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If you have a class Twitter account, students can request a selfie with their 

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http://bit.ly/2GuRkMs

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A Teacher's Guide To Social Media ~ Social Media

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A Teacher's Guide To Social Media ~ Social Media

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Educators who use the Internet as a teaching resource know the incredible benefits the web can provide. Social media in the classroom has only recently been implemented, but the teachers who use these sites understand what a powerful tool it can be.

The Internet on its own offers countless opportunities for researching, sharing and hands-on learning. The Internet can even put unemployed teachers back to work. With so many free materials available to teachers, the Internet is the best way to engage modern students. Social media is a powerful tool when it comes to classroom learning. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and many more all offer resources for learning. These sites offer so many benefits, especially when it comes to encouraging kids to gain knowledge in a creative new way.

For example, a teacher can create a Facebook page for their classroom. Students can connect their own pages to this page. From there teachers and students can interact with one another in an entirely contemporary way. Post events, discuss books, take classroom polls and share informative materials. Social networks provides vast resources for learning. Students can follow their educators using Twitter. Their teachers can post reminders for homework assignments, educational resources and other valuable classroom information. Sites like Pinterest can be used to brainstorm project ideas. Students and educators can set up a community board where everyone can participate and share.

Again we post an infographic to enhance our post. This infographic from Online Colleges presents a teacher's guide to social media, which includes some tips on using the major social platforms in the classroom, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube.

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Educators who use the Internet as a teaching resource know the incredible benefits the web can provide. Social media in the classroom has only recently been implemented, but the teachers who use these sites understand what a powerful tool it can be. The Internet on its own offers countless opportunities for researching, sharing and hands-on learning.

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This is the official site for managing the COMPLETE list of twitter education chats. It is managed by a group of educator tweeps who care about keeping one up to date list of chats which everyone can use.

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So you have a Twitter account. Now what? | Cult of Pedagogy

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So you have a Twitter account. Now what? | Cult of Pedagogy

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I highly recommend reading this post or listening to the podcast that goes with it. This blog, in general, is am amazing resource for educators.

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Listen to an extended version of this post as a podcast: I hear it all the time: "I have a Twitter account, but I don't really know how to use it."
I understand this thinking completely. Before I signed up to Twitter less than three years ago, I didn't get it AT ALL. I would go to someone's Twitter page-if that's what it was even called-and none of it made sense. It was only slightly easier to read than HTML. I had a vague understanding that a "tweet" was a 140-character post, and some fuzzy memory of Ashton Kutcher doing some kind of charity thing on it a few years back, aaannnd that was pretty much it.

But I kept hearing people say things like, "Twitter is the best professional development I've ever had." In my head I was basically calling BS on that. Because that's what I tend to do when I don't understand things. (It's not my best quality.) So I went ahead and opened an account, and I pretty much did nothing with it for a while. Over time, I picked up a few tips, but it took about six months before I started using it with any regularity.

Now that I've been using Twitter for a few years, I get it. I really do. And I want you to get it now. Because I believe every educator really needs to be on Twitter and be able to use it well. All those Twitter accounts just sitting there, not getting used, are just wasted opportunity.

At the end of this post, you'll find information about my new online course, Twitter for Teachers and Students. It's a 5-module video course I created to help teachers learn how to really use Twitter to its full potential. To learn more about it, click here to jump right down and check it out.

In the meantime, here are some things you could be doing to get the most from Twitter.

6 Ways to Make Better Use of Twitter

1. Find your people.

One of the greatest things about Twitter is that it allows you to find like-minded people, no matter where they are in the world. Once you've found them, you can start talking, sharing resources and ideas, and further developing your point of view with the enrichment and support of people who see things through a similar lens. When I was full-time in the classroom, I could count on one hand the number of people I worked with who shared my views on teaching, students, parents, and overall growth as a professional. ONE HAND. I was starved for connection. If I'd had something like Twitter, it would have been so different. I hear stories all the time from people who have made these connections-they experience tremendous growth and satisfaction in their work, regardless of the environment they happen to work in.

