Twitter for teachersWhat is Twitter and why should teachers care?

“Watching from the outside, Twitter is like the dumbest thing you’ve heard of: “Why would anyone want to tell others what they are doing in 140 characters?”

And yet to dismiss Twitter is a mistake because it’s an incredibly powerful tool for your personal learning and connecting with others.” (Sue Waters, http://suewaters.wikispaces.com/twitter, @suewaters Original quote: Alan Levine)

NB:Twitter song from Youtube

What is Twitter?The guys at Common Craft explain it for us.

Twitter video from CC

Who tweets?

Survey ResultsSurvey conducted over 3 days via Twitter beginning June

2009 - 85 people responded from all over the world.

Demographic Information

• Length of time tweeting

• Occupation

Length of time tweeting

• 15 2+ years

• 32 1-2 years

• 10 6-12 months

• 15 less than 6 months

Tweeters by Occupation

• 37 Teachers - both Primary & Secondary

• 35 involved in some kind of ICT facilitation - some as part of teaching job

• 4 Librarian or Library Specialists

• 6 Senior positions - Principal/AP/DP

• 7 Other jobs - some in education, some not

Four key questions

• What are the top 3-5 reasons you tweet?

• How has Twitter helped you professionally?

• What sage advice do you have for educators wanting to tweet?

• Who would be the top 5 people you’d recommend others to follow?

Why tweet?

• Connection

• Collaboration

• Collegiality

• Information

• Fun

To Connect

• Link with people in NZ & around world with similar interests/global connection

• Participate in conversations with other educators

• World-wide group of people to bounce ideas off

• Other teachers/educators have same vision for enhancing teaching/learning in their classrooms

• Connection for isolated people (location/job)

• Degrees of separation

• Personal Learning Network

• Keep my thinking fresh by extending my prof. network & interacting with people I would not normally have the chance to connect with

• Participating in global conversations

Collaboration & Collegiality

• Discussions, controversies, new thinking

• Putting concerns into a global/better context

• Sharing victories and disasters/low points

• Support when looking for new ideas

• Coffee conversations with e-colleagues

• Establish connections with other teachers

• Real-time conversations

• 24/7 access to collaborators

• Building connections

Information

• Asking and answering questions

• Sharing tips and resources

• What’s the latest ICT trend

• Staying up-to-date

• Online PD

• Finding/making recommendations

• Problem solving

• Sharing own & others blogs

• Publicising own blog posts

• Creating wider audience for class blogs 1/2

•Keep up to date with what’s happening in the world

•Snap-shot of what is happening in life right now

•Breaking news - Mumbai/Plane in the Hudson

•Keep in touch with what is happening in the outside world - especially important for people free-lancing

2/2

Social/Fun reasons

• Quizzes

• Planning fun stuff like Flash Mob @ conference

• Games

• General chit-chat

• Comedy acts - Stephen Fry!

• Personal - friends & family

• Personal interests & hobbies

• Sharing memorable and humorous events

• Interest, curiosity, new things

How does it help me professionally?

•Keeps me in touch with the outstanding role models in our (global) education system

•Participate in ‘unofficial’ PD

•Difficult to find funds to attend prof. dev. workshops - depend on Twitter & peers to learn and grow

•Able to tear down the walls of my classroom & give my students a chance to connect with people around the world1/4

•Find information & resources to use with students & colleagues

•Connected to a wide range of people who are at the cutting edge of education

•True networking with teachers around the world

•Allowed us to restructure our classes to take advantage of Web 2.0

•Given me a PLN which I wouldn’t otherwise have 2/4

•I’ve ‘stolen’ and used many ideas in the curriculum or own personal life; made friends; shared my own ideas; collaborated with others; reflected on my own practice and more

•Twitter provides hands on tech support - questions are ALWAYS answered

•Got a job through Twitter - contacts etc

•Relationships with people normally unavailable - Derek Wenmouth, Wes Fryer, David Warlick, Tony Ryan etc 3/4

•Introduced me to a wide range of e-learning specialists from different disciplines & educational systems

•Has grown my PLN, challenged my thinking & ideas about education & specifically the impact of e-learning on pedagogy & student learning

•First place I go to when I have a problem or need inspiration

•No. 1 tool for prof. dev. 4/4

Who should I followbesides me ... @dragonsinger57 ... the people surveyed came up with 162 people - here are the top 14 names ...

• @allanahk (13)

• @teachernz (11)

• @tombarrett (10)

• @suewaters (8)

• @wfryer (8)

• @willrich45 (7)

• @angelamaiers (6)

• @coolcatteacher (6)

• @dajbelshaw (6)

• @larryferlazzo (6)

• @betchaboy (5)

• @dorothyjburt (5)

• @jutecht (5)

• @mscofino (5)

Sage advice for newbiesFrom newbies

• Have fun

• Don’t try to follow too many people

• Find strong people to follow

• Get involved

• Just start

• Connect with educators

• Have a code of conduct for yourself

• Enjoy the spirit of the community

• Don’t quit

• Make connections with people with similar interests

• Lurk/Listen/Question

Sage advice for newbiesFrom old hands

• Tweet your lesson ideas

• Add web link & some info about you in your bio

• Give yourself time to develop connections

• Use a Twitter client

• Follow many people

• Be eclectic in your mix of people you follow

• Find someone you know/trust to follow first - then follow people they follow

• Remember what you say stays online!

• Jump in & connect

Final words

• Don’t worry if people don’t follow you back

• Don’t worry if it takes a long time to ‘get’ - just about everyone says that

• Visit the Blogger’s Cafes at conferences to meet up with people

• It can be addictive

• Persevere

• Join the conversations

• 140 characters leads to tight, focussed writing/thinking

Poem Next

I Dream in Twitter

(listen to the podcast http://www.box.net/shared/static/gqkaej08ww.mp3)

I dream in Twitter in 140 characters that cut off my thoughts before they are complete and then I wonder, why 140? Ten more letters would serve me right as I write about what I am doing at that moment in time, connecting across the world with so many others shackled by 140 characters, too, and I remain amazed at how deep the brevity can be.

I find it unsettling to eavesdrop on conversations between two when you can only read one and it startles me to think that someone else out there has put their ear to my words and wondered the same about me. Whose eyes are watching?

Twitter is both an expanding universe of tentacles and hyperlinks that draw you in with knowledge and experience and a shrinking neighborhood of similar voices, echoing out your name in comfortable silence.

I dream in Twitter in 140 characters, and that is what I am doing right at this moment

by Kevin - @dogtrax

http://twitter.com

@dragonsinger57

http://twitter4teachers.pbworks.com/