Aug 132013
 
Permalink: http://goo.gl/tC8K6t

It’s that time of year again… Time to get back to school! Why not start the year off with a new resolve and commitment to better communicate with and engage your students and their parents, letting them know about all of the great things happening in your classroom or school in a way that they are already familiar with?

Take a look at my Prezi: Facebook Fan Pages & Twitter: A Primer for Schools & Teachers. We start with the basics of what a ‘tweet’ is and what Twitter can do for you and finish up with the benefits of a Facebook Fan Page. I also include information on how to get started with each, including some suggested and safe initial settings for posting and interaction. You can also view the presentation below!

Apr 092013
 

This great post from @tomwhitby got me thinking… Do I use Twitter for more than keeping up on new things in EdTech and for my own Professional Development? Being a trainer, I’m usually the one in front of the group. It’s rare that I get the chance to sit back and learn from others in traditional settings. The only chance I get to learn from others is from Twitter.

Twitter has been most of my PD for the past few years, but I have not yet effectively been using it to collaborate with other teachers. My first great success in collaborating or reaching out to other teachers via Twitter was just yesterday. I sent a question out about good anti-bullying resources and almost immediately, a teacher in my region sent me back a link to an amazing YouTube video.

I have tried this in the past, but it seemed like I was shouting into the wind. Today, there was some great positive reinforcement for me to use the tool in this way. I’ll certainly use it more for collaboration in the future, while continuing to share what I find and learn as well as listen to others for their great ideas and suggestions.

What type of teacher are you – Connected or Not? What effect does this choice have on your instruction?

Aug 282012
 

Facebook and Twitter Getting Started Document: http://goo.gl/KR9GG

Thanks for joining me today to learn more about some great ways to integrate Facebook and Twitter into your school social network outreach and in education in general. You can also get back to this post anytime by using the permalink above or the barcode to the right. You can also access it again using the Facebook, Twitter or Millard tags on my site to learn more.

Jul 192011
 
May 252011
 

twitter, education, GOOD, learning, k-12, college
Teachers are increasingly bringing the real-time communication power of Twitter into the classroom to help students learn. But I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s great for helping teachers learn as well. Twitter has simply become one of the best places for teachers to collaborate, share solutions to common classroom problems, and discuss education policy. In fact, it might just be the best forum teachers have ever had.

As a classroom teacher I remember going across the hall to ask Mr. Sally for tips on getting kids to learn their times tables. His ideas were fine, but what if I’d been able to crowdsource my question to the global community of educators on Twitter? A teacher who engages with other educators on Twitter essentially has a 24/7 open door policy. Type the hashtag #edchat in the search box, and you’ll see a real-time stream of discussion about an unlimited number of educational topics. It’s pretty clear teachers are collaborating with each other by sharing solutions to their challenges???links to articles, resources and practical ideas:
tweets

Educators can also use Twitter to keep up with education policy. Before Twitter, educators often had no idea what the big players, like the Department of Education and the Secretary of Education, were up to on a daily basis. Now one can just scan the Twitter timelines of the DOE and the department’s press secretary, Justin Hamilton. And it’s not just a that teachers are able to stay up-to-date; there’s also more conversation between educators and the DOE. In the wake of Arne Duncan’s recent open letter to teachers expressing his appreciation for their hard work, which was not well received by many educators, teachers took to Twitter to let Hamilton know their displeasure. And, because of the nature of Twitter, he had to respond.

Not all teachers have totally embraced Twitter. Some are a little tech-phobic. Those that aren’t are sometimes concerned about sharing information in public when their colleagues are getting fired for what they write on personal blogs and Facebook pages. If a teacher is honest about the challenges at her school???say she tweets about possible cheating on standardized tests???a vindictive administrator could make her life miserable for ???airing dirty laundry.??? But many avoid the pitfalls of public information-sharing by simply using anonymous identities on Twitter. And good for them. America’s students deserve teachers who’ve been taught well themselves, and right now, Twitter is the best way for educators to get a continuing professional education.

photo (cc) via Flickr user Creative Tools

Twitter CAN be a great teacher resource for 24/7 PD and collaboration with other teachers from around the globe – you just need to jump in and start interacting. As stated in the article, a great place to get your feet wet is by checking out the discussions using the #edchat hashtag.

GOOD ideas in this article from http://www.good.is