100 Ways To Use Twitter In Education, By Degree Of Difficulty Twitter may have started off as a fun social media site for keeping up with friends and sharing updates about daily life, but it’s become much more than that for many users over the past few years as the site has evolved and grown. These days, Twitter is a powerhouse for marketing, communication, business, and even education, letting people from around the world work together, share ideas, and gain exposure. It has become a staple at many online colleges and campuses as well, leaving many academics wondering just how and if they should be using Twitter both in the classroom and in their professional lives. Whether you’re an academic or just interested in building your Twitter profile, keep reading to learn some tips and tricks that can help you take the first steps towards using Twitter for coursework, research, building a professional network, and beyond. The Basics You have to start somewhere and these tips will help ensure that your first foray in Twitter is a great experience. Etiquette
Tiny Bursts of Learning Despite the fact that I know many teachers who would rank Twitter as the most valuable and powerful networking tool they have access to, there are still many more who simply don’t “get” the value of Twitter. I’ve been to lots of conferences over the last few years where the enormous value of belonging to a Personal Learning Network was being touted, and Twitter is nearly always being suggested as the ideal tool for building that network. At one recent conference I asked for a show of hands for who was not yet on Twitter, and many hands went up… my response was “Why not? What are you waiting for? I spoke to a group of preservice teachers recently who were basically told by their lecturers that they needed to join Twitter. In contrast to all this is the general sentiment among many teachers that “we need more PD!” Learning needs to be ongoing. So how can something at simple as Twitter possibly be used to stay professionally current? How I use my Twitter PLN to learn …to name but a few.
Resources for Growing Your Professional Learning Network Get ideas and tips for creating connections and developing a network. Where do you find time for brainstorming with colleagues? Whether collaboration takes place in well-organized professional learning communities or on the fly in hallway chats, chances are it doesn't happen often enough during the regular school year. Yet research shows that networking with fellow teachers is time well spent. In a recent survey, Teachers Network found that 80 percent of teachers said network participation encouraged them to remain in the classroom, while 90 percent said that networking improved their teaching practice. A personal network doesn't eliminate the need for high-quality professional development, but it does offer a powerful antidote for classroom isolation. Neil Stephenson, who blogs at Thinking In Mind, offers this quick illustration to show the power of networks: "One day, I see kids in our school doing a really cool looking art project. Online tools allow you to build a far-flung network.
Mom This is How Twitter Works Educational Hash Tags #edude#eduFollowChallenge#edugreen #eduhashtag #eduit#edumindset#eduON (Ontario)#euduoz #edupd#edupreneur#edupunk #edutech #EduThingsILike#eduvc#eduvoxers #elemchat #elementary#elemsci #ell #ellchat#elrnchat #elt#eltchat#eltpics#emchat #emotionalliteracy#edpolitics #engagechat#engchat #engedu #EngineeringEducation#english #english-teacher#engsschat #enrichingkids#enviroed#e-safety#ESCchat#esdgc#esea#esl #esol#esp#ETAS#etcchat#ETcoaches#etmchat#ettipad #e20#expandedlearning #family#fb4ed#FCE#FETC #FF#fft#filmclass#finnedchat#fitnessedu#flatclass #flatclassroom#FLE#flipblogs#flipchat #flipclass#flipped#flippedclassroomflippedlearning#flteach#FOAMed #followalibrarian #followfriday#fooded#foodtechteachers #formativeassessment#forteachers #frenchchat#frimm#fstenet#FutureReady#FYCchat #jalt#jcedchat#jedchat#jed21#jerdchat#journalism#journchat#JoyfulLeaders #TABSchat#TalkTech#TCEA #tck#TCRWP#TRCWPCoaching#TD#TDSIG#teach#teachchat#teachered#teacher-librarian#teachchat#teachgender#teach-me
The Connected Science Teacher It's summertime: time to relax, refresh and get connected. Joining an online community of science teachers is a great way to find resources, inspiration and like-minded colleagues to collaborate with as you re-tool your courses for the next school year. The list below is a good starting point to find a community or two that meets your needs. Edutopia's STEM Group This group has over 2000 members engaged in discussion and sharing ideas. Scitable Scitable is a social network created by Nature Publishing Group. My Moon My Moon is an irreverent co-moon-ity from the Lunar Planetary Institute that is focused on connecting those "under 35" to resources, experts and other information about lunar exploration. Edmodo's Science Community This community connects thousands of Edmodo-using science teachers to each other. The NSTA Learning Center This Learning Center is another large community space for science teachers, whether or not you're a member of the National Science Teachers Association.
Twitter for Professional Development One of best and worst things about teaching today is the unbelievably unfathomable amount of online resources, tools, websites, lesson plans, and overall good stuff for teaching and learning. However, there are only so many hours and minutes in the day to spend researching and finding resources that are relevant to your life as a teacher. How do you keep up with it all? Simply put: Twitter. There is nothing better than having a good group of “goto” people that you can turn to with questions about resources, bounce ideas off of for lessons and projects, and collaborate with on a regular basis. Twitter to the rescue! In addition to just following educators and others with the same interests as you, there are several different hashtags that you can follow that revolve around the educational realm.
20 Hottest Hashtags for Teachers on Twitter Posted on Wednesday January 18, 2012 by Staff Writers As a teacher, continuing education is so important that most school districts require that teachers enroll in some form of coursework on a regular basis to keep their knowledge and skills fresh. And while those courses are essential, staying on top of the cutting edge of educational development is important as well. #edchatCreated by educators Tom Whitby, Steven Anderson, and Shelly Terrell, #edchat offers a great platform for discussion among teachers and other professionals related to education. #cpchatCreated for teacher training and leading, this hashtag offers a great opportunity for questions, answers, and more in educational leadership. 21st-Century PLNs for School Leaders As many school administrators are enjoying their summer break, we all tend to think of ways that we can make our school better in the upcoming year. Often, I point school principals and district leaders to a powerful post by Will Richardson that helps us point the finger right at ourselves when we are looking to push our school ahead. Richardson states: "Meaningful change ain't gonna happen for our kids if we're not willing to invest in it for ourselves first. With that being said, I have spent the last few years focusing a great deal on my work as an instructional leader within my role as school-based principal, and now as division principal. With all of the new technologies that are surrounding us, and to the many school administrators that are not feeling comfortable with Twitter, Facebook, etc., I would like to suggest three ways (as opposed to the typical round number of 10) that you can focus on your own professional development over the summer. 1) Start a Twitter Account
Twitter For Learning: 7 Ideas For Using Hashtags In The Classroom By Anibal Pacheco, TeachThought intern Twitter For Learning: 7 Ideas For Using Hashtags In The Classroom If you are an Educator looking to use Twitter in the classroom you might have noticed most tweets include a #Hashtag. The use of the # sign with a word attached to it makes up one. Hashtags trace their history to IRC (Internet Relay Chat) networks where they are used to label groups and topics. I would recommend you search hashtag directory services like tagdef.com, twubs.com and hashtags.org to see if somebody is using the one you want. When you visit one of these services you can enter a hashtag, view what it means and register yours using Twitter’s app authentication system. Here are some examples for Hashtag usage in the classroom. 1. Have your students engage in class discussion through the use of Twitter. 2. Create a topic hashtag for your class and have your students tweet answers to questions posted on the class Twitter account. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.