Susan Cash shares how she has built her personal learning network (PLN) using various social media tools. She details how she initially shunned social media but discovered Twitter's value for connecting with other educators. She highlights several tools - Twitter, Diigo, and Ning - that have been most useful for collaborating, sharing resources, and staying updated in her fields. Cash provides an overview of how she plans to incorporate these tools into her teaching practices and help students develop their own PLNs.

1. Building Social Media
for Educators
Susan Cash

2. My Misconceptions about Social Media
The thought of engaging in social media always seemed shallow,
overwhelming, and unfruitful to me. While I used Facebook regularly to keep in
touch with family and friends, I shunned the idea of using Twitter. How could
tweets from celebrities change my life?
Obviously, they can’t. But I quickly learned that Twitter has more to offer than
popular culture and celebrity gossip.
I discovered a thriving network of educators and experts in the fields of
technology and education, professionals who are sharing their insights and
passions. These tweets can have a tremendous positive impact on my
teaching practices and allow me to attain a greater level of expertise as an
educator. In essence, the advantages of social media are infinite.

3. When the internet seems to be shouting out
options, it’s hard to know where to begin.

4. Twitter, my new best friend
and #1 Most Useful Tool
After viewing Julie Smith’s Twitter tutorial for
educators on Youtube, I gained the confidence
to create an account and tweet #myfirsttweet.
Why it’s AWESOME:
Twitter is the foundation of my PLN; it has opened the door to every
educational discovery I’ve made.
Ashley Hurley’s tutorial on TweetDeck showed me how to chat with other
teachers; open communication is a priceless resource for teachers.
@cybraryman1 posts a master list of Twitter chats for educators!
I can ignore the Twitter noise and focus on education, literature, and
technology by selective following.

5. Feeling Twitterpated
➔ Discovering the right hashtag to use for posts takes a
little bit of time, but I quickly found my niche: #edchat,
#teachsmall, #edtech, #medialiteracy, #flipclass, #ning,
#litchat.
➔ Limiting Tweets to 140 characters is challenging but
fun.
➔ When inserting links, there’s no better pal than
TinyURL!
It’s sinfully easy!
=

6. My Twitter Page: click here

7. Best Bookmarking Tool:
I tried working with Delicious, but I found installation to be tedious and
confusing, which left me feeling frustrated.
=
Next, I tried Diigo. Installation only took a few clicks, and I have been
bookmarking ever since!
The Digolet bookmarklet button allows
me to bookmark, highlight, and share
useful resources I find online.

8. How I Intend to Incorporate
I can share and access bookmarks not only with
department members but also with educators around
the world.
Students can join my class group and use Diigo to
collaborate on research projects.
Students can use Diigo as the platform for their own
PLNs.
To Diigo or not to
Diigo… for the
love of Pete! Diigo,
Hamlet, Diigo!

9. My Diigo Library: click here

10. Another Key Part of My PLN is

11. Ning is the Thing!
The tagline immediately grabbed my attention:
Where English teachers go to help each other.
Why I LOVE this social media platform:
It was created for English teachers by an English teacher.
Different subgroups allow for specialization within the discipline.
I receive immediate responses from tech-savvy educators.
It exudes a spirit of generosity and goodwill.
It keeps me up-to-date on primary texts and technology.
I’ve already invited my entire department to join, learn, and share!
Thank you, Jim Burke! :)

12. My Ning Page

13. My Own Webpage on
Wix.com offers free, cloud-based websites!
The templates are fresh and interesting, and the drop-drag
method of editing makes customizing a page or site very
easy.
I plan to use my Wix page as a course overview and
resource site.
Students will create their own Wix pages for a satirical
advertising campaign, one of our performative
assessments.
Click here to see my page. (susanjude.wix.com/english12)

14. Other Tools to Enhance My PLN
LinkedIn seems to be geared more toward business than
education, although I am excited to experience what it has
to offer.
Feedly allows me to deposit all of the blogs I read in one
location. I’m not sure I will use this tool as much as I use
Twitter.
Pinterest provides ideas and activities for classroom
engagement, but again, I find Twitter to be more helpful.

15. My LinkedIn Profile: click here

16. My Feedly Page

17. My Pinterest Account: click here

18. Most USELESS Tool:
➔When a site expects teachers to pay to use
its services, I immediately stop reading.
➔There are so many FREE web tools
available to educators, there’s no need to
pay for anything.
➔Glogster gets a “G” from me for being
greedy!

19. My Take on Online Learning
★ My misconceptions of social media prevented me from
enhancing my students’ learning as well as my own learning
an educator.
★ “Building Social Media for Educators” has opened a doorway
of infinite possibilities for me by introducing me to Twitter.
★ I am thrilled to begin a new school year and share my
knowledge of Twitter, Diigo, and Ning with my colleagues
and students.
★ l look forward to engaging in the continuing conversation of
best practices in education, incorporating technology and my
passion for literature.