Sept 2013-Jan 2014

• Is created for brief conversations, or “micro blogging”

• Only allows you to write 140 characters at a time• Can be very useful and fun if used properly• Is important for connected educators to become

familiar withAnd YOU are a connected educator…

• Create an account with a picture• Find people to Follow• Listen• Participate in a chat• ReTweet what some interesting people are

saying• Jump in and begin contributing your 140

characters

Did I mention that NASA astronauts are even Tweeting from space? Space. For reals. So, what’s your excuse, again?

• Mention-Also called a reply. It’s a public response to a specific person.

• Follow-Someone whose Tweets you have chosen to show up on your timeline for you to read by clicking “follow” on their profile

• DM-direct message-sending someone a private message

• RT-Retweet-reposting something to your followers from someone else

There are many more, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. A great, easy to read website for more terms is momthisishowtwitterworks.com. I highly recommend visiting if you’re a newbie!

*DO add a photo into your profile! Do not leave the “goose egg” picture default from Twitter, or no one will believe you are real. Seriously.

Add #gavirtual hashtag so it’s searchable. It’s good people know you teach with us, but it doesn’t hurt to add “all opinions expressed are my own.”

Try something interesting! You only have a few lines, so it’s got to be concise, but something fun is great!

• Search and add @gavirtual to follow us. Other suggestions:@gadoenews @NMHS_principal @edutopia

• For cool accounts specific to your subject area, consider these:

@NASA @realtimeWWII @atlasobscura @thewordoftheday @techreview @TEDtalks

We have some folks who are seriously active and some newbies just willing to jump in and explore. Here’s just a few having fun in the Twitterverse! See if you know who they are!

@gavirtual (obviously!) @mrsmitchellbio @_janeobrien8 @sciencebitsnow @MargaretThomas4 @lynnewhitley @rvcopeland @cmadz @jeffgiddens

There are many more of you, so keep up the good work! Make sure you follow @gavirtual and I will Follow you back, so I know that you’re out there!

This is called your “feed” on your homepage. These are all tweets that @gavirtual has posted or ReTweeted. All our Followers see these.

• Chats are done using hashtags, like #eteacherTOOL, or #WPLS14

• Type #eteacherTOOL into the search box to see what people are “chatting” about related to this topic

• Popular hashtags include #edchat #elearning #K12 #mathchat #STEM #eteacherTOOL

Now we can see what anyone who uses that hashtag has said about this topic.

• “ReTweet” means to repost something someone else has written to your followers

• Getting RT is a big deal and we want all we can get, so start with us! @gavirtual

• Here’s what it looks like:

• If You’re using Twitter for classes-Ex: @Mrs.TateAlgClass– Funny facts about

math– Relevant course

deadlines, assignment reminders

– Links to get help, tutoring and more

• If You’re Using Twitter mostly for Professional Development and growing your PLN

• Relevant #elearning industry news

• Blogs, articles or webinars you wrote or have an interest in

• RT from followers

• How to Change Your Background• Writing a good profile bio• In’s and Out’s of who sees my Tweets,

including mentions and more• Using Twitter within my classes• How do I get more followers?• How do I block people?• What if I get spam?• And more and more…

Guess what? We can Twitter chat about it, and it will give you some practice at the same time. To ask me a question, start your Tweet with “@GAVS_smspec #GAVStweetup” , or just use “#GAVStweetup” like this: