www.edutopia.org/twitter-professional-development-technology-microblogging

Basic ICT Skills
What do your tweets say about you?
What does this
person do for a
living?
What is s(h)e
tweeting about?
Are the tweets
helpful?
Would you like to
have him/her in
your network?

Basic ICT Skills
What do your tweets say about you?
What does this
person do for a
living?
What is s(h)e
tweeting about?
Are the tweets
helpful?
Would you like to
have him/her in
your network?

Basic ICT Skills
What do your tweets say about you?
What does this
person do for a
living?
What is s(h)e
tweeting about?
Are the tweets
helpful?
Would you like to
have him/her in
your network?

Basic ICT Skills
What do your tweets say about you?
What does this
person do for a
living?
What is s(h)e
tweeting about?
Are the tweets
helpful?
Would you like to
have him/her in
your network?

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Activity: Get twittering!
I ACTIVITY
Use Twitter to tell “the
world” about the
challenges you face as a
subject advisor/teacher
 Go to www.twitter.com
(or type it into the
address bar)
 Click on “Get started-
Join”
Start all your tweets with @subjectadvisors (or mention
#subjectadvisors somewhere in your tweet)

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Activity: Get twittering!
Type in your:
 Full names
Peter Pumpkin
(Twitter is about real
people!)
Peterp
 Username (Make it
relevant)
*************  Password (choose
something that you
PeterP@gmail.com
will remember)
 E-mail address
 Type the code
accurately
Newins spondent  Click on
I accept Create my
account
You will be given some peeps to follow.
Pick a few who look interesting

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Twitter: Update your settings
 Click on Settings
 Fill in your real name
otherwise we will not be
Peter Pumpkin
able to find you!
 Your username and e-
mail should be filled in
already
 Change your time zone to
(GMT+2) Pretoria
 Fill in your web/blog
http://www.thutong.org.za
address or
(www.thutong.org.za)
Mathematics subject advisor
 One line Bio: A little about
who you are
 Location: District + Town
Pretoria South Africa
 Click on Save

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Activity: Get twittering!
Go ahead, tell us about
the problems and
challenges you face as a
teacher/subject advisor.
Remember you only
have 140 characters!
Update your status!
If you cannot say it in 140 characters, feel free to do a few
tweets…….tweet ……tweet……..
You cannot POSSIBLY have THAT many problems
now can you???

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Twitter is tweet: A few guidelines
DO:
 Use good language
 Share good learning
resources
 Ask questions and give
answers/opinions
 Think before you tweet
 Add value to your
network………
DON’T:
 Use ALL CAPS (it is Remember that your
tweets are very public
screaming)
 Tweet in an “altered state”
 Forget to credit those
tweets that you are passing
on (re-tweeting- RT)
 ………

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Activity: Reading and replying to tweets
Tweets are in reverse
chronological order,
according to time,
with the newest at the
top.
If you click on Home, you will see all the tweets

of the people you are following
If you want to reply to a tweet hit the reply

arrow or include @theotherpersonsusername
in your tweet
To read anybody’s tweets, click on their twitter

name eg www.twitter.com/heyjudeonline
If you want to find a specific tweet again you can mark it as a favourite,
using the star next to the tweet.

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Re-tweeting
Re-tweeting is a way to
pass on valuable links
and resources from your
network to your followers
 Copy and paste the
original tweet into the
Update window
 Add RT for “retweet” (it
is short!) in front of the
@persons’s name
RT kjarrettRT @shareski RE: PLCs. \"If everything is
mandated and structured. It fails. Same with classrooms.\"
Re-tweeting people’s tweets also make them aware that you value their
contribution and they will probably follow you, building a stronger network

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Create your twitter learning network
Who should I follow?
Wesley Fryer
 A colleague, teacher….
 Someone I can learn
with/from…
 Someone who will share…
 An expert in the field
 Someone……?
How?
 Click on Find People
 Type name in search window
 Click search
 Look if it is the person that
you want to follow
 Click follow!!!!!!
Important to read the person’s Bio or blog and look at
their tweets before you decide to follow him or her…….

