Basic commands, hashtags, who to follow etc. Printable.

1. Building a PLN
Five Steps to Building Your Personal Learning Network (PLN) via Twitter
1. Sign up for Twitter
To sign up for Twitter, simply go to www.twitter.com and create a username. Don’t make your username
too long and make it something that identifies you, like your name, rather than a complex nickname.
Compete your bio so people know who you are, what you do and don’t forget to add an image of
yourself. The “egg” is given to all new registrants so update it to avoid others thinking you are spam.
2. Follow Others
There are thousands of teachers around the world on Twitter, you just have to know where to find them!
Start with @npsd @npedtech @CurtDietrich @dianeholben @Deb_Mckay_NPSD @bakerbg
@coachyetter @joe_mazza @nwelementary @gnelementary @cybraryman1 @larryferlazzo
@nmhs_principal @gcouros @web20classroom @thomascmurray @edutopia @tomwhitby
@toddwhitaker @bamradionetwork @arneduncan etc
Once you have a few people to follow, look at who they are following and start to build up your PLN.
3. “Lurk”
You’ll need to spend some time checking out the stream of tweets and getting the hang of tweeting,
retweeting, direct messaging and hashtags. Many people say Twitter isn’t as intuitive as other web tools
but it doesn’t take long for it to make sense.
Most people who use Twitter don’t actually use the Twitter website. There are a lot of more user-friendly
Twitter clients out there. Try Tweetdeck or Tweetchat on a laptop and Tweetbot on an iPad/iPhone.
5. Contribute
Remember, the more you put in, the more you get out. Don’t be afraid to start replying to people,
retweeting tweets, asking questions and striking up conversations. Most educators on Twitter are very
friendly and always happy to help newbies find their feet!
Stick with it! Sticking with it is very important. Make yourself check into Twitter daily for a month before
you make any decisions about whether it is for you. It takes time to build rapports with people. When you
do, you’ll find your professional world will be so enlightened and your students will be better for it!

2. NPSD’s Educator’s Guide to Twitter
What is Twitter?
Twitter is a free service that lets you keep
in touch with the entire world through the
exchange of quick, frequent answers to
one simple question: “What are you doing?”
Twitter is a free tool for reading and
engaging in multiple conversations in realtime. You can follow individuals, news,
organizations, businesses and more for
valuable educational resources and articles.
Following North Penn S.D. at
www.twitter.com/npsd
Key Terms
TWEET - A 140 character statement. This
can include @mentions, #hashtags, RT
retweets and links to websites.
@MENTION - When you reply to someone
else’s tweet or mention another Twitter
user, put the @ symbol in front of their
username. For example, “I’m excited to
conference with my child’s teacher today.”
Using the @symbol is a way of linking to
another Twitter user.
FOLLOWERS - The list of Twitter users who
follow your tweets.
RETWEET - When you re-post a tweet from
another user because you want your
followers to see it too. For example,
“RT @NPSD: NPHS receives a National Gold
Council of Excellence Award from the
National Association of Student Council.
Details tinyurl.com/nphsscaward”
#HASHTAG - A topic with the # symbol in
front of it such as #edchat or #cpchat.
Hashtags make it easy to follow specific
topics, events, or trends. By clicking on a
hashtag, you see all the tweets public users
are sharing about that specific topic.
There are many educational hashtag chats
occurring each week on Twitter. Think of
them as television channels. ParentTeacher Chat or #PTchat is a hashtag chat
designed especially for parents and
teachers around the world. The goal of the
weekly chat is encourage a transparent and
collaborative dialogue between parents and
teachers on a variety of topics.
Join the #PTchat conversation on
Wednesday nights at 9PM EDT by typing
“#ptchat” into the Twitter search bar. Web
tools like Tweetdeck, Tweetchat or
Twitterfall are also helpful for chats.
Some Hashtags for Educators
To Start With
#edchat
#elemchat
#cpchat
#suptchat
#k12
#edtech
#digcit
#gifted
#ptchat
#kinderchat
#1stchat
#2ndchat
#edtechchat
#4thchat
#5thchat
#6thchat
#mschat
#autism
#eslchat
#paedchat
#ellchat
#spedchat
#sbgchat
#mathchat
#edpolicy
#edreform
#scichat
#nped = North Penn Educators Hashtag