How to do it: When you first sign up for Twitter, you're likely to follow people you know, plus a few other well-known accounts that Twitter suggests for you. After that, what do you do? Using the search bar, look for topics that interest you. So if you're a middle school science teacher, you might look for "middle school science." The search results will show you accounts of people who have listed those terms right in their profile-definitely check those people out as possible people to follow. Your results will also show you specific tweets containing those terms: Click over to the profiles of the people who tweeted them, browse their past tweets, and see if they would make a good connection for you. Once you're following these people, you can start interacting with them; that's where the real tribe-building happens.

2. Communicate directly with anyone on Twitter.

As long as someone else has a Twitter account, you can communicate directly with them. That includes people you don't know, celebrities, corporations, whoever. If you place that person's Twitter handle (the thing that starts with an @ symbol), in your tweet, that person will be notified that you mentioned them. If they choose to, they can respond. Now if we're talking about celebrities who have millions of followers, the chance of hearing back from them is slim, but it definitely happens. If we're just talking about an educator who lives across the country, "tweeting at" them is far more likely to get a response, and a real conversation can begin.

How to do it: Just copy the Twitter handle of the person you want to communicate with in your tweet. For example, last week I tweeted out a link to one of my blog posts. Brad Wilson replied back to me, then I replied back to him. This is what I mean about having conversations on Twitter:

Why No One Reads Your Classroom Newsletter https://t.co/HIC32WRMFp #instruction #organization #teachers #edchat

- Jennifer Gonzalez (@cultofpedagogy) April 25, 2016

@dreambition Excellent points - never even thought of that. Was strictly looking at design. Thanks, Brad!

- Jennifer Gonzalez (@cultofpedagogy) April 26, 2016

3. Share the great stuff you find online.

Once you start making connections with people, the next step is to share stuff with each other. In the same way that you share links on Facebook or pin things on Pinterest, you can share links to fantastic content in tweets. And the best part about doing this is that other people, your tribe members, they will share stuff with you, too. This is, I believe, one of the main reasons people equate Twitter with professional development. Pretty much every time I jump on, I end up discovering something in just a few minutes that I never would have come across otherwise, and my professional knowledge is thereby enriched.

How to do it: Well, this is one of the best uses of a tweet. For some people, a tweet is all about making witty commentary about life. But most active Twitter users-especially in education-share quite a few links to online resources right in their tweets. If you're new to Twitter, you might not even recognize them as links, because they look like this: goo.gl/goeKWS. Those are just abbreviations, but they work the same way as the longer ones you're used to. By the way, if you paste a long link into a Tweet, don't worry about the 140-character limit: Twitter will automatically shorten the link for you. Here's an example of me sharing a post from Vicki Davis' site-see the shortened link in there?

2 Simple Ways Improve a Lesson Plan https://t.co/ck1pe6DOgt via @coolcatteacher

- Jennifer Gonzalez (@cultofpedagogy) April 26, 2016

4. Participate in a Twitter chat.

One of the most exciting ways to use Twitter is by participating in a Twitter chat. This is where a group of people "meet" online at a designated date and time and, using the same hashtag, have a group conversation. There are chats for just about every specialty area you can think of-take a look at this comprehensive list of education-related Twitter chats to get an idea.

How to do it: Find a chat you're interested in. Then, at the designated time, search for the chat's hashtag and on the results page you'll see what people are talking about. To add your own contribution, simply add the chat's hashtag to your own tweet and it will be included in the stream. Below is an example from an Early Childhood Educators chat (#ECEchat), held Tuesday nights at 9:30pm EST. The first tweet shown is the fifth question of the chat (marked with Q5), followed by some of the participants' responses (marked with A5). Notice how each tweet includes the #ECEchat hashtag:

RT Q5: Show us how you differentiate for your students! Please include the grade/subject #ECEchat pic.twitter.com/atakOKVm4J

- ECEchat (@ECEchat) April 27, 2016

A5. K Literacy stations are differentiated by color folder in a draw system. Ss match their folder to the folder in the drawer. #ecechat

