Using Twitter as a PLN: Part 1 Building the toolbox using Lists

Using Twitter as your PLN Part 1: Building the tool box by Julia Ault

Using Twitter as your PLN A practical guide to setting up your own PLN using Twitter and HootSuite - a web-based application designed to aggregate your social networks.

Using Twitter as your PLN What is a PLN? ,[object Object]

Twitter makes an excellent online PLN for Librarians, Teachers and Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)Professionals.

A PLN can be local, national or global!One Educator wrote recently that: “I have found more resources and got more useful advice for professional development in 3 months on Twitter than in the previous 5 years without it.” .

Using Twitter as your PLN So how do I build my PLN tool box? Follow this 6 step program: ,[object Object]

Create and Follow Twitter Lists

Import your social networks into HootSuite

Create tabs and streams of content

Join in – Start Tweeting! ,[object Object]

Using Twitter as your PLN I created the new Twitter account LRC PLN @lrcpln

Using Twitter as your PLN 2. Create and Follow Twitter Lists Hmmm – how to find librarians to follow? Ask Twitter!

Using Twitter as your PLN Phil directed me - @juliadesigns - to this list he had compiled on TweepML and so the newly created @lrcpln chose to follow all:

Using Twitter as your PLN The next step was to add all these librarians to a list on Twitter itself - a slightly laborious stage - but worth it in the end if you want to separate out those you are following into lists. Go to your Twitter Home Page and Look in the sidebar for Lists: New list View all and create a new list:

Using Twitter as your PLN Now you need to add people to your new list. I am going to add the librarians I followed from Phil’s TweepML list:

Using Twitter as your PLN Click on the down arrow next to each name and tick the relevant list box:

Using Twitter as your PLN Repeat this step for all those you follow that you want to add to lists. You need to do this for any and all lists you create, BUT: You may be relieved to know that lots of other people (including me!) have already done this work for you and there are many ready-made lists in the ‘Twitterverse’ that you can simply follow with a click of the mouse! More on this later……

Using Twitter as your PLN When everyone has been added to the list, click on View all, find and click on the new list:

Using Twitter as your PLN I now have a page showing all the latest tweets from my librarians list.

Using Twitter as your PLN Follow that list!! 1.If you are a librarian creating your own Twitter account, the next step for you is to follow @lrcpln and this list yourself.

Using Twitter as your PLN Follow that list!! 2. Click on Lists: View all:

Using Twitter as your PLN Follow that list!! 3. Click on each list to follow.

Using Twitter as your PLN Follow that list!! 4. You will notice that as well as the two lists created earlier, @lrcpln follows lists created by @juliadesigns and other lists are now following @lrcpln. You can follow any and all of these lists too, if you wish.

Using Twitter as your PLN Follow that list!! 5. I have followed these lists using the Trinity LRC Twitter account and you will see why later..

Using Twitter as your PLN Using a Twitter/social media client It is much easier to manage lists - especially if you have a variety of different interests that you want to keep up with using the same Twitter account - using either a web, mobile or desktop client, instead of just going to your Twitter page on the web.Your own tweets will still be seen by all your followers though, so if you want to keep your sporting, hobby, or political tweets separate from your work-based library or learning/teaching tweets, you will need to create more than one Twitter account.You can add multiple accounts to one client, so you are still able to manage everything on one screen.

Using Twitter as your PLN Why use HootSuite? HootSuite is just one of many applications that do much the same thing – TweetDeck and Seesmic are other very popular clients, but we are using HootSuite as an example today, simply because it is a web-based client - which means you can access it anywhere through a web browser or mobile device with no need to install anything on your computer.

Using Twitter as your PLN 3. Create a HootSuite Account Go to http://hootsuite.com and sign up.

Using Twitter as your PLN You will need to verify your email address to complete the sign-up process:

Using Twitter as your PLN You will get this message in your email. Either click on the ‘Confirm my account’ link or copy and paste the code provided into the confirmation code box on the signup page. I am using the Trinity LRC Twitter account for this presentation.

Using Twitter as your PLN You will be prompted to add your Twitter account first.

Using Twitter as your PLN You can click on the Owl at any time to change settings, add other networks and so on.

Using Twitter as your PLN First steps with HootSuite: Begin by deleting the default streams and tabs

Using Twitter as your PLN First steps with HootSuite: After you have deleted the Featured tab, delete all the streams on the main Twitter tab apart from Home Feed.

Using Twitter as your PLN First steps with HootSuite: Now you are ready to add your own content:

Using Twitter as your PLN First steps with HootSuite: Choose Twitter: Lists: Subscribed Lists, click on one and then Create Stream.

Using Twitter as your PLN First steps with HootSuite: Repeat this process for all the Library lists. You can rename existing tabs and add extra tabs with Streams for different lists and social networks too.

Using Twitter as your PLN Click on the Owl and go to Settings: Social Networks:

Using Twitter as your PLN Add other social networks:

Using Twitter as a PLN: Part 1 Building the toolbox using Lists

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Using Twitter as a PLN: Part 1 Building the toolbox using Lists