Twitter in D123. CybraryMan. Twitter as a professional development tool. Love it or hate it? This week I attended a conference about professional development in Scotland. The participants were Community Learning and Development workers (CLD). I was there to show how the various ways in which a SMARTboard could be used for teaching, training and groupwork. There was also a focus on the use of ‘social media’ as a professional development tool and a way of engaging with individuals. What struck me most forcefully is the way in which ‘social media’ (mostly defined as Facebook and Twitter), polarised the audience, with strong emotions on both sides. Many were strongly in favour of these engagements, but others felt ‘social media’ is more of a force for harm than good. Many of the debates were about using social media to connect with young and vulnerable people, a topic which does require sensitivity, and which is not the focus of this blog post.
During the debate, I chatted to a participant who said: ‘you don’t do that twitter, do you?’ In other words, not the done thing. Like this: 10 Reasons for Education Professionals to Use Twitter. Can a message of only 140 characters really affect change in the world? Twitter is doing just that one message at a time. Last week I met with a small group of teachers and administrators to show them some of the merits of using Twitter as an education professional. I have already read many blogs about the virtue of educators using Twitter, so my message is nothing new. It is simply my perspective that I share with anyone who would like to catch up on the meeting of last week.
Here’s what I told the group: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. My final advice is to take it slowly but be persistent. 10. Here’s to meeting you online! Internet Catalogue. Teaching with Twitter. A Parent's Guide to Twitter. Chances are your teen has a page on Facebook, the social-networking website with a massive following among users ages 9 to 99. And, chances are, if you've heard of Facebook, you've probably also heard of Twitter, another player in the ever-expanding fray of social networking platforms, micro-blogs and the like.
Perhaps you have a Twitter account. But does your child have one too? And as a parent, should you be concerned about Twitter in the hands of your child? The short answer: There’s no reason to ban your child from Twitter, but it's important that both of you understand its ins and outs, its pros and cons and how to use it properly. How is Twitter Different From Facebook? Twitter is similar to Facebook in that users can broadcast their thoughts — from the most inane to the most earth shattering — for the world to see. On Twitter, users are limited to just 140 characters per post, where each post is usually referred to as a “tweet.” You, Your Child, and the Account. QR Codes and TinyURL in Education. We started using QR Codes in our classrooms in the summer of 2011. We began investigating how we could make use of them and found a large amount of information online about the potential for QR Codes being used in the education environment.
Some of these can be found here: In addition to these websites there is also much more that can be found on YouTube, in blogs and by searching for 'QR Codes Classroom'. Initially, we only made use of QR Codes and made them using Kaywa. This was good as it allowed easier access to a URL through either an application on a mobile device or a desktop QR Code reader. This worked in most cases, but we found that sometimes children struggled to manipulate the QR Code for the reader to pick it up easily and that children and parents didn’t always have access to a QR Code reader at home. We then, after seeing them used on Twitter, started to look at the use of URL shortening services.
Planning Your School District Admin Twitter 101 - Your PLN is key! Educational Web Sites Twitter. Cybrary Man is a Twitterbrarian! My Twitter Friends My RebelMouse Wording by @sjunkins Sign by Maureen Devlin @lookforsun Sign by @sjunkins. Tweeting For Schools. Awhile ago, I wrote a post entitled, “What Should A Networked Educational Leader Tweet About? “, which was meant to be a guide to administrators new to Twitter on tweeting and sharing information using this social media tool. It is something that I am hoping all educators can use, but I obviously think that administrators should really understand the important use of social media in schools. As our own school division and schools all over the world are starting to use organizational Twitter accounts to connect, I wanted to write a post on how a school or educational institution can use Twitter effectively.
It is a great way to connect with students, as well as share their message locally and globally. Here are some ideas to start you with the process: School Announcements- This is probably the way Twitter is used most often with school accounts but sometimes it is the only way. With the information above, it is important that you do not take this lightly. 10 Commandments of Twitter for Academics - Do Your Job Better. By Katrina Gulliver Most of my friends (the ones who are not already on Twitter) have heard my Twitter pitch, and it's true that since joining several years ago I've become quite an evangelist.
Recently over dinner, a colleague told me he had never really gotten the point of Twitter, but now that he had a book to promote, he wished he had followers he could share it with. Twitter is what you make of it, and its flexibility is one of its greatest strengths. I'm going to explain why I have found it useful, professionally and personally, and lay out some guidelines for academics who don't know where to start. The first and most obvious benefit has been helping me get to know a lot of great people whom I probably wouldn't have met otherwise. Thanks to Twitter, I have been sent copies of obsure articles much faster than I would have received them from an interlibrary loan. A common error I see some academics make on Twitter is to set up an account solely to promote a new book or project. 1. 2.
35 ways to use Twiducate for deeper learning. Reasons to be cheerful…….Twiducate! Here are 35 ways to use Twiducate to deepen learning. I have split the tips up into four sections; using the main “Post to Class” section, using the “Important Dates” section, using the “Class Bookmarks” and using the “Chat” option. I hope you find it helpful and please, feel free to comment, and it would be great if you could add some more uses!
Remember when posting information to your class don’t forget to click the pin icon, this means that YOUR post will remain at the top of the Twiducate feed. 1. Post a keyword(s) for the lesson and ask you students to post their definition of the word. You can then ask students to vote on the “best” definition by clicking on the “like” icon (see more below). To deepen learning, nominate students to decide on the keyword(s). 2. Asking effective questions is the key to deep learning, Twiducate lends itself to this brilliantly. Use Twiducate to ask; 3. 4. 5. 6. Ideal for a Modern Foreign Language lesson. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
How To Build A Great Twitter Reputation And Get More Followers And Retweets. If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, then this article is for you. Want more followers and retweets? New to Twitter and want to make it useful for you? Twitter isn’t working as well as you’d like it to? The three steps to a great Twitter reputation are content, style and connections. First—because this is what makes you really popular—we’ll cover making connections and building your account. Second, we’ll work on creating tweets that will give people something to retweet, and help people get to know you and want to recommend you. Your tweets are the core to your reputation. Third, we’ll work on your Twitter style. Ready? Begin by searching for people to engage with by topics that interest you. Add users that you find and are considering to Twitter lists, so you can watch how they tweet for awhile.
You’ll want to follow very few key people at first, because you’ll want to have time to devote to them once you follow them. 1. 3. And don’t forget to spread out your tweets! 1. 2. 4. Twitter resources. On Twitter: To Follow or Not to Follow. Recently, I have had students discover my @TheNerdyTeacher Twitter account and follow me. It usually only lasts a few days before they unfollow me -- a few days of my flooding their feed with blog posts, education news and Edutopia articles. The big question I get from kids is, "Why don't you follow me back? " I tell them that I have some guidelines when it comes to Twitter and following students. I thought it would be great if I shared them with all of you that use Twitter as part of your education life. 1) Have a School-Only Account @TheNerdyTeacher is my personal/business account. 2) Create a Set of Follow Rules to Share with Students I always follow a student back if he or she follows me on my school account, but then I tweet them some guidelines that I stick to when following students. 3) Limit the DMs There will be times when students will DM me a question that might be something they do not want to share with the entire Twitter stream.
See more see less. What's a Twitter Chat? A number of my blog posts are reflections of twitter chats, such as #lrnchat and #realwplearn chat. As vibrant a community these chats represent, I sometimes forget that the participants in these chats represent a very small percentage of the overall community of Learning and Development Professionals. At a recent ASTD Chapter meeting, I was reminded of this fact during a conversation I had with a group of peers. I was asked where I learned about something and I casually replied "We discussed it during a recent #lrnchat".
I received silence and a few puzzled looks in response. I added "It's a regular Twitter chat for learning professionals". Another moment of silence passed, broken finally by a peer who asked "What's a twitter chat? " If you've ever wanted to know how a twitter chat works, or what tools you can use to participate in a Twitter Chat, then this post is geared towards you. A Twitter Chat is a group chat that takes place using the social networking service, Twitter. 1. 2. 3.
Top 25 Teachers & Educators on Twitter | Math Game Time. If you’re always on the hunt for new ideas to implement in the classroom or want to keep up with the latest news in education, then turn to Twitter. With teachers tweeting in droves, if determining whom to follow first is overwhelming, start by checking out these top 25 teachers, educators and experts on Twitter. By following their tweets, you will gain access to education news as it happens and numerous tips, activities and resources to use in your classroom or with your children. 1. Vicki Davis (@coolcatteacher) has won multiple awards for her blog and Flat Classroom projects.
Follow her for tweets about classroom activities and the latest in educational research. When we spoke with Vicki she said, “Twitter is my most important connecting tool because of its intrinsic ability to condense a lot into a little and as a teacher I have such a short time to keep up.” 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 12 Reasons to Get Your School District Tweeting This Summer. 5 Tricks for Twitter Power Users. If you love Twitter—and you also have a life—you probably use Buffer to schedule your tweets: To make announcements at a specific time, to send time-sensitive tweets like for limited-time offers, to communicate when your followers are most likely to notice, and to avoid membership in the tweet-a-minute club. If that’s you then you'll want to check out a few ways to make Buffer even more useful. Who better to provide tips than Leo Widrich, the co-founder of Buffer.
Here are five tricks he recommends: 1. Use SocialBro. 2. “This is a great way to engage with your followers when you have only very limited time at hand," Widrich says. 3. Twitter Hashtags In The Classroom. Cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by danielmoyle For the last couple of years that I have been on Twitter, I have seen the value of using a hashtag to connect and share ideas between educators all around the world. This shared learning has made my Twitter stream a lot easier to filter so I can find stuff that is more applicable to some of the work I am doing. I am never limited to that “stream”, but it is something that I go to often. For administrators, I have used #cpchat to share and find learning shared by and for school and division administrators. For our own school division, the hashtag #psd70 has been a great way to share articles amongst our own school division, while also connecting an area that is pretty large geographically.
As the year progresses, we are seeing more educators in our division use this hashtag as a way to share their work while also using it as a “bat signal” to ask for help. Here are some steps that you will have to do to start a hashtag for your class: Twitter finds a place in the classroom. Twitter has place in classroom A Los Angeles teacher has found Twitter to be an important teaching tool Students can chime in with questions and answers using the Web service Twitter is integrated into 2% of college lectures, says one study Los Angeles (CNN) -- Students tap away at their cell phones, laptops and iPads during Enrique Legaspi's high-tech history lesson.
In some grade schools, pulling out these devices during class would result in a one-way ticket to the principal's office. But Legaspi encourages this behavior, as long as the kids are using Twitter. A technology enthusiast, Legaspi learned how to incorporate the social network into his 8th-grade curriculum while attending the annual Macworld convention in San Francisco earlier this year. "I had an aha moment there," he said. Teachers across the country have been incorporating Twitter into classrooms for a few years, but the site's adoption by educational institutions appears to be limited.
Still, Legaspi is hopeful. Educational Hash Tags. 100 Ways To Use Twitter In Education, By Degree Of Difficulty. The Ultimate Twitteraholic’s Guide to tweets, hashtags, and all things Twitter. 20 Hottest Hashtags for Teachers on Twitter. How to Use Twitter to Grow Your PLN. Apps to Use as Student ePortfolios. How to Write Magnetic Headlines. Top 25 Teachers & Educators on Twitter | Math Game Time.