Twitter4teachers Ulearn09

Christchurch New Zealand October 2009

Integrating new technologies to empower learning and transform leadership

Friday, 2 October 2009

TWITTER FOR TEACHERS
What is Twitter and why should teachers care?

Integrating new technologies to empower learning and transform leadership

“Watching from the outside, Twitter is like the
dumbest thing you’ve heard of: “Why would
anyone want to tell others what they are doing in
140 characters?”

And yet to dismiss Twitter is a mistake because
it’s an incredibly powerful tool for your personal
learning and connecting with others.”
(Sue Waters, http://suewaters.wikispaces.com/twitter, @suewaters Original quote: Alan Levine)


WHAT IS TWITTER?
The guys at Common Craft explain it for us.


WHO TWEETS?


SURVEY
survey conducted over 3 days via twitter
beginning June 2009 - 85 people responded from
all over the world.


LENGTH OF TIME TWEETING

2+ Years
21% 21% 1-2 Years
6-12 mths
0-6 mths

14%

44%


TWEETERS BY OCCUPATION
Classroom Teachers
ICT Facilitators (some also tchr) 8%
Librarians or Library Specialists
Senior Management 7%
Other
4%
42%

39%


FOUR KEY QUESTIONS

• What are the top 3-5 reasons you tweet?

• How has Twitter helped you professionally?

• What sage advice do you have for educators
wanting to tweet?

• Who would be the top 5 people you’d
recommend others to follow?


WHY TWEET?
•Connection

•Collaboration

•Collegiality

•Information

•Fun

TO CONNECT


• Connection for isolated people
• Link with people in NZ &
(location/job)
around world with similar
interests/global connection
• Degrees of separation
• Participate in conversations
• Personal Learning Network
with other educators
• Keep my thinking fresh by
• World-wide group of people
extending my prof. network &
to bounce ideas off
interacting with people I would
not normally have the chance
• Other teachers/educators have
to connect with
same vision for enhancing
teaching/learning in their
• Participating in global
classrooms
conversations


• Connection for isolated people
• Link with people in NZ &
(location/job)
around world with similar
Keep my thinking fresh by
interests/global connection
• Degrees of separation

• extending my
Participate in conversationsprofessional
• Personal Learning Network
with other educators
network & interacting with by
• Keep my thinking fresh
• World-wide group of people
people I would not normally &
to bounce ideas off
extending my prof. network
interacting with people I would
have the chancenot normally have the chance
• Other teachers/educators have
to connect
to connect with
with
same vision for enhancing
teaching/learning in their
• Participating in global
classrooms
conversations


COLLABORATION &
COLLEGIALITY


• Discussions, • Coffeeconversations
controversies, new with e-colleagues
thinking
• Establish
connections
• Putting concerns into a with other teachers
global/better context
• Real-time conversations
• Sharing victories and
disasters/low points • 24/7 access to
collaborators
• Support when looking
for new ideas • Building connections


• Discussions, • Coffeeconversations
controversies, new with e-colleagues
thinking
• Establish
connections
• Putting concerns into a with other teachers
global/better context
Real-time conversations
• Real-time conversations
• Sharing victories and
disasters/low points • 24/7 access to
collaborators
• Support when looking
for new ideas • Building connections


INFORMATION


• Finding/making
• Asking and answering
recommendations
questions
• Problem solving
• Sharing tips and
resources • Sharing own & others
blogs
• What’s the latest ICT
trend • Publicising own blog
posts
• Staying up-to-date
• Creating
wider
• Online PD
audience for class blogs
1/2

• Finding/making
• Asking and answering
recommendations
questions
• Problem solving
• Sharing tips and
resources • Sharing own & others
Creating wider audience
blogs
• What’s the latest ICT
for class blogs
trend • Publicising own blog
posts
• Staying up-to-date
• Creating
wider
• Online PD
audience for class blogs
1/2

• Keep up to date with what’s happening in the
world

• Snap-shot of what is happening in life right now

• Breaking news - Mumbai/Plane in the Hudson

• Keep in touch with what is happening in the
outside world - especially important for people
free-lancing

2/2

• Keep up to date with what’s happening in the
world

Snap-shot of whatright now
• Snap-shot of what is happening in life is
happening in life right
• Breaking news - Mumbai/Plane in the Hudson

now with what is happening in the
• Keep in touch
outside world - especially important for people
free-lancing

2/2

SOCIAL/FUN REASONS


• Quizzes
• Personal - friends &
• Planning fun stuff like family
Flash Mob @ • Personal interests &
conference hobbies
• Games
• Sharing
memorable and
• General chit-chat humorous events

• Interest, curiosity, new
• Comedy acts - Stephen
Fry! things


• Quizzes
• Personal - friends &
• Planning fun stuff like family
Flash Mob @ • Personal interests &
conference hobbies
Interest, curiosity, new things
• Games
• Sharing
memorable and
• General chit-chat humorous events

• Interest, curiosity, new
• Comedy acts - Stephen
Fry! things


HOW DOES IT HELP ME
PROFESSIONALLY?


