Blog 2: Twitter

I am relatively new to the Twitter world, but have found it to be a great resources for developing a professional learning network.  Twitter is a social media website that allows users to post information. The information that you receive depends highly on the people you choose to follow.  Additionally, you can post information to people who follow you or use specific hashtags.  

When I first began using Twitter, I was unsure of all its capabilities, and honestly, I am still learning.  In the beginning, I would just use Twitter to follow other educators and read their posted articles or links. As I have become more comfortable with the concept, I am now posting and have a small group of followers (only 22 to date, but am hoping to expand!)  Follow me @stjtechtools!

Aside from the PLN advantages of Twitter use, I find it to be very useful to highlight student work when I am in classrooms and for teachers to connect with their students on content.  I was in one classroom recently and the teacher was using Twitter as a way to assess her students on knowledge from the previous class period.  Students were required to "tweet" within the first few minutes of the class period. The teacher was using a specific hashtag that students were required to use.  Here is a link that has 60 examples of Twitter use in the classroom. 

Here are some great people to follow on Twitter: 
@wmchamberlain
@justintarte
@thenerdyteacher
@MOEducation - This is DESE's handle. 
@NMHS_Principal 

If you are unfamiliar with the Twitter world and would like to explore, you can do so without creating an account.  Anyone can search a hashtag (even just as a Google Search) and all of the "tweeting" associated with that hashtag with come back as the search results.  

Here is a video that demonstrates the use of Twitter in the classroom: