Again: Relevance, why Twitter? SmartBlogs. Twitter has been a topic for educational bloggers for several years now. I believe that those educators using Twitter are drawn to those posts, while other educators, not using Twitter, are driven away. Maybe the problem is the emphasis or focus of the blog posts. Maybe the focus should be on relevance and not mention of Twitter. Are educators relevant in our technology-driven society? The obvious answer is that some are, and some are not. A more important question is which of these two groups is growing? I earned an advanced degree in educational technology over 30 years ago. In the distant past, teachers were able to maintain their relevance based on printed journals, newspapers and magazines. Educators need a better way to communicate about change in order to maintain their relevance.
Too bad an application of social media like Twitter was developed for such a frivolous purpose. Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby) is an adjunct professor of education at St. Why Every Teacher Should Use Twitter | #michED. Twitter, a brief video introduction If you consider yourself a “visual learner,” this brief video introduction to Twitter for Teachers may help. Follow the link here. I already have a Facebook account, why would I want to become involved on Twitter? Twitter isn’t Facebook.
Yes, they both are social media, but Twitter offers users a lot more control than Facebook. “Teachers love to hear practical tips and strategies from others teachers. I’m a teacher. There is a common impression that Twitter is the place where Facebook content is posted with fewer characters. So how does Twitter work for teachers? There is an incredible network of hundreds of thousands of teachers on Twitter. “Over the course of a career, this exposure may mean the difference between being a slightly above average teacher and a teacher bordering on mastery.”
But I don’t have enough time for Twitter. Twitter doesn’t have to be the time-sucking-monster some believe it to be. Where to Start Twitter Chats Like this: True believer keen on spreading the social media word. Logged in: Keysborough College teacher Roland Gesthuizen likens Twitter to fishing. Photo: Angela Wylie ROLAND Gesthuizen describes himself as a social media evangelist. His passion for social media and Twitter in particular extends beyond the global power of tapping into and sharing ideas. For his students it has brought the outside world to his classroom in a way that could never be imagined. ''As I'm about to show a video of the Mars mission landing, I'll put my iPhone using the Apple computer up on the screen and I'll have the Twitter post from the guy who is steering it and he'll answer a question from the students and then I'll organise a Google hangout where he'll take a break from his work station and talk to the students.'' It's impressive stuff.
With almost 12,000 tweets in the past four years, Mr Gesthuizen (@rgesthuizen) has developed a network of leading science and technology educators and organisations. Advertisement. Twitter’s Number One Gift To The World Is The Art Of Brevity. I’ve been using Twitter for just about six years now, someone on Twitter informed me. Naturally. There are quite a few things that I’ve enjoyed about the service over the years, including the ability to connect with people all over the world in real-time.
But do you know what I appreciate about Twitter the most? Ushering in the notion of “brevity” for the entire Internets. Not sure what it means? Check it: I tend to talk a lot, yes I’m a rambler. The real reason why I get responses to things I say on Twitter is that the service forced me to introduce brevity into my arsenal. I tend to get upset when people build things to take you off of networks, be it cross-posting from Facebook or linking for the sake of linking. Brevity makes all of that happen. One Hundred-Forty The 140 character “restriction” was originally introduced because that’s how long a text message generally is.
Email made people gabby. Brevity is winning.
Hashtags. 25 Twitter Tips For Your Professional Development. Although LinkedIn gets a lot of love as a professional social media site, Twitter is a force that can’t be ignored by up-and-coming young professionals. It’s a great place to get connected and informed, and an especially good resource for growing professionally. But how exactly can you use Twitter for professional development? Check out our list to find 25 different ways. Keep your Twitter profile employer-focused:Maximize the space that you have in your profile to share a professional description of yourself. Hobbies show personality, but accomplishments and professional interests might help you land a job. Professional Twitter names can be helpful, too. Ditch your @ohyeah420 screen name, stat, and try using your real name instead.Use a photo of yourself:An important part of your Twitter profile is your photo.
PLN Challenge #3: Using Twitter to Build Your PLN. This guest post was written by Kathleen Morris, a grade two teacher and blogger from Victoria, Australia. This is post #3 in the “30 Days to a Whole New PLN” challenge! Now you know what a PLN is, we’re going to look at ways to build one. Most teachers who are using Twitter would probably agree that it is their number one way they build and connect with their PLN. What is Twitter? Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that allows you to send out short messages called tweets. Twitter is a place that you can just lurk, by reading others’ tweets, or contribute to, by sending out your own tweets. One of the great things about Twitter is that it is accessible via regular computers and mobile devices like iPads, iPhones and other smartphones.
Twitter is used by people in nearly every country around the world. Think you’re not interested in Twitter? Twitter is more than just “another social networking tool”. I like Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach’s analogy of Twitter being like a river. Teachers – The 10 Stages of Twitter. Stage 1 Sign up to twitter following persuasion/pestering by colleagues. Follow Stephen Fry, a famous sportsman/popstar and a news channel. Read a few tweets, don’t understand what the fuss is about and mock anyone who uses twitter. Stage 2 Overhear colleagues chatting about twitter and a great article they found. Promise to give it a go again and follow two or three recommendations. Find articles interesting and wonder how to get more. Stage 3 Think about posting first tweet. Stage 4 Upon realising you have no followers ask colleagues how to get them? Stage 5 Have a mini twitter conversation with colleague, even retweet a couple of statements.
