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Interested in using Twitter in the classroom, but not sure where to start? No problem, after reading this step by step guide your classroom will be up and running on Twitter in no time!

GroupTweet is the best way to use Twitter in the classroom as it allows any number of students and teachers to all Tweet from a single class Twitter account (without sharing the password). Your class Twitter account can be private or public and GroupTweet offers built in moderation functionality allowing you to easily approve student's Tweets before they are published.

A GroupTweet powered classroom Twitter account is much more powerful than simply using a class hashtag since all of your class Tweets (from any number of students and teachers) can now be published from a permanent Twitter account. No need for students to constantly run hashtag searches or follow a bunch of other students Tweets. They simply follow the GroupTweet enabled class account and the rest is simple.

With GroupTweet, students don't need their own personal Twitter accounts. They can simply login to your class's GroupTweet dashboard with any email address to send Tweets from the classroom account. Of course, if students have their own personal Twitter accounts they can also use those and Tweet using any Twitter app each of them prefers.

Now - lets get started with the step by step guide!

Step 1: Create a Twitter Account Specifically For Your Class (if you don't have one already)

You might already have a Twitter account created for your class - if so, go ahead and skip to step #2!

If not, you will need to visit Twitter.com to create one. If you are already logged in to Twitter.com with your personal account you will need to logout and then click the "sign up" link on Twitter.com. When you sign up, Twitter might tell you your email address is already taken. If you have a Gmail account, then you can use this trick found on our blog.

Step 2: Connect Your Class Twitter Account With GroupTweet

Visit GroupTweet.com/edu and click on the green button stating, "Connect Your School or Class Twitter Account To Get Started For Free."

On the next page, click the blue "Connect with Twitter" button.

This launches a Twitter Authorization window (seen below). On this step you want to make sure to authorize GroupTweet to work with your class's Twitter account (not your personal account). You might have to logout of your personal account first and then sign into the class account. The logo in the top right tells you which of your accounts you are authorizing with GroupTweet.

Step #3: The Setup Wizard

After authorizing GroupTweet you will be taken through a short setup wizard as you see below:

Go ahead and add your email address and click the "Continue" button. Since you are reading this blog post, on the next step of the wizard you can go ahead and click the "Skip Guided setup" link under the continue button to proceed to the GroupTweet dashboard.

Step #4: Invite Students

Now you see your class's GroupTweet dashboard (as pictured below). Your students can visit this page to send and read Tweets from your class account.

To invite students you can simply copy the URL link of your dashboard page and send to your students (it contains your secret code) or you can click on the blue "Invite Contributors" button on the left side of the dashboard.

After clicking the invite contributors button you are taken to the page below. You can simply copy your invite link to your clipboard and send in your own email. Or you can enter student's emails in the invite form, and we will send the email for you.

Step #5: Add Yourself as an Admin Contributor

Go ahead and click the contributors link in the left hand side of the GroupTweet settings, or the blue "Add Contributors" button from the GroupTweet dashboard. You are then taken to the Contributors menu of GroupTweet settings as you can see below. We recommend you add your personal Twitter username as an "admin contributor". You can see I've added "@craft_ryan" and changed the "User Level" from "Contributor" to "Admin". This means that I can then login to GroupTweet.com with my personal Twitter account to manage the settings of this account and any other account I'm an admin of.

Step #6: Turn Message Moderation On or Off

If you want to make sure you can review and approve student's Tweets before they are published from the school or class account, you will want to enable message moderation from the GroupTweet settings. Just visit the message moderation tab, and then in the drop-down under "Moderate Messages" select "All Messages". This means that all Tweets from approved contributors will automatically enter the moderation queue.

You will also want to add your email address under the moderation settings. This will allow you to receive an email notification each time a student Tweet is awaiting approval. You can approve or deny straight from your email inbox on the go. No need to login or out of the dashboard.

Step #7: Configure Tweeting Methods

Once your students join as contributors they can Tweet from the class account in two different ways: 1) They can login to your dashboard with any email address after you send them the invite link or 2) Students can send Tweets directly from their own personal Twitter accounts using any Twitter app each of them prefers (Twitter.com, Twitter for iPhone, Android, etc). Student's without personal Twitter accounts will have to use your classroom's GroupTweet dashboard. Students can even create a shortcut on their phone home screen so it works like a regular app.

GroupTweeting "Remotely" without Visiting the Dashboard

Students can Tweet from your classroom account directly from their own personal Twitter accounts. No need to even login to the dashboard. Students love it, because it requires little to no change in behavior. Students can use whichever Twitter application each of them prefers whether that is Twitter for iPhone, Android, Twitter.com, or Tweetbot.

In the screenshot below, you can see there are three Remote GroupTweeting Options available. You can enable any, all, or none of these options.

Remote GroupTweeting Method #1: Via @Mentions

In the case of the @gtDemoClass account, contributors simply include @gtDemoClass at the beginning or end of their Tweets. In the screenshot below, you can see a student simply sends a Tweet to @gtDemoClass:

Then the student's Tweet is instantly Tweeted from the class account for all the rest of the students to see. You can see below that GroupTweet automatically appends the contributors username at the end of the Tweet. The contributor "signature" is completely customizable:

today's reading assignment was great. Loved chapter 12. via @craft_ryan

- GroupTweet DemoClass (@gtDemoClass) August 1, 2016

Remote GroupTweeting Method #2: Via Hashtag

Hashtag GroupTweeting is great, because you can choose any hashtag(s) you want for your classroom. Using a GroupTweet account is a much better experience for your students than simply using a Twitter hashtag for your class. With a GroupTweet account, the students only need to follow the class Twitter account. They don't need to consistently monitor hashtag searches or follow every other student in the class. They simply follow the class account and they will see all the relevant Tweets sent out from that account. In the example below, the student includes the hashtag #myclass in their Tweet since this was designated as the hashtag trigger for the @gtDemoClass account.

Just like that, the message is also instantly Tweeted from the Classroom account:

I made 5 different ice cream cones with only 5 colors! #myclass pic.twitter.com/ooIArBVtOG via @TheMoEvans

- GroupTweet DemoClass (@gtDemoClass) August 1, 2016

Remote GroupTweeting Method #3: Via Direct Message

The Direct Message ("DM") method is great for students who want to make sure their classroom related Tweets only get sent from the classroom account and not also their personal Twitter accounts. In the example below, @Craft_Ryan wants to Tweet from the @gtDemoClass account, but wants the Tweet to only go out to the followers of @gtDemoClass and not also to all his followers. So @craft_ryan simply sends a Twitter Direct Message to @gtDemoClass . Whatever is sent in the DM will then get converted by GroupTweet into a Tweet from the Team account. Check out the example below:

The resulting GroupTweet is seen below:

Never thought Twitter would be so helpful for classroom discussion! via @craft_ryan

- GroupTweet DemoClass (@gtDemoClass) August 1, 2016

That Sums Up the GroupTweet Basics

These simple steps will make you a groupTweet pro in no time. GroupTweet is a very flexible and powerful platform that can be used in a number of different ways (such as entirely via Text Message if desired), so if you have any questions just leave us a comment or email us!

Have multiple classes?

Do you have multiple classes and want to keep each class's Twitter discussion and feed separate from each other? If that's the case, you will need to create a separate Twitter account for each of your classes and follow the steps listed above for each account. When first setting up your GroupTweet accounts, you will have to connect each one separately. However, if you make sure to add yourself as an admin contributor to each of your class accounts (step #5 above), you will then be able to easily switch between your various class accounts with a single login.

If you haven't already connected your classroom's Twitter account with GroupTweet, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and navigate over to GroupTweet and get started!

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Step by Step Guide To Managing A Classroom Twitter Account With GroupTweet - GroupTweet Blog

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Interested in using Twitter in the classroom, but not sure where to start? No problem, after reading this step by step guide your classroom will be up and running on Twitter in no time!

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Professional Development: The phrase has a way of striking dread into the hearts of teachers. But not because teachers don't WANT to improve. Not because we believe we're done growing and learning. Far from it.

In fact, so many teachers bristle at the thought of PD because most of the time, it's executed so poorly. Although the typical one-size-fits-all format-where every teacher in the building is herded together to listen to an expert speak-has been widely denounced, it still persists as the default model. Sometimes, if the speaker happens to be engaging, some teachers will walk away with a small tidbit they can apply to their own work. For most teachers, though, it feels like a waste of precious time, time that could be spent developing skills that would make a real difference in their specific practice.

But things are starting to change. More and more schools are experimenting with personalized approaches to professional development; this guide from EdSurge takes a comprehensive look at all the different shapes this can take. And as new unconferences pop up every week all over the world, teachers are seeing just how easy it can be to learn from each other, without the need for any kind of outside expert.

And now, taking PD to an even simpler, more local, more affordable level, we have the Pineapple Chart.

What is a Pineapple Chart?

A Pineapple Chart is a system that allows teachers to invite one another into their classrooms for informal observation. The chart is set up in some location where teachers go on a daily basis: the teacher's lounge, the copy room, or wherever teacher mailboxes live in your school. On the chart, teachers "advertise" the interesting things they are doing in their classrooms, activities they think others might want to observe. The activities could be as complex as a science lab, a history simulation, or a Skype session with a school in another country. Or they could be as simple as a read-aloud or a lesson on badminton.

The chart represents one week of school. Along the top, five columns are labeled Monday through Friday. Along the side, rows assigned to various chunks of each school day. In a middle or high school, these would be class periods. In an elementary school, the rows could be divided by hours or half-hours.

When a teacher sees something on the chart she (or he) is interested in, she goes to that classroom at the designated time, sits down in an out-of-the-way spot, and watches. That's it. No note-taking is required, no post-observation conference, no write-up. Just a visit. She can even grade papers or catch up on email if she wants, paying closer attention when the moment calls for it, but getting work done in the meantime. She can stay for five minutes or a whole class period. The key word here is informal, and it's the best way for teachers to learn lots of skills and techniques just when they need them.

The reasons the visiting teacher might come in are endless: It could be that she wants to start using Google Cardboard, but would like to see another teacher do it first. Maybe she's struggling with classroom management and knows this teacher runs a tight ship. Or maybe she's there because she always wanted to learn more about World War I. Regardless of the initial reason, what she ends up learning is likely to be far more than she expected. During that Google Cardboard visit, she'll also notice a cool bulletin board in that teacher's classroom and decide to try something similar in her room. While watching the lesson on World War I, she'll pick up a questioning technique she ends up using in her own teaching. Every teacher in your building has their own unique blend of skills and talents, but the only way you'll ever learn about them is to see your colleagues in action.

The Origins of the Pineapple Chart

The pineapple has long been a symbol of hospitality; it's used in the chart in the spirit of welcoming one another into our school "homes."

But that's just the beginning. Here's how the Pineapple Chart came to be: In early 2015, Mark Barnes and I were compiling innovative teaching "hacks" for our book, Hacking Education: 10 Quick Fixes for Every School. I remembered my sister, who teaches science in Massachusetts, telling me about her attempts to start a "Pineapple Welcome" initiative at her school, where teachers would hang a picture of a pineapple outside their classroom doors, indicating that any other teacher who wanted to visit was welcome to stop by.

When I asked her how the whole pineapple thing went, she said, "Eh. Some people came in, but usually I would hang the pineapple and nothing would happen. I stopped doing it after a while."

This bothered me, because some of the most valuable skills I have picked up as a teacher came from informally observing my colleagues in their classrooms. I feel strongly that some of the best professional development available to teachers lives right inside the walls of our schools, and if we could just watch each other teach more, we would all grow exponentially.

Just hanging the pineapple on the door, I realized, had two shortcomings. One, it was only visible to teachers who happened to pass by that door on that day. And two, it didn't offer enough information: Just seeing a pineapple on the door tells the visitor nothing about what's going on inside. If a teacher is going to spend time visiting another teacher's classroom, he wants to know that the thing he's coming to observe is something he's actually interested in. A chart posted in a central location, with a bit of information about the day's activities, solves both problems.

We asked my sister to pilot this centralized system at her school, and the first Pineapple Chart was born. Since the publication of Hacking Education, the Pineapple Chart system has taken off in schools all across the world, and the results have been fantastic.

Two Schools Where Pineapple Charts Are Making an Impact

Gator Run Elementary, Weston, Florida

"The Pineapple Chart has been a game changer for the staff at Gator Run," says Intern Principal Cyndi Felton, who initiated Gator Run's first Pineapple Chart in January of 2016. "We have some of the very best PD available under our own roof. Now teachers have the opportunity to get into each other's classrooms and learn from one another."

Since the chart has been going, Felton has seen teachers trying new things more quickly. "Last year we noticed tools and strategies spreading throughout the building after Pineapple Chart visits. Kahoot, Nearpod, Plickers, in-class flipped lessons, SeeSaw, and performance scales in addition to unique procedures, classroom management and teaching strategies."

