A connected educator develops networks and collaborates online with colleagues globally to engage in powerful learning practices. This shifts away from isolation towards a community of learners who have deep conversations about ideas and practice while listening to varied perspectives. A personal learning network (PLN) allows educators to choose who they follow on platforms like Twitter to learn at their own pace anywhere through links, articles, conferences and discussions. PLNs connect local, national and international educators from diverse backgrounds who freely share resources and support learning. Twitter can provide 24/7 professional development for educators through finding resources, up-to-the-minute news, and communicating with others. It allows sharing ideas during presentations and getting feedback from a global audience.

2. What is a
connected educator?

3. Starts with….
connected learning
develop networks and co-construct knowledge
collaborate online
interact with colleagues around the globe
Powerful Learning Practice

4. New Culture Emerges
Shift away from a paradigm of isolation and closed doors
Deep commitment to understanding ideas related learning
Conversations turn to topics of practice
Active listening to varied perspectives
Community of learners moving forward
Powerful Learning Practice

5. What is a
PLN?

6. Personal
Learning
Network

7. It’s Personal
You choose who you want to follow
You choose if you want to actively participate
Collaborate, communicate and learn at your
pace, anywhere, anytime

8. Learning
Links to
blogs, articles, photos, infographics, conferences, and
more
Education “chats” in real time on a wide-range of
topics
Follow education “giants”

9. Network
Local, National and International
Educators from diverse backgrounds
Individuals who share resources, support and
encourage learning

10. Who Needs a PLN?
Educators who want to learn and share in a global
community
Educators who are looking to reach beyond their
school community and embrace new pedagogy
Educators who want to stay current

11. Added Bonus
PLN’s are social – often the people you follow on
Twitter are people you have or will meet face-to-face at
education conferences
PLN’s freely share of their time and talent, site
resources, offer feedback, participate virtually in your
presentations

12. Twitter
for Educators

13. Objectives:
Share a basic understanding of Twitter
Describe the Benefits of Using Twitter
Explain Personal Learning Networks
Give Examples of Twitter in the Classroom

14. Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking service and
microblogging service that enables its users to send and
read text-based messages of up to 140
characters, known as "tweets”.
Over 500 million active users
340 million tweets daily
1.6 billion search queries per day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

15. Benefits of Twitter
24/7 Professional Development
Together we’re Better
Find great resources
Up-to-the-minute News
Best, Free Professional Development, any Teacher
can access
Self-Awareness and Reflective Practice
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

16. An example-
Parent Education Workshop
Presentation to parents on Social Media
Sent a Live Tweet during the presentation
“Giving a Twitter education class to parents right
now, pls send your location and how you use
Twitter, pls RT”

17. D.C.
Memphis
Burlington, MA
Iceland
Oxford, UK
Inga from Iceland, retweets
my original tweet sending to
her followers
NC
Central NY
Lancaster
Wisconsin
West
Michigan
UAE
London

18. Kingston, NY
St. Louis, MO
Florida
So.Cal.
New Brunswick, Canada
Vermont
Ontario, Canada
Maine
Reading, MA
Perth, Down
Under
NJ
Perth, Australia
Northbrook, IL

19. The Backchannel
Tweeting during a conference or presentation
Allows individuals not at the conference to follow the main
ideas.
Allows for immediate feedback

20. One 10 minute Presentation
Over 100 tweets
From 5 countries
Sharing the key points
Offering instant feedback

21. “Passionate
learning starts
with passionate
teachers” -
@ksivick

22. Followers from
around the
globe let us
know they are
watching.
Hi from
Plymouth, U
K
A big Hello from
Glasco, Scotland!
Hello from
Switzerland

23. How to use Twitter
in the Classroom

24. Current Events: Keep a projection of live tweets , Students
can witness news in real time.

25. Book discussion: #nerdybookclub

26. Follow authors

27. Follow education hashtags

28. Research
Many experts are on Twitter
MLA now outlines how to properly cite a Tweet
Crowdsource your research, ask others to tweet their best
references

29. Promote Class Blog
Tweet the link to your class blog
Ask for feedback for specific topic or post

30. Class Blog

32. Jake received 6 comments on his blog.
Two of the comments were from
people living in Ethiopia.
“I live in Addis Ababa, which is the
capitol of Ethiopia and I like it a lot.
The food here is very spicy and
delicious and people usually eat with
their hands.”

33. India
Germany
United Kingdom
Revolver map linked to blog, this list
hows live “hits” to the student’s
log, follow tweeting the link.

34. Backchannels
Ask students to follow tweets during a televised event
Model a backchannel and tweet during a conference so
students can witness your learning

35. Start a weekly Chat
Send students a poll asking them to vote on a discussion
topic
Assign a twitter conversation for homework – meet on
twitter, get a conversation started
Invite global experts, alumni, parents, anyone who wants
to extend the conversation beyond classroom walls

36. Alternatives to Twitter
for the classroom