Stage 6 Practise a couple of tweets that include @names and hashtags. Stage 7 Retweet any link you find interesting as people might read them. Stage 8 Thank colleagues for introducing you to twitter, impressed with the knowledge you have gleaned and your growing number of followers. Stage 9 Stage 10 (the reason for this post) Like this: Like Loading... Help Me Share the Power of Twitter. Have you ever tried to explain Twitter to people that don’t tweet? It’s hard. I want to create a video about Twitter by showing the real faces and how it’s inspired you in the field of education, in your classroom, or in your life. I would love for you to Tweet or DM me a snapshot, an Instagram, a Twitpic, or even a photo to my email of you holding up a simple sign that tells one way you’ve been inspired by the people in your PLN or simply what you love about Twitter. Not a professional photo. Just a simple statement, with a big message.
Thank you! DEADLINE: Sunday, June 17, at midnight, central time! Twitter for educators. 10 Tips for Success on Twitter (1) Ever wondered why you are not benefiting from Twitter as others are? Ever wondered where you have been going wrong? If so, this is the right post for you! Today we will be giving you 5 tips for success on Twitter that are easy to apply and have proven to be effective with many throughout their Twitter usage (and mine as well): 1. Repeat Your Tweets: Many tweeps fear that repeating tweets every now and then could get them unfollowed in the long run. 2.
Although you might not want to believe this, but no one likes drama, badmouthing or plain negativity. 3. Tweets must always be planned based on where you are and what your time zone is. 4. Don’t expect everything you send on Twitter to go crazy with RTs. 5. 10 Tips for Success on Twitter (2) Welcome back to part 2 of our Twitter success tips. Here are 5 more tips to help you make better use of Twitter: 1. Invest in Efforts: A quick direct message to thank a new follower, or a simple message sent to a Twitter friend you have not seen in a while says a lot about how important connections are to you. 2.
Never hesitate to continuously ask questions. 3. Don’t be shy about proclaiming the accomplishments of others. 4. Twitter can be addictive and you can easily get lost and distracted when using it regularly. 5. Enjoy the conversation, but carry it past the 140 characters. Looking forward to your comments and insights in the comments section below :) Why YOUR Sharing Matters. Cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by andrew_mc_d I am going to have to admit it; the term “lurker” drives me nuts. I know that there is an amount of time where someone is becoming comfortable with the idea of social media, but many have admitted to me that they just look at all the great resources yet are uncomfortable tweeting from their own account.
My response to this is that they simply “retweet” some of the great content they are reading. You do not have to have original content or come up with the next “big thing” but simply just share. Here is an example of how sharing and a simple retweet can create a ripple effect. This morning (in Australia), I received a tweet from someone I don’t know.
Being the “cyber sleuth” that I am, before I responded, I checked out who they were and their tweets. So…not many followers and not many tweets. So my suggestion to new tweeters… Keep sharing. How important is Twitter in your Personal Learning Network? Twitter and the Personal Learning Network (PLN). If you are a connected educator, chances are that you have often seen these two terms used together and, perhaps like me, you have wondered what's the connection? This question formed the basis of my 2011 Masters thesis and while my research showed that you can have a PLN without Twitter (and, indeed, those non-Twitter spaces are important for a well developed PLN), Twitter does play a unique role within a PLN, which makes it a powerful platform for networked learning and professional development [1].
Literature Review Twitter is a free service that is part microblogging platform and part social network, which allows users to send and receive short, 140 character messages [2]. A PLN is an informal learning network of people you connect with for the specific purpose of learning, based on reciprocity and a level of trust that each party is actively seeking value added information for the other [10, 11]. Methodology Results Conclusion References.
Twitter Ties. May 18, 2012 by tomwhitby For the “Connected Educator” Twitter can be a mainstay for information and sources. In order to build up a steady flow of information and sources, one need only to establish a list of people to follow on Twitter who put out the tweets, or messages, that contain links, URL’s, to that information or source. In Twitter terms these people are called “Follows”. They are the people one follows. The other side of the coin here would be those educators who follow me. There are many ways to follow people. The real connections with all of the follows, and followers however, come with the personal exchanges made between follows and followers. It is with this backdrop that I now address my latest experience with my Twitter emotions. I happened upon an Application, or Twitter tool called Manage Flitter.
While expressing my concern about Twitter on Twitter, two of my follows stepped up to console me. Like this: Like Loading... Using Twitter to develop a PLN. Of all the tools to emerge from the Web 2.0 revolution, few are as intriguing as Twitter. When Twitter first appeared in 2006 it was one of those hard to define web tools that, on the surface, sounded silly and trivial. However, in the last few years it has risen to be one of the web’s most powerful simple ideas. At its best, Twitter is the ultimate real-time communication tool, enabling ideas to spread across the Internet with unprecedented speed and reach.
As a mechanism for gaining insight into the “wisdom of the crowds” it has few equals. During the recent elections in Iran for example, Twitter proved its worth as a vehicle for people in Tehran to keep the flow of information going to the outside world, even when official news crews were being silenced and censored by the government. Thanks to Twitter, the truth still had a voice. Twitter was created in 2006 as a side project by Odeo Corp , but has since evolved into one of the web’s hottest properties. So what exactly is Twitter?