This week in EDU 5312, we learned about how teachers need the help of other professionals to learn and to grow as educators. It is valuable for teachers to build their PLN's or Professional Learning Networks. One of the best ways to do this is through the use of Twitter. I began using Twitter just last year. I teach Spanish at an area high school and I decided to try using Twitter as another means of reminding students of upcoming quizzes, projects, or tests. Most of my students who already used Twitter were happy to follow me and to receive additional reminders. At the end of the year, I cautioned them to unfollow me as they might not want to receive information about a class they are no longer enrolled in! While last year I had about 54 students following me, this year I have very few. I'm not sure why, but some students have said that their parents don't allow them to have accounts and others have said that since adults have discovered Facebook and Twitter, it's not as fun anymore! Ha! In any case, even if teachers aren't using it to specifically connect with their students, their are many reasons to use it to connect with other educators.
But first, here is how to make a Twitter account:
While I have used Twitter to connect to my students, I am excited to explore the use of Twitter for connecting with other educators. This week I explored Twitter chats that meet on assigned days, at assigned times to talk about specific topics. I plan to lurk during some of their chats to see what I can learn and to see how my students or I might be able to participate in the future.
It was also interesting to see the number of teachers that I can follow. There were teachers of all subject areas as well as technology topics that interested me. This week I began following a couple of teachers and it was fun to see a name that I recognized in the group. I know that following these two people will help me to continue to expand my PLN as through them I will discover other educators that would be valuable for me to follow. Twitter is not just for teens! It's for teachers!
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