Using Twitter as an Educator

Many educators today use Twitter professionally and/or personally. Professional use usually includes two categories: (1) enhancing teaching and learning in the classroom and (2) professional development.

The Four Stages of Getting on Twitter Infographic / Roba Al-Assi / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I am selecting resources to add to a Twitter (and other social media) unit for an upcoming summer workshop (see the last four weeks' posts and here and here and here) to help the workshop participants understand the value and benefits of using Twitter for professional development and in the classroom. I searched for appropriate resources for this unit... and found some guides and tips to add to my current materials. Because I taught a similar unit in a course this spring I want to add just a few outstanding resources to what I already use.

The workshop materials for Twitter that I chose fit these categories:

• guides for teachers,
• classroom uses,
• tips, and
• suggestions about students.

WTJ-Doodle over THE INSTRUCTIONS page / Arthur T. Bens / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Guides for Teachers and Classroom Uses

• The Twitter Guide for Teachers
• 2013… overview of use including classroom ideas and videos
• http://elearningindustry.com/the-twitter-guide-for-teachers

• An Educators Guide to Twitter
• 2010… by Steven W. Anderson… lots of information about Twitter for beginners and for experienced users
• http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=34291

• Teachers Guide to Twitter
• 2012… written for K-3 teachers but appropriate for others… designed for beginners… walks teachers through the early steps of using Twitter as an educator
• http://www.k-3teacherresources.com/teachers-guide-to-twitter.html#.U4f_gvbUWuE

• Twitter 101 for Educators9
• 2009… good beginning advice… walks teachers through the early steps of using Twitter as an educator
• http://www.examiner.com/article/twitter-101-for-educators

• The Teacher's Guide To Twitter
• 2013… good for newbies and experienced… I learned!
• http://www.edudemic.com/guides/guide-to-twitter/

I'll Give YOU a Tip / Rachael Voorhees / CC BY 2.0

Tips

• 7 Effective Ways to Engage on Twitter Infographic
• 2013… good advice
• http://elearninginfographics.com/effectively-use-twitter-infographic-teacher-guide-to-twitter/

• How Do You Search for Information on a Topic?
• 2014… Twitter is part of my search strategy
• http://www.teachinginadigitalworld.blogspot.com/2014/03/how-do-you-search-for-information-on.html

• Way Too Many People Make These 4 Twitter Mistakes
• 2014... useful tips
• http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/way-many-people-make-4-twitter-mistakes/

• 30 Education Innovators Worth Following On Twitter
• 2014... Twitter links for Forbes' list of "30 under 30" in education
• http://www.edudemic.com/education-innovators-twitter/

Student iPad 014 / Brad Flickinger / CC BY 2.0

Suggestions about Students

• On Twitter: To Follow or Not to Follow
• http://www.edutopia.org/blog/follow-not-follow-twitter-nicholas-provenzano
• 2012… good advice for following/not following students

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Will I use ALL these resources in the workshop? Most likely not. However resources that do not become part of the workshop activities may find themselves in a list provided for the participants to access on their own during the workshop or later.

These sites should help facilitate some interesting and useful discussions. How do you help other educators discover the benefits of using Twitter?