Have you ever come across something so amazing that you just had to share it? One of the most valuable tools that I have discovered recently as an educator is Twitter. Twitter was introduced in my web 2.0 class as a professional tool. I previously thought of Twitter as a way to follow celebrities or friends regarding meaningless information. I never realized the power of Twitter! It has brought to my attention great ideas, content, articles, books, websites, blogs, as well as professional opportunities. At the present time I am following 380 educators, authors, and professionals from all around the world. Each day I go on Twitter, I go away with several ideas that I can use in my classroom. Can you imagine getting several suggestions in just ten minutes as to how you can be more creative in your classroom content? How do other teachers integrate and accomplish so much in the little amount of time that we have them? What is the one thing that has helped them grow as an educator in their classroom? Twitter provides the opportunity to ask them! Educators are having discussions about practices, content, and connections all the time! These discussions allow me to interact and share with other professionals that I have met through Twitter. It provides the opportunity to see what is going on in other schools throughout the United States, as well as the world, without having to leave home. It is accessible twenty four hours a day. Twitter has brought about questioning in me as an educator and my path, without ever realizing prior that it was something I needed to examine. It has also provided collaborations with my classroom that provides the students the opportunities to connect with other classes throughout the world. As my PLN continues to grow, I look forward to meeting more professionals and learning together on how to become the best educators we can be for our children! It is always scary to try something new. However, the gain far outweighs the risk! I look forward to following you in the future!
I totally agree. I try to impress upon my colleagues daily the vast amount of educational tweeting taking place. You cannot fathom the support, information, ideas, and camaraderie that are available via Twitter. It truly is the most fabulous PLN, cyber or otherwise,that I've had the pleasure to work with.
ReplyDeleteTwitter, for me, has removed the walls of my classroom and has enabled my class to expand and enhance their world view seeing that their world is much bigger than Alabama, but also expands to California, Michigan, Australia, and Canada just to name a few.
ReplyDeleteAs a professional, it has challenged and supported me as I strive to improve what I do in the classroom. As a Professional Learning Community, it regularly presents multiple ways to enhance and enrich best practices and gives me the support as I work my way through it.
I added Twitter to my PLN about 1 1/2 years ago (or about 4,000 tweets ago!) The connections I have made through this forum have been instrumental in my professional development. I have "met" so many interesting and smart people through this venue and their ideas and practice have challenged me to constantly "up my game". This free resource keeps me fresh and interested in the work I have been doing for 30 years. Try it, you'll love it!
ReplyDeleteBy the way - I am the district librarian and I work closely with our school's 4th grade team and would love to connect you with them. I'm still nudging them toward Twitter!
Everything you say is true. Twitter is about connecting - it raises your awareness in short sharp spurts.
ReplyDeleteThe use of hashtags has enhanced the Twitter experience. It also helps with the conections. My students have benefitted from the #comments4kids hashtag as it gives them an authentic audience.
I began using Twitter while I was at the ISTE conference in Denver last summer. It has become invaluable for a number of reasons:
ReplyDelete1) A worldwide PLN that can provide me with resources and information I might have had to spend a great deal of time finding.
2) Insight into how other schools function and handle issues.
3) The ability to discuss and understand that not everyone thinks like you and that's ok.
4) Being able to help my students connect with students from around the world.
5) Continual support and friendship.
These are just a few of the reasons and initially I thought how can anyone use only 140 characters but you can and you won't be sorry.
Thank you so much for your comments! I really appreciate all of you sharing your success with Twitter! Kathy- I would love to connect with your 4th grade team! My class loves meeting new friends. How can I contact them?
ReplyDeleteI started using twitter about a two years ago. It took a while to figure out who to follow, what to tweet and how to create a following. But, once you find a community of like minded educators, the resources, ideas and support is endless. With two other history teachers, we created #sschat, a Monday night chat for social studies teachers to share ideas based on a voted upon topic. There isn't a single day that goes by without a member of my PLN answering a question or sharing a resource that I then use in my classroom. I can't recommend enough getting started on twitter to build your PLN!
ReplyDeleteGreg