- Danielle Brown, NBCT (@TeachDB17) April 27, 2016

A5: I'll record directions for lower groups, video myself playing the game, QR hunts for higher groups, #ECEchat

- Keri Lewis (@KinderKeri) April 27, 2016

A5 #ECECHATA5 3rd grade- Read alouds, think-pair-share, choice boards, anchor charts. #ECECHAT pic.twitter.com/4dPHx5ZhlJ

- Grace Salguero (@gracesalguero) April 27, 2016

5. Do research.

I am now in the habit of using Twitter as part of my regular routine when I'm researching a topic. First I look on Google and Google Scholar, then I check Twitter. Far more than just a communication tool, Twitter is a powerful search engine in its own right. I can search for any topic I want, then find tweets about it, which lead me to other resources and experts that can tell me more.

How to do it: Just use the search bar in the top right corner of the Twitter platform in the same way you'd do a Google search. When your results come up, you'll have the option to look at the top tweets about that topic, the most recent tweets ("Live"), and specific accounts that mention that topic. I did a quick search of the term "flipped learning" and found thousands of results, like this one, which links directly to an article where I can learn more:

Blended Learning vs Flipped Learning: Can You Tell The Difference? #eLearning #edutech https://t.co/KcNJAEGlgr

- Julian Davis  (@JulianDavis71) April 17, 2016

6. Communicate with students and parents.

If your students or their parents are on Twitter, you can use a classroom Twitter account to alert them to upcoming assignments, send reminders about important events or deadlines, provide links to interesting articles or other online resources, or share fascinating videos and images. You can also use a class Twitter account to show others-parents and the community, or the education world at large-the great things you're doing in your class.

How to do it: Create a Twitter account for your class that is different from the one you'd use for yourself; this requires a different email address to link to the account. Then start tweeting! You can compose the tweets yourself, or better yet, have students do it. Here's an example of a tweet from a 4th grade class Twitter account, which appears to be managed mostly by students:

Today we used skype to connect with our friend who moved back to France!!

- Ms. McElwee's Class (@msmcelweesclass) February 2, 2016

Go On, Turn the Corner

I promise you this: If you make the effort to try some of the things I've listed here and just stick with it for a while, you will turn the corner with Twitter. I never thought I would get the hang of it, but now it's as much a part of my day as checking email and Facebook. People who work in other fields can probably get away with avoiding Twitter, but for you, an educator? It's part of an essential 21st century toolkit. Make this the year you really start using it. ♦

Ready to Take the Next Step?

To help teachers learn how to make the most of Twitter, I have created an online course called Twitter for Teachers and Students on a brand-new learning platform for educators called Blend. In less than 90 minutes, you can learn everything I describe above and so much more. Through a series of self-paced video tutorials and a detailed, printable set of notes you can refer to any time, I show you step-by-step how to:

understand "Twitter language," including hashtags

find people to follow who share your interests

communicate directly with anyone on Twitter

participate in a Twitter chat

find Twitter chats you'll care about

share images and videos

organize content with Twitter lists

do research on Twitter

set up and use a classroom Twitter account

Use the code 10TWITTER to take $10 off! Click here to learn more about the course

Keep in touch.
Join my mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration-in quick, bite-sized packages-all geared toward making your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to my members-only library of free downloadable resources, including my e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, which has helped thousands of teachers spend less time grading!

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So you have a Twitter account. Now what?

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Listen to an extended version of this post as a podcast: I hear it all the time: "I have a Twitter account, but I don't really know how to use it." I understand this thinking completely. Before I signed up to Twitter less than three years ago, I didn't get it AT ALL.

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Update: This post was updated November 2013 to reflect current statistics and tools.
Do you have a parent, friend or colleague ready to ditch his or her digital training wheels and head into Twitter's open wilderness? These pointers should get them started. And even Twitter experts might benefit from a quick refresher on the platform's valuable tools.

First, the basics: What is Twitter all about?

It's a platform wherein users share their thoughts, news, information and jokes in 140 characters of text or less. Twitter makes global communication cheap and measurable. Profiles are (usually) public - anyone in the world can see what you write, unless you elect to make your profile private. Users "follow" each other in order to keep tabs on and converse with specific people.