• Keeps me in touch with the outstanding role
models in our (global) education system

• Participate to tear down
Able in ‘unofficial’ PD the walls
of my classroom & give my
• Difficult to find funds to attend prof. dev.
students a chance topeers to learn
workshops - depend on Twitter & connect
and grow people around the
with
world down the walls of my classroom &
• Able to tear
give my students a chance to connect with people
around the world
1/4

• Find information & resources to use with students
& colleagues

• Connected to a wide range of people who are at
the cutting edge of education

• True networking with teachers around the world

• Allowed us to restructure our classes to take
advantage of Web 2.0

• Given me a PLN which I wouldn’t otherwise have
2/4

• Find information & resources to use with students
& colleagues

• Connected to a wide range of people who are at
the Connected to a wide range
cutting edge of education
of people who arearound the world
• True networking with teachers
at the
cutting edge of education
• Allowed us to restructure our classes to take
advantage of Web 2.0

• Given me a PLN which I wouldn’t otherwise have
2/4

• I’ve ‘stolen’ and used many ideas in the curriculum
or own personal life; made friends; shared my own
ideas; collaborated with others; reﬂected on my
own practice and more

• Twitter provides hands on tech support - questions
are ALWAYS answered

• Got a job through Twitter - contacts etc

• Relationships
with people normally unavailable -
Derek Wenmouth, Wes Fryer, David Warlick, Tony
Ryan etc 3/4

• I’ve ‘stolen’ and
used many ideas in the curriculum
or own personal life; made friends; shared my own
ideas;‘stolen’ and others; reﬂected on my
I’ve collaborated with used many ideas
own practice and more
in the curriculum or own personal
• Twitter provides hands on tech support - questions
life; made friends; shared my own
are ALWAYS answered
ideas; collaborated with others;
• Got a job through my own practice and
reﬂected on Twitter - contacts etc
more
• Relationships with people normally unavailable -
Derek Wenmouth, Wes Fryer, David Warlick, Tony
Ryan etc 3/4

• Introduced me to a wide range of e-learning
specialists from different disciplines & educational
systems

• Has grown my PLN, challenged my thinking & ideas
about education & speciﬁcally the impact of e-
learning on pedagogy & student learning

• First place I go to when I have a problem or need
inspiration

• No. 1 tool for prof. dev.
4/4

• Introduced me to a wide range of e-learning
specialists from different disciplines & educational
systems

• Has grown my PLN, challenged my thinking & ideas
First place&Ispeciﬁcallywhen I have
about education go to the impact of e-
a problem or need inspiration
learning on pedagogy & student learning

• First place I go to when I have a problem or need
inspiration

• No. 1 tool for prof. dev.
4/4

WHO SHOULD I FOLLOW

besides me ... @kiwijoe90 ... the people surveyed
came up with 162 people - here are the top 14
names ...


• @allanahk • @coolcatteacher

• @teachernz • @dajbelshaw

• @tombarrett • @larryferlazzo

• @suewaters • @betchaboy

• @wfryer • @dorothyjburt

• @willrich45 • @jutecht

• @angelamaiers • @mscoﬁno


ADVICE FOR NEWBIES
from newbies


• Have fun • Have a code of conduct
for yourself
• Don’t try to follow too
many people • Enjoy
the spirit of the
community
• Find strong people to
follow • Don’t quit

• Get involved • Make connections with
people with similar
• Just start interests
• Connect with educators • Lurk/Listen/Question

• Have fun • Have a code of conduct
for yourself
• Don’t try to follow too
many people • Enjoy
the spirit of the
Make connections with
• Find strong people to
community

people with • Don’t quit
follow similar
• Get interests
involved • Make connections with
people with similar
• Just start interests
• Connect with educators • Lurk/Listen/Question

ADVICE FOR NEWBIES
from old hands


• Tweet your lesson ideas • Beeclectic in your mix
of people you follow
• Add web link & some