Three Simple Ways to Save Time on Twitter What’s your biggest struggle when it comes to social media? I’ve sent that question to hundreds of social media professionals and digital marketers in the past few months and the consensus is… I feel the pain. I know from first-hand experience that juggling a presence on multiple social networks is difficult, especially when you don’t want lose out on the benefits of the newest shiny toys — lately, Google+ and Pinterest. We’re all constantly looking for new tools and methods to increase efficiency without sacrificing quality engagement, which of course should always be our focus with social media. Below are three simple tools and methods to cut down on your tweeting time, especially if you’re on a web page without social sharing buttons. 1. Buffer as a whole is one of my favorite tools, and their browser extension is just icing on the cake. This extension adds a tiny toolbar to the bottom of your browser with a Buffer icon. 2. 3. Let me lay out the general process: Wrong! What Do You Think?
What are 21st century skills? | Thoughtful Learning: Curriculum for 21st Century Skills, Inquiry, Project-Based Learning, and Problem-Based Learning The 21st century skills are a set of abilities that students need to develop in order to succeed in the information age. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills lists three types: Learning Skills Critical Thinking Creative Thinking Collaborating Communicating Literacy Skills Information Literacy Media Literacy Technology Literacy Life Skills Flexibility Initiative Social Skills Productivity Leadership New Skills for New Jobs These skills have always been important for students, though they are particularly important in our information-based economy. To hold information-age jobs, though, students also need to think deeply about issues, solve problems creatively, work in teams, communicate clearly in many media, learn ever-changing technologies, and deal with a flood of information. Demand in the Workplace These are not just anecdotal observations.
A Helpful Resource to Support Close Reading in the Classroom via Snap!Learning Taking a Closer Look at Close Reading- click here to take a look - I've had the pleasure of speaking across the country on a variety of literacy topics, mostly focused on reading and writing workshop. Recently I've been asked to consult with several districts and speak at many conferences on close reading. Last year was the first time I presented on the topic of close reading in Las Vegas. What is Close Reading? The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) describes close reading in light of the Common Core State Standards. How Should I Implement Close Reading? Over the past few years, I've been collecting resources to support the implementation of close reading in our classroom. What Resources Are Available? I had been familiar with Snap! With the resources from Snap! One of my favorite components of Snap! What About Resources for Teachers? How Can I Try Snap! Be sure to check out the Snap! This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.
Getting started on Twitter? Help is at hand | Social Media 4 Us Getting started on Twitter? Help is at hand If you have just joined Twitter welcome to the Twittersphere! Rest assured that whilst it may seem a bit daunting to start with, once you start to follow people that interest you (this is important) you will start to engage in very interesting conversations. If you prefer you can initially simply follow others who are doing so and this is fine. As you add people you wish to follow, you will see that their tweets provide you with links to websites, photos and videos on topics of interest you share. Twitter follow button You can find more information about using Twitter by going to the Twitter tab at the top of this page or via this link: Everyone has a Twitter name or handle. It is helpful to others when choosing your handle to keep it succinct so it will be easy for your followers to remember. In March 2012 Twitter celebrated it’s 6th birthday. Source:
What are literacy skills? | Thoughtful Learning: Curriculum for 21st Century Skills, Inquiry, Project-Based Learning, and Problem-Based Learning Literacy skills help students gain knowledge through reading as well as using media and technology. These skills also help students create knowledge through writing as well as developing media and technology. Information Literacy Students need to be able to work effectively with information, using it at all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating). Information literacy involves traditional skills such as reading, researching, and writing; but new ways to read and write have also introduced new skills: Consuming information: The current excess of information requires students to gain new skills in handling it. Inquire: A Guide to 21st Century Learning provides chapters on reading to learn, study skills, vocabulary, and basic and advanced research. Media Literacy Media literacy involves understanding the many ways that information is produced and distributed. Technology Literacy
The near and far future of libraries — Hopes&Fears — flow "Technology" My background is in linguistics, and my graduate research involveddocumenting some of the most endangered languages in the world. I alsoworked in a small language archive where we had been given field notesby people who’d researched languages with few speakers left. In somecases, archival materials are the only materials that remain forspoken languages. If you’ve ever had that experience of holding something in your hands that is the only one of its kind, you begin to realize how precious and perishable this information is. If you’re making an archival relic for future generations, it’s veryimportant to have “signposts” directing people to know that it exists,how to find it, and how to access the information on it. The Long Now Foundation takes the span of human civilization as itsscope: 10,000 years in the past from the dawn of human civilization,and projecting that 10,000 years into future.
Blog | Can Twitter replace traditional professional development? Twitter and Facebook might soon replace traditional professional development for teachers. Instead of enduring hours-long workshops a few times a year, teachers could reach out to peers on the Internet in real time for advice on things like planning a lesson (or salvaging a lesson that’s going wrong), overcoming classroom management problems, or helping students with disabilities. Or, at least, that’s what a group of Internet-savvy educators who convened in New York City this week are hoping. A presenter at the #140edu conference. “Being connected [through social-networking sites] is an opportunity for growth anytime, anywhere,” said Steve Anderson, director of instructional technology for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in North Carolina, speaking yesterday at the second annual #140edu conference, a reference to Twitter’s 140 character limit for tweets. “A teacher could be teaching a lesson on the Civil War.
Nine Elements Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship Digital citizenship can be defined as the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use. 1. Digital Access: full electronic participation in society. Technology users need to be aware that not everyone has the same opportunities when it comes to technology. Working toward equal digital rights and supporting electronic access is the starting point of Digital Citizenship. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Respect, Educate and Protect (REPs) These elements have also been organized under the principles of respect, educate and protect. Respect Your Self/Respect Others - Etiquette - Access - Law Educate Your Self/Connect with Others - Literacy - Communication - Commerce Protect Your Self/Protect Others -Rights and Responsibility - Safety (Security) - Health and Welfare If this was to be taught beginning at the kindergarten level it would follow this pattern: Repetition 1 (kindergarten to second grade) Respect Your Self/Respect Others Digital Etiquette
7 Ways to Hack Your Classroom to Include Student Choice For a long time, when educators discussed differentiating instruction and meeting students’ individual needs, they did so through the framework of Learning Styles. However, in the last few years the idea of student achievement being impacted by lessons taught to their particular learning style has been debunked. No scientific, educational research has proven the validity of teaching for student learning styles; in fact, this blog post collected 10 statements from educational researchers that actually disprove the use of such approaches. We covered the same topic in The Myth of Learning Styles, where we made the point that, “Instructors should not just take into consideration a learner’s style, but also their background and interests.” This suggestion is based in solid research, which documents the positive relationship between student interest and academic success. Teachers do a lot to maintain student interest. Image via Flickr by US Department of Education In Short
All the easiest ways to search old tweets For people search, see “The Ultimate Guide To Finding People On Twitter“ Twitter’s default search only goes back a week—if that—and often chokes on multiple keyword searches. But finally, Twitter has begun letting users download ALL their Tweets, and has included a tweet search engine (& charts) with the download! It even lets you sort by month or keyword, and includes some handy charts. Well done, Twitter! But not everyone can access their download…yet! So if that’s not available to you, fortunately, there ARE many great alternatives. Problems With Search There is no free search product that is 100% reliable. Also, to see the most tweets possible at Twitter.com, read “How to get Twitter.com to show you more tweets when you page down.” Here are my favorites: Library of Congress tweet archive search By searching Google using the “Updates” option you are searching the entire twitter archive. Review of all search methods I’ve added a brief review below, which I’ll expand later. Snapbird BackTweets