On Twitter, following someone is not necessarily an admission of friendship, but nonetheless affords interaction and conversation - at least in short bursts.

The first step is to understand and master the vernacular. There are certain words and jargon native to Twitter that you may already have heard in passing. These terms and their abbreviations (in parentheses) are essential for understanding the network.

Tweet: A 140-character message.

Retweet (RT): Re-sharing or giving credit to someone else's tweet.

Feed: The stream of tweets you see on your homepage. It's comprised of updates from users you follow.

Handle: Your username.

Mention (@): A way to reference another user by his username in a tweet (e.g. @mashable). Users are notified when @mentioned. It's a way to conduct discussions with other users in a public realm.

Direct Message (DM): A private, 140-character message between two people. You can decide whether to accept a Direct Message from any Twitter user, or only from users you are following.
You may only DM a user who follows you.

Hashtag (#): A way to denote a topic of conversation or participate in a larger linked discussion (e.g. #AmericanIdol, #Obama). A hashtag is a discovery tool that allows others to find your tweets, based on topics. You can also click on a hashtag to see all the tweets that mention it in real time - even from people you don't follow.

Twitter has a great online glossary that you can refer back to, should you get mired in a vocab morass.

Read on for the Twitter basics, but remember that Twitter is an experience. The more you use it, the more enjoyable and resourceful it will become. We hope you stick with it, as it can pay dividends in great conversation and personal connections with people around the world.

1. Signing Up

In order to engage in conversation, you must introduce yourself. By creating a handle (see glossary above) you can quickly describe who you are. A handle is essentially your address or calling card, and is how people will interact with you and include you in conversation.

Your profile pic, header image and bio should also reflect who you are. Unless you're planning to create a satire or spoof account, you should use your actual picture and real name, so people feel more comfortable interacting with you.

Check out a few more hilarious Twitter parody accounts here:

2. Following and Followers

We once heard Twitter described as a crowded banquet hall. Picture people milling about, having conversations - some are snacking on delectable treats, some are staring at the ceiling. It's a lot to take in all at once, but if you hone in on a few people that seem interesting and start a genuine conversation, you might encounter a new and interesting network of contacts. Before you know it, you'll have a nice little group of people with common interests.

Once you've squared away your username, photo and bio, you need to seek out people to follow. You can find them in a few different ways.

Our advice is to follow your friends and people you know, at first. When you open your account, Twitter's algorithm doesn't know you very well, and thus, cannot logically suggest people for you to follow, just yet. (However, the company is trying to improve its suggestions feature.) It merely suggests random celebrities and other folks with thousands of followers. Therefore, following people you know will make your initial foray more worthwhile.

You may also want to explore people your friends are following to naturally increase your Twitter perspective.

Once you get rolling, Twitter will give you better follow suggestions, based on the industries/fields associated with your interests. With time, you'll become adept at discerning who is worth following and who is not. There's no set strategy for this - it's completely up to you and your own personal tastes. If someone follows you, there's no requirement to follow them. If someone is tweeting too much and clogging your feed, feel free to unfollow him immediately.

Based on your interests and profession, you might find some of these Twitter users interesting:

3. Entering the Fray

Now that you've been observing the updates and musings of those you follow, it's time to join the conversation. You could try to send a 140-character observation into the ether and hope someone sees it, but there's a better way to engage with people around your interests.

The next time you see a particularly fascinating tweet, click "reply" and add your two cents. Interacting with ordinary people is a great way to get the hang of the "@mention" (just use the "@" sign before that person's handle). Clicking "expand" or "view conversation" on a tweet will display all the responses that message received, including tweets from people you aren't following. You can see when someone follows or @mentions you in the @Connect tab at the top of the page.

You might also notice a vertical blue line connecting some tweets. When two or more users you follow are involved in a conversation, Twitter automatically groups those messages together on your timeline, displayed chronologically from when the most recent tweet was sent. Up to three messages in the conversation will appear on your timeline, connected by the vertical line. If there are more than three messages in the conversation, click on any one to view the entire conversation.

Once you feel comfortable with these tools, it's time to start interacting with more influential Twitter users. Twitter gives you the power to directly connect with government officials, celebrities and cultural movers and shakers. By @mentioning specific people, the odds that they see your conversation increase drastically. Who knows? They might even respond or retweet to their own personal audiences.

4. Direct Communication

Another way to communicate with Twitter is through direct messaging (DM). The messages are private, between you and the receiver, but keep in mind what you say could still be leaked - so make sure whatever you send is something you'd feel comfortable having publicly posted.

Since the network's debut, it was believed that a user had to be following you before you could send them a direct message. However, it was discovered in October 2013 that a feature in settings allowed users to choose whether they wanted to be able to receive messages from their followers, even if they didn't follow them back.

To enable the feature, go to settings and look under the "Accounts" section, where you should see a check box marked "Receive direct messages from any follower." At time of writing, the feature wasn't available for everyone. We'll update as more information becomes available.

5. Retweeting

Retweeting is a common way to share something interesting from someone you follow to your own set of followers. Pertinent information tends to spread virally via retweets. It's important to remember that a retweet should be thought of as quoting someone or citing a source.

There are a couple of ways to retweet someone (see image below). You may choose to simply hit the retweet button that appears when you hover your mouse over someone else's tweet. When you click this button, the tweet will be sent to your set of followers, using the original tweeter's profile pic alongside a note that you have retweeted the post. Additionally, a small green icon will appear in the top-right corner of the tweet. This is illustrated in the top example of the picture below.

Another way of retweeting arose from the Twitter community itself. This way is a ever-so-slightly more labor intensive, but gives you the opportunity to comment on a tweet before you retweet it. Simply click to expand the tweet, copy and paste its text, and then create a new tweet by clicking the compose icon in the top-right of your profile page. Be sure to include the letters "RT" and the handle of the person who originally tweeted the information. (This is illustrated in the lower example in the picture below.) Notice that the tweet now appears in your timeline, with your profile pic and your comment before the original tweet.

Again, these are two ways to perform essentially the same action. It's up to you to determine when it's appropriate to include a comment in your RT.

6. Hashtags

Hashtags label and indicate the subject matter of certain conversations taking place on Twitter. The hashtag is represented by the number sign "#." Putting one of these little symbols in front of a word or phrase indicates a subject you think is worth talking about. The words you use after the hashtag become searchable because Twitter tracks them. That is to say, if you click on a particular hashtag, you'll be able to see all tweets that have also used that hashtag. It's a grouping mechanism that allows you to get the general public's sense about a specific topic or issue.

This is a very convenient way to drop in on subjects as broad as #OrganicFood or as focused as #BehindTheLaunch. Feel free to create your own subjects - just make sure you don't use any spaces between words in a hashtag. The #Discover tab at the top of the page will display content and hashtags that might interest you, based on your own tweets.

For more examples of Twitter hashtag trends and practices, see these resources:

7. Mobile Apps

Twitter is all about what's happening now. And let's face it: Not a ton of interesting things happen at your desk. That's why it's important to keep up with Twitter while you're on the go. Maybe you'll snap an excellent photo with your smartphone. Maybe a brilliant tweet will pop into your head while you're at the supermarket.

Twitter is available on both iOS and Android devices.

We suggest using the official Twitter app first. When you're ready to try some advanced functionality, there are some great third-party apps. Check out our recommendations for Twitter iPhone apps.

When you're ready to move beyond the mobile basics, check out these additional third-party Twitter apps:

8. Crafting Your Voice

Now that you're up and running, focus on being yourself and crafting your online beat. When you start to situate yourself as an expert in a specific subject area (for example, in comedy or politics), you'll notice that people will begin to follow you for advice and expertise. You may not know who they are, but that's perfectly acceptable. Twitter isn't about following people you already know; it's about engaging interesting people from all over the world.

As you start building your "brand" on Twitter, think about why people are following or talking to you. Are you an expert in a particular industry? Are you opinionated? Funny? Do you share great news articles or interesting photos?

The bottom line: Be authentic and true to your values and you'll quickly become a valuable member of the Twitter community.

9. IPO Filing

In October 2013, the company filed an S-1 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $1 billion in public offering. Read it below:

On November 6, 2013, Twitter set its final IPO price at $26 a share - meaning it would actually raise around $1.8 billion and be valued at around $18 billion. Facebook, by comparison, went public at $38 a share and raised $16 billion from its public offering.

We just priced our IPO. pic.twitter.com/NWXaO4Myq0

- Twitter (@twitter) November 6, 2013

10. Changes to Photos and Videos

Twitter also announced in October 2013 that all photos and videos in tweets would begin, by default, appearing in full - making its appearance more like that of Facebook. (Up until this point, photos and videos, such as Vine videos, had appeared as links which users could expand by clicking.)

Reception across the board was mixed. Some users argued it was a positive feature that meant less clicking and easier scrolling; those who opposed said it opened up the door for seeing photos and videos they might not necessarily want to see (think: NSFW content.)

Although it's a default function, it's still possible to disable it. For mobile devices, simply open the settings in the app and deselect the "Image Previews" tab. There's not yet a concrete way to disable the function on desktops, but if it's inappropriate content you're worried of coming across, open the settings tab on Twitter.com and choose to be alerted whenever "Sensitive" media pops into your feed. It's a heads-up, if anything:

Image: Flickr, Garret Heath

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Update: This post was updated November 2013 to reflect current statistics and tools. Do you have a parent, friend or colleague ready to ditch his or her digital training wheels and head into Twitter's open wilderness? These pointers should get them started. And even Twitter experts might benefit from a quick refresher on the platform's valuable tools.

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I have been on twitter as @redgierob since the 16th of May 2011 and I consider myself a fully-fledged 'edutweeter' with over 66,000 tweets to my name. Recently 'edutwitter' seems to have...

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Texts on Tuesdays: Twitter for Professional Development. Try it! - The Teacher Studio: Learning, Thinking, Creating

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Texts on Tuesdays: Twitter for Professional Development. Try it! - The Teacher Studio: Learning, Thinking, Creating

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Today's Text on Tuesdays is going to be a little different...instead of focusing on a book or journal, I want to talk to you a little bit about what might be the most powerful professional development opportunity available to you, Twitter.

So when I first signed up for Twitter a few years ago, I did it because I was curious. It took me a few different attempts at playing around with it before I started to see its potential-but when I did, I realized the tremendous impact it could have.

For those of you who DO use Twitter professionally, I'd love for you to leave your best suggestions below-and for those of you who haven't tried, I'm going to try to convince you to give it a try.

First of all...the basics.

1. Twitter is a "real time" social media experience. Unlike Facebook, the big "thing" with Twitter is the 140 character maximum. "Tweets" are meant to be short and quick bursts of information or ideas. You will find lots of links on Twitter-to professional articles, blog posts, and so on.

2. To connect with people and groups on Twitter, people use "@" and "#" symbols. "@" attached to a username is like a "tag". A reply is a response in the form of a post to another user, usually to answer a question or in reaction to an idea that has been posted. To reply, type in the '@' sign followed by the username, i.e. @username and then follow with your message. If you want to make sure I see tweet, for example, write your tweet and type @fourthgrstudio in the message.

A "#" ("hashtag") can be inserted into your text to allow people to search for things and helps to organize Twitter. You can use commonly used hashtags such as "#education", use the hashtag of a particular chat (more in a minute!), or-like some people do-to express a point.

"I just ate six pieces of pizza. #noselfcontrol #dietstartstomorrow"

Most people on Twitter truly use the hashtags to help connect with people using similar hashtags. See the image below for a screen shot of parts of my most recent two tweets. You can see I used #edchat and #elemchat and #4thchat...people following those hashtags are more likely to see these tweets because of that. This becomes important because if you only have 12 followers, the chance of anyone seeing your tweets is slim! It's a little lonely when you first start Twitter because you wonder if ANYONE is seeing your tweets-and they may not be...YET.

Go into Twitter with the idea that you want to learn from others, share with others, and interact with others. Here are a few suggestions for getting started.

*Find amazing people to follow. Big name authors, researchers, and organizations tweet often and tweet meaningfully. When you see something you like, "retweet" it! This will let your followers see that you value it and helps spread your reach on Twitter (which builds followers along the way!). If you want to "favorite" a tweet, it makes it easier to go back later to find it or read it. I do this a lot when I see something I want to read but don't have time.

Check out this recent tweet...do you see at the top how I retweeted this blog post from my friend Donna over at Math Coach's Corner? I wanted my followers to have access to it...so let's peek at the bottom of this image.

There are a few symbols at the bottom of every tweet...the arrow on the far left is a "reply" button. If I wanted to reply directly to Donna, I would hit that button and tweet something like, "Great blog post-thanks for sharing!" Because it is a reply, I don't need to mention her name or anything...it goes right to her. Remember that Twitter is very public, however, so others will see that I replied.

The next symbol with the double arrow is the "retweet" button. This post had 8 retweets at the time I screen shot it...that means 8 people saw the tweet and wanted their viewers to see it too. The star is the "favorites" button. That can be used to acknowledge that you appreciate the content-but also marks it for you so you can go find it again. The ellipsis offers more menu options-but we'll stick to the basics today!

3. So finding tweets that are meaningful to you is one way to use Twitter as professional development...but another very exciting thing to try is "Twitter Chats". This is much like a conversation you might have via Facebook or texting-but with the possibility of many, many people being involved. Because of this, chats can sometimes move VERY quickly and can be overwhelming. Many people try them and then give up because they are overwhelmed. Don't give up! Here are my suggestions to get you started.

*Find a chat you are interested in...and "lurk" for a few sessions. Just watch other people, read the tweets, and get the feel of it.

*Use Tweetdeck or Tweetchat (free) to step a little bit "outside" Twitter to keep your chats organized. When you chat, you will be using a hashtag to keep everyone in a "room" where everyone is chatting about the same thing. Most people use Tweetdeck, but if you are nervous-try Tweetchat. It will ask you to put a hashtag into the first screen and then you will ONLY see the tweets with that hashtag. By using it, you will not have to enter the hashtag for each tweet you write during a chat. Remember, the hashtag is what keeps information together.

So...I know this is a lot of information if you are new-but I can't stress enough about how much AMAZING information I have learned from Twitter. I have had Twitter conversations with famous researchers and authors-opportunities I would NEVER have had in any other situation. On Twitter, everyone is an equal, and I really see that "big names" who are active on Twitter really and truly want to interact with their followers.

Want to give it a try? Here are my recommendations.

1. Set up your account.

2. Find a small group of people to follow so you can get the "feel" of it. My recommendations? Try these to get started...

@Fourthgrstudio (that's me-and you can tweet AT me with questions!)

@NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics)

By just following a few organizations, you will start to see the flow of tweets, can try retweeting and favoriting, and then can start to see other people/groups to follow. Once you find people to start to follow, you will see who THEY follow and can pick and choose from them as well.

Remember, Twitter is all about interacting...so retweet often, favorite things, and even reply to someone who posts something that is extremely meaningful. When you are ready, consider a chat...and I'll do a follow up post soon with some suggestions about good elementary teaching chats-and maybe I'll even do a "practice chat" for anyone who is interested! Let me know in the comments if that is something you might be interested in!

Sorry if this was overwhelming...but I think it's time for teachers to realize that we need to open our minds to new ways of learning. I am CONSTANTLY sending tweets to my administrators with great information I find on Twitter! What do you think? Are you ready to give it a try? Let me know how I can help...feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer them...and let me know if you sign up and I'll be your latest follower!

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Texts on Tuesdays: Twitter for Professional Development. Try it! - The Teacher Studio

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Today's Text on Tuesdays is going to be a little different...instead of focusing on a book or journal, I want to talk to you a little bit about what might be the most powerful professional development opportunity available to you, Twitter. So when I first signed up for Twitter a few years ago, I did ...

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The Teacher's Guide To Twitter | Edudemic

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The Teacher's Guide To Twitter | Edudemic