Try TWITTER Before Ignoring It

@rosaurochoa in Flickr

So many times I´ve heard teachers saying that Twitter is not for them,  they don´t get it,  it is a waste of time. Before you make up your mind, just give it a try. Start using it in very simple ways.

My first suggestion is searching for resources educators are already sharing in their timelines. In my case, for example, I´m interested in the use of mobile devices in the classroom, so I´ll look up “mlearning”, using the Twitter search feature. Give it a try. Add “mlearning” in the search box and you will be directed to this page with no need to login: https://twitter.com/search?q=mlearning

Wow! I´ve already found many interesting tweets to help me deepen my knowledge on the topic:

View my presentation – Free iPad Apps for Classroom Management https://t.co/nOqd0fErRq #mlearning #edtech #ipaded #edapp #freeapp

— Class Tech Tips (@ClassTechTips) 28 fevereiro 2014

Digital Storytelling with The iPad #mlearning #edtech Educational Technology and Mobile Learning https://t.co/36u3ppD61w via @medkh9

— Unlimited elearning (@elearningpros) 28 fevereiro 2014

 

Apps For Every School Leader To Consider: https://t.co/LFUoMMxnlk#mlearning#edchat

— Scott Newcomb (@SNewco) 21 fevereiro 2014

 

I could go on and on in my Twitter search only about #mlearning, but let´s move on to another topic that I want to explore, formative assessment:

Love these compiled discussion tweets and post about Formative assessment https://t.co/pedzVo6vML

— amy meyer (@mrsamymeyer) 28 fevereiro 2014

Formative Assessment: 27 Simple Ways To Check For Understanding https://t.co/qdwD2Ahbq7 #edchat #teaching

— TeachThought (@TeachThought) 25 fevereiro 2014

Now, imagine you get so excited about your search that Yes! you´ve decided to sign up for an account in Twitter. What now?

Start following like-minded educators. Everytime you scroll through your timeline, you´ll find their findings and sharing. It´s resource-mining at its best!

So, where to start?

How about this list? Just start following the tweets from educators you think have a powerful voice:

https://www.teachthought.com/social-media/50-educator-twitter-accounts-worth-following/ 

https://powerupwhatworks.org/blog/powerup-your-professional-learning-network-our-top-10-people-follow-twitter

And if you want to move beyond and really use the connective power of Twitter?

Here´s a collection of resources I´ve been mining over the past years:  https://twittering.wikispaces.com 

Next month, more on Twitter. Before you ignore it, try it.