Innovative ICT in Education: Twitter
The latest ‘Training Tuesday’ for staff CPD was on the use of Twitter for professional development.
Aims:
- What is Twitter?
- Sharing the benefits of developing your own PLN (Personal Learning Network)
- Who to follow…
- #Hashtags
You can find the PowerPoint by clicking here to download.
Before I get started, I must thank @ICTEvangelist, @IaninSheffield, @CreativeEdu and @teamtait for sharing the resources that helped me put this session together.
1) What is Twitter?
In Twitters own words, that I believe sums up the social networking site perfectly – ‘Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news about what you find interesting.’
Click here to view a ‘how to sign up’ beginners guide for Twitter.
Here is a blog post from @Kathleen_Morris on Twitter with a great video on how Twitter can be used.
‘The Power of Twitter’, a Guardian article.
Some facts about Twitter:
- Social media
- Messages – Protected/not protected
- 140 characters
- Not just celebrities
- Twitterati
- Education ‘tweeps’
2) Sharing the benefits of developing your own PLN (Personal Learning Network)
I have come across a quote from @IaninSheffield on numerous occasions now, a quote that describes the use of Twitter for CPD.
“Formula 1 CPD or what” – @IaninSheffield (2011)
I believe that this was made one day during a #ukedchat late 2011 (let me know if I am wrong), but what a summary of such a great resource for teachers to take full advantage of. But what are the actual benefits of Twitter for CPD?
- There’s a fantastic exchange of ideas
- It breaks down social barriers
- You can find the information you need fast
- You can get input from all over the globe
- It keeps you up to date
- You can ask all those silly questions
- It keeps you motivated
- You can take part in free CPD
- It’ll open doors
- You’ll have thousands of mentors
3) Who to follow…
Now this list could be endless, I would happily recommend my whole PLN to anyone on Twitter, but as newbie to Twitter I would highly recommend these hand picked tweeters to get you started, to help YOU develop your own PLN.
- @LearningSpy
- @ICTEvangelist
- @DavidMiller_UK
- @TomBarrett
- @DugHall
- @Gavinsmart
- @TheHeadsOffice
- @MissNoor28
- @ThatIanGilbert
- @IanAddison
- @JamiePortman
- @ICTMagic
- @TheLazyTeacher
- @DeputyMitchell
These are the tweeters I originally started to follow that has now ballooned into the people around the world that I now share good practice with everyday.
4) #Hashtags
The official Twitter definition: ‘The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.’
There are a number of educational #Hashtags to follow and they completely depend on your interests/subject, the best thing is to get out there and find the ones that interest you, but here is a quick shortlist of #Hashtags that can get you started.
This blog post by @Kathleen_Morris helps explain how #Hashtags work on Twitter.
- #ff – follow Friday
- #UKedchat – UK educational chat
- #edchat – USA/International educational chat
- #iPaded -iPads and the use of tablets in education
- #edtech – Technology in education
- #GTChat – Gifted & Talented chat
- #mLearning – Mobile learning
- #PEGeeks/#Physed – Physical Education
- #MathsChat – Maths
- #SciChat – Science
- #EngChat – English
- #ArtEd – Art
- #HistoryTeacher – History
- #GeographyTeacher – Geography
- #SpedChat – Special Education Needs (SEN)
- #musedchat – Music
This blog post has the potential to go on and on. To stop that from happening, please check out this document created by the folks at Creative Education, it gives the beginner and experienced Tweeter something to think about.
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March 19, 2013 at 7:22 pm | #1My ICT Journey » To Tweet or Not To Tweet?
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