Twitter is a powerful tool for educators. Twitter is a powerful tool for students. Twitter is real-time learning.
Twitter is a communication tool that allows participants to provide updates in 140 characters or less. 10,000s of educators from across the world use Twitter. Every week discussions occur in real-time on a variety of topics. Users follow the discussions using hashtags. A hashtag is identified by the "#" sign.There are numerous hashtags that may interest you. Here are just a few:#edchat- A weekly discussion (2x on Tuesday) on a participant chosen topic.#edtech- A hashtag used by educational technology enthusiasts#EduIT- A hashtag for Educational IT specialists
#BlackEdu-A weekly converation about serving the underrepresented and overcoming the opportunity gap.
#newlit - A hashtag used by educators discussing issues in new literacies.
A professional learning network (PLN) is a group of educators spread across the globe. Twitter is a great way to build your PLN.There are many ways to build your PLN.1. Follow a conference. You cannot attend. Many people include links to their session materials. There is always a classroom discussion going on. For example follow #ISTE10.2. Follow other educators. Spend 20% of your time describing your work. Spend 80% of time sharing work of others.
3. Get involved in some #Edchats. A great guide and resource to do this is available here from USC Rossier's MAT Online. The guide is also attached at the bottom of this web page.
4. Retweet posts from the blogs you read.
5. Have Fun.