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Create your twitter learning network
Another effective way to
Some of my
find twitter learning
learning Gurus!!!
partners:
 Find someone who share
the same interests /
Some teachers!!! subject area as you.
 Click on their picture and
choose Follow
 Click on THEIR network
Conferences
and explore/follow some
of their contacts
Some friends!!
If someone does not “live up to your expectations”, remove them from your
network

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Create your twitter learning network
More ways to find twitter learning and teaching
partners:
 Consult educator directories, social networks and
lists:
 Twitter4teachers (A global wiki to add to)
 Educators on twitter (add yourself to the
directory here)
 South African educators or join sateachers
twibe
 Twitterpacks
 Top 100 edu-tweeps (twitterers/tweople) ;-)
 Tweet4education (A social network of twittering
teachers writing a book to help teachers to
twitter!)
 Twitter for professional development
Good idea: Go through at least 2 pages of a person’s tweets before
deciding if the person will be of value on your learning pathway!

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Followers
That is a good thing. It means that
you are adding value to the twitter-sphere
and growing your learning network!
 You will get an e-mail telling you that
someone is following you
 Go to their profile page, read their
tweets, Bio/blog and decide if you want Help, I am being
to follow them back or not followed!!!!!
 At the top of their page, click on
Follow
 You will be able to send them a direct
private message once they are
following you
If a person has an undesirable profile you can block them from following
you! But remember, your tweets might just educate them!

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
More things you can do with Twitter
 Twitter straight from
your cell phone
Send meeting notifications
 Just send and SMS
to 447624801423
(The cell phone
that you send from
Twitter a meeting from your
must be the one
phone
registered with
Twitter! See
Devices under
settings)
Send a direct message
(DM) to someone
Your twitter can become a notice board for your
teachers…..? To receive @replies and DM’s on
your cell phone register with www.twe2.com

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Send Direct messages
Video: Click to play
 Click on Direct messages
 Click on the dropdown
Will this message be private
or will it show up in my and select the person
 Type your message
timeline?
 Send
You can only send DM’s to someone who is
following you.
Your intended person will receive the twitter in
his/her e-mail inbox as well!

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Change/Update Your Bio
We always need to be aware of how much What about privacy?
information we divulge, whether it is in our
Bio or in our tweets!
 Decide how much of yourself you
would like to show in your Bio.
 Stick to your interests/
occupation rather than give
out too much personal
information!
 Link your Bio to your blog or
school/organisational website.
 To change your Bio or website
address, go to Settings (See slide
12)
If you feel strongly about your privacy, you can protect your twitter
account, which means that people have to ask to follow you

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Change your profile picture
A profile picture gives people
Do I need to have a a visual sense of who you
profile picture? are / would like to be / see
yourself……
 What do these pictures
tell you about the
Who are these person?
people????  Who is the….
Librarian, Maths
teacher, Academic,
Learning activist,
Gardener, Primary
school teacher, Lifelong
learner, Technology
director, Biology teacher,
English teacher ????
Your picture becomes a connection point! So please change this
boring brown one for one that makes sense…..

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Change your profile picture
 Click on Settings 
Picture
 Browse to
a suitable
picture of yourself on
your PC
 A real picture of yourself
is encouraged!
 If you are shy, upload an
Avatar (a picture
representing you)
You can also change the background of your main twitter page (Settings
Design Upload a picture

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Finding stuff: Using Hashtags #
Maths
How can I find
specific tags and
tweets about topics?
 Click on Home
 Type in your search term in the
search window on the right eg
mathematics or subjectadvisors
When you twitter
about twitter and how It is important to “tag” your tweet by
it can be used for inserting a “marker” (a searchable) word
teaching and learning, into it using hashtags #. Create a tag that
please use the hashtag will be unique to your topic or group
#twitter4ed

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
More resources and reading
 Twitter handbook for teachers
A basic down to earth guide
 Twitter for education tagged
resources
 On Delicious
 On Diigo
A search across the tags
education and twitter using
I better join the twitter
these book-marking systems
 Twitter search for the hash-tags revolution!!!!
 #twitter and #education or
 #twitter4ed
There are also lots of applications (software) that have been created to
accommodate the use of twitter for all kinds of purposes

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
Discussion: Twitter the following questions
 How can a micro-blogging tool
accommodate communication
and learning?
 What drawbacks can there be in
using a tool like this one?
 What skills will you need to use
tools like these?
 If the tool must fit the purpose,
how, when and where will you
use this tool as a SA/teacher?

Basic ICT Skills: Micro blogging
About this Presentation information
This e-torial was developed by
maggiev for the Department of
Education for use by subject
advisors and teachers in
South Africa
Follow some tweets:
 www.twitter.com/maggiev
 www.twitter.com/thutong
All e-turials can be found
on the
Thutong portal:
www.thutong.org.za