I am now in my 6th year of Twitter, and it has been one the main ways I have grown as an educator over these years. My PLN has been an invaluable place for ideas, resources and support. I know I am better because of the people I follow and the conversations I have had.  The people I have met, have kept me challenged and growing.For many though, Twitter can be a little overwhelming.  There are so many great educators on Twitter with so many resources being shared, but there is also a lot of excess noise as well. To break through all the noise, I have created a shortlist of how get the most out of Twitter.  Check these out if you are just getting started or want to take Twitter to its fullest potential.  

 

Determine a passion

One of the first things people do when they join Twitter is follow a few celebrities or brands. That is a well and good if you want some cute tweets about what was eaten for breakfast, but that will not keep anyone interested for long.  I suggest follow your passions and interests. What is it you want to learn about?  What are some trends or skills you want to have an inside track on?  Search these items, and see who all is talking about it.  Follow these people, comment on a tweet, retweet someone that shares your views. These are the people that will keep you coming back for more. These are the people that make Twitter worth keeping up with.

 

Join a Twitter chat

Being an educator there is a Twitter chat every night that could interest you. A Twitter chat is where several people follow and add to the same hashtag to discuss a topic. For instance #txeduchat is on Sundays at 8 pm.  There you will find 100s of other educators around Texas, the US, and many times the world to discuss your ideas with. Even if you just watch the first couple times, find a few tweets to retweet, you will be sure to find someone to follow.  Search for Twitter Education Chats and you will find a calendar listing of all that are available.

 

Make it physically social

Not sure about hopping on a Twitter chat by yourself. That’s fine.  Call up some fellow educators, find a coffee shop, or other drinking establishment, and make it a social affair. I have seen a few districts and groups of educators do this. It lowers the anxiety level, and increases the enjoyment.

 

Have fun, and make mistakes

The biggest fear is fear itself, I believe President Roosevelt once said.  It is so true. When starting on Twitter you can get so overwhelmed by the hashtags, retweet, subtweets, and other nuances. If all you do is follow a few key educators, pull one or two nuggets of information a week, then I say Twitter is a success.

 

Follow and support

If you are looking for a starting point on educators to follow, may I offer you a few suggestions?

 

Todd Nesloney @techninjatodd

He is probably the first to show me what to look forward to with Twitter, and more importantly the joy of Twitter. He is an all around great guy, and if you ever need a reminder about why you are teacher he can give you 100 reasons. One of my proudest moments is when called and asked me to present with him at TCEA.  He and @adamwelcome have started the #KidsDeserveIt discussion, and this where he will start.

 

Dave Burgess @burgessdave

Author of Teach Like a Pirate, and supporter of all adventure seeking, boundary breaking teachers. A great speaker, and another great advocate of making the classroom where students as to be and learn.

 

Alice Keeler @alicekeeler 

All things Google, anti-homework, and promoter of the increasing the expectations of the degree of knowledge of our students. She is quick to reply, and great to have a conversation with on Twitter.

 

Tara Martin @TaraMartinEDU

One of my new favs to follow. She has created a new fun way to use Snapchat, to show your learning and spark some creativity. She calls them #BookSnaps, and they can be addictive. I had the pleasure of meeting her during iPadpalooza17, and she is just a fistfull of positive energy.

 

There are so many to follow, that are helping and supporting educators to reach and strive to get to their fullest potential. Like I have told many educators, that I talked to about Twitter, I only follow awesome people and that makes my Twitter stream awesome.

 

Sharing is caring

I am not who I am today without Twitter, and hope others will say the same when they follow me. I would be happy to connect with you via Twitter. Search me out @patrickreid28, and I would love to have a new connection.