Social networking does not have to be about selfies and pictures of food. It can actually be a great place to learn and interact with amazing educators from around the world. Twitter is often referred to as the best PD and educator can do.
Social networks are all about connecting with other people who have shared interests or experiences. While most people only use them to connect with family and friends it is also possible to use them to make some great professional connections and to learn.
The key to using something like Twitter to learn is to only follow people who share good stuff. If all they share is pictures of what they are eating then un-follow them. It's not really a big deal. The hard part is finding good people to follow:
Start with educators you know
Who do they follow?
Who do they re-tweet?
Follow a Hashtag. Hashtags are often used for jokes, but can also be used for things like:
Project Based Learning #pbl
Standards Based Grading #sbg or #sbar
Flipped Classroom #flipclass
Find an EdChat - These are informal gatherings on Twitter at specific times. They use a hashtag to make sure you can see everyone involved without having to follow people specifically. They can sometimes be overwhelming, but are great for finding educators you might want to follow. Let me suggest:
#michEd - 8:00 PM Wednesdays
#CatholicEdChat - 9:00 AM Saturdays
Check out this Podcast Episode from the folks at #michEd. The folks listed in this post would all be good educators to follow on Twitter. In this episode of the #michEd Podcast Brad seeks to find out if Twitter is the best PD a teacher can do.
Flipboard is a great app for reading your Twitter feed. It makes it more like reading your own personalized magazine. Flipboard can be used for more, however. Check out the videos below to see how Roz uses it.