Maple Avenue Middle School, Littlestown, Pennsylvania

In January of 2016, when Assistant Principal Cortney Golden first launched the chart in her school, she worked hard to keep it full. "I was very aware that if we lost momentum, and the chart was blank, it would die. I sent staff-wide emails, group emails, personal emails, face to face requests, and even had my secretary appealing to teachers to sign up. Getting teachers to sign up was my first priority....then, once that became more automatic, we began to 'push' visiting."

Since then, informal observation and an open-door policy have become part of the school's culture. So much so that the word "pineappling" has become a verb:

"Collectively, we embrace pineappling now more than ever," says Golden. "As teachers desire to grow their craft, to foster 21st century skills, and to help students discover and pursue their passions, it becomes clear to all that teachers need each other. Pineappling gives teachers the permission they feel they need to collaborate, observe, ask, and reflect. It is a 'safe' and powerful professional development opportunity. Pineappling is free, fits within the school day, and has proven to be the BEST professional growth experience."

Tips for Making Pineapple Charts Work

Find creative ways to make the time.
The simplest way to squeeze these visits in is for teachers to do them during their planning time, or part of it. Remember, we're not talking about a whole class period necessarily; a 15-minute visit may be all that's needed to pick up a new strategy. In cases where teachers want to see something that doesn't coincide with planning time, the staff will need to be more creative:

A floating sub can be arranged for a day (or a few days) and teachers can "sign up for the sub" in order to visit another room.

Administrators (or other certified personnel) can step in to cover a class. This solution does double-duty, as it gives the principal some time to interact more closely with small groups of students. Instead of covering the teacher's regular material, the administrator could use this time for having discussions about school issues or just getting to know the students.

Teachers can team up to cover each other's classes. Imagine a scenario where teacher A agrees to cover teacher B's class while teacher B observes in teacher C's room. Then everyone switches roles two more times. A motivated school might even experiment with a second chart (beside the Pineapple Chart) where teachers post a need for coverage and other teachers sign up to cover for them.

Keep it voluntary.
Administrators, be warned! The quickest way to suck the life out of this initiative is to make it mandatory for all teachers. By keeping visits informal and strictly voluntary (for the host teacher AND the visitor), you'll ensure that the Pineapple Chart is always seen as a positive thing, a learning opportunity initiated by the teacher.

Skip the documentation.
An equally fast way to drain people's enthusiasm for visits is to force them to do some kind of write-up afterward. Please don't turn the chart into another reason to require teachers to document. If they know paperwork is expected of them, they will be far less likely to visit.

Start with the bold and the brave...
When you first launch the Chart, many teachers will be shy about posting lessons. Get things going by having your most extroverted teachers sign up first. If you get a group of 5-10 teachers willing to put themselves out there, this will eventually help others step forward as well.

...but set the bar low.
Make sure teachers know they don't have to be doing something 'impressive' in order to post a lesson to the chart. "The hardest part is getting teachers to understand it doesn't have to be an extravagant lesson to sign up," says Felton. "Their everyday strategies and standard procedures can be incredibly helpful to someone who has never seen or thought of it. You really never know what you might learn whether it's a 5- or a 25-minute visit."

Sell it.
Especially when you first get started, encourage those who do the observing to share the good things they saw by talking about it in faculty meetings, sharing a compliment on a teacher "brag board" or posting about it online. At Maple Avenue, Golden encouraged teachers to tweet about their experiences using the hashtag#MAMSLearning. "This helped keep the excitement high, and the pressure low," she says. "Although I still have to harass teachers every once and again (I call it "gently wooing") to showcase the teaching and learning in their classroom, it has become very much part of our culture."

Share Your Story

If your school has already started using a Pineapple Chart, tell us about it in the comments. I would love to hear about tweaks you've made to the system and how the system is impacting teacher relationships and student growth.

Learn More

The Pineapple Chart is just one of the 10 hacks Mark Barnes and I share in our 2015 book, Hacking Education: 10 Quick Fixes for Every School. Get your copy today and start hacking tomorrow! ♦

Learn something new every week.
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How Pineapple Charts Revolutionize Professional Development

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As one-size-fits-all PD fades into obscurity, more personalized professional development models have emerged. The Pineapple Chart may be the greatest of them all.

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Video response tool used to answer questions or share experiences.