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BRAND YOURSELF

Create your own “handle,” i.e. @teachkiwi.

A few things to consider… ease to remember by other “Twitter” friends, length and how easy it is to type from a smart phone .

START TO FOLLOW THINGS/PEOPLE To keep it focused follow only things on the account that are focused on

educational purposes (create a “fun” twitter account for your Ryan Phillipe obsession ).

Great people/groups to follow:

@AngelaMeirs @burgess_shelley

@centerofmath @iamkesler

@TechNinjaStacey @ASCD

@TechNinjaTodd @coolcatteacher

@ForTheTeachers @burgessdave

@MathCoachCorner @bcurrie5

@eyeoneducaton @thomascmurray

@tagurit72 @TeachThought

@cherylhunt @edudemic

1ST BE A “CREEPER” ON SOME PLN(S)(PROFESSIONAL

LEARNING NETWORK)

#satchat (East Coast is at 7am on Saturday’s and West Coast is at 9 am on Saturday’s)

#sbgchat (discussion on Standards Based grading, Wednesday’s at 8pm to 9pm)

#nisdchat (our own district chat, Sunday’s from 8:30pm to 9pm)

#nisdnov8 (our own district technology chat, Tuesday’s from 8:30-9pm… this week we are having a guest expert share with those participating how to use Aurasma with student products)

#txed (state chat supposed to happen on Wednesday’s but posts are ongoing… intereseting potpourri of topics discussed)

#halseteled (our campus PLN where we will discuss various topics and other ideas can be sent to share with our campus)

Once you creep for a while start participating… be sure to include the “hashtag” so that you respond specifically to that chat/PLN.

WHEN YOU MOVE FROM “CREEPER” TO “TWEETER”

Some short hand information:

T= Teacher

S= Student or Students

4= for, four

2= to, too, two

8 can be shorthand for words like gr8, st8, h8, pl8, design8, nov8, etc.

RT= reTweet, that is when you copy word for word someone else’s reTweet (iPhone Twitter app will put the RT in for you)

MT= is a “modified Tweet” when you reTweet somebody else’s tweet but change some of the wording or short hand it so you can direct it to another person’s handle or PLN (none of the apps do MT, when you use the “quote Tweet” button this is where you designate MT at the beginning of the Tweet)

Favorite is a great way to let someone know you liked their Tweet or when in a “live chat” to let other PLN participants know you like or agree with a particular Tweet, but not worth a “reTweet”

Trending means that a particular person or # is getting a very large percentage of “live” traffic or activity. Several educational # PLNs trend… if you use an app other than the traditional Twitter app be careful of SPAM when trending… most of it is attempts to get you to look at their inappropriate pictures (pornography) but some may try to hack your Twitter account.

Since you are limited to 130 characters, it is often a common practice to use tinyurl.com or a similar website to shorten lengthy websites or links so that you have room to comment about WHY you Tweeted a link

When referring to Twitter, Tweeting or Tweets always capitalize. Twitter is the brand name and the name and all descriptors linked to Twitter should be capitalized to give the distinction.

Remember: Twitter is about short messages, not about grammar or correct spelling

JOIN A TWITTER BOOK CLUB

Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess #tlap

Learning Targets by Moss and Brookhart #nisdlearningtargets

Non-educational bookclub at haslet: @TluvBC

BENEFITS OF TWITTERIdeas stream constantly.

You can filter what you want to see and how you want to see it… by person or by hashtag PLN.

It connects you to educators all over the world and expands your knowledge quickly on you own schedule… connect while waiting for kids at soccer practice, in the doctor’s office, waiting for your order at a restaurant, etc.

If you can’t participate in a “Live” chat you can still go back and look at the discussion and post a “tweet” after the “Live” interaction… it’s like a Professional Development that keeps on going, building and changing.

You discover amazing education blogs with a vast amount of resources and thoughts, books that other educators are reading and learning from, and it gets you ahead of the curve when thinking about where we are going in regards to ourselves and our kids with technology.

It takes the reality of what we do as educators and need to be relevant with our kids and puts it in hyperdrive… it is professional development on steroids.

WHAT NOW?

Follow @teachkiwi or another Tweeter who will reTweet you and encourage others to follow

Designate certain times to specifically focus on Tweeting

Commit to trying or applying at least one thing you read/discover on Twitter each week

Participate in the campus PLN #hasleteled

Once you have tried it share your story with someone else… spread the “Tweet”