1. Twitter for Professional
Development
MAFLA Fall Conference
October 28, 2011
8:45-10:00 a.m.
Session G11, Southbridge
Catherine Ritz

2. Why Twitter?
• Connections: create your own Personal Learning
Network
• Collaboration: share resources and ideas with
likeminded teachers
• Live chats
• Research: search for resources you need
• Impress your students!
– Use new sites and resources even they haven’t heard
of!
• “Twitter in 60 Seconds” (video)

3. What other people are saying!
• “Why Twitter is a Teacher’s Best Tool” (link)
– 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
• “Twitter Evolving Into Professional Development Tool” (link)
– "For me, Twitter has been a way to connect with a lot of other
educators around the country and even around the world," Mr.
Aungst said. "It's been a way for me to extend the conversation
about education and practice in the classroom beyond my
immediate circle of people in my [4,400-student] district."

4. • “Teachers Teaching Teachers, on Twitter: Q. and
A. on ‘Edchats’” (NYTimes – link)
– “Social media also allows teachers to connect their
classrooms to create collaborative projects that
would have otherwise been impossible.
Participating in a Twitter chat is an energizing and
motivating experience, one that will force you to
reconsider your perspective and grow as an
educator.”
• “Turning Teachers in Tweachers” (1: link; 2: link)
• “Why Educators Should Join Twitter” (video)

5. • @sylviaduckworth’s “Dear Foreign Language
Educator: If You Were on Twitter…” (link)
• @mmenero’s “If You Were on Twitter: What
You Can Learn About Assessment for Learning
from Twitter” (link)

6. What to Tweet about?
• Links to resources
• Questions about teaching
strategies/resources/technology… anything!
• What you’re doing in class
• Lesson plans, assessments, projects
• Anything that might be of interest to other
teachers or that you need help with!

7. Chats
• Educational Twitter Chats Calendar
• #edchat
– http://edupln.ning.com/group/edchat
– “To accommodate teachers in various time zones
we have two edchat discussions which take place
usually around 12pm NYT (EST) and 7pm NYT
(EST).”
• #flteach & #langchat (Thursdays, 8pm)

8. What are people saying right now?
• #edchat: wiffiti board
• #flteach & #langchat: wiffiti board
• #MAFLA11: wiffiti board

9. Who to follow?
• @ritzforeignlang (me!)
• @tiesamgraf (Tiesa Graf – MAFLA conf.
organizer, Spanish teacher)
• @ZJonesSpanish (Zachary Jones, Spanish)
• @sylviaduckworth (French teacher)
• @joedale (British MFL Tech Integration Specialist)
• *put the @name in the “What’s Happening”
box, tweet it, then their profile will come up for
you to follow*
• See who all these people are following!
• Search for professional orgs you like!

10. Your turn!
• Create your Twitter account
• Write your @name on the board
• Follow everyone in the room!
• Make a personal connection with the people
around you; get to know their @name
• Do a search
• Post a #MAFLA11 comment!

11. Resources
• LiveBinder: “An Educator’s Guide to Twitter”
– http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=34291
• TagDef: http://tagdef.com/
– Look up a definition for any hashtag
– My favorite: #ff (FollowFriday!)

12. Additional Resources/Contact
• catherineritz.org
– Check “Resources”page
– Keep in touch on Twitter!
• Presentation with links available at:
– catherineritz.org/workshops
Questions? Discussion?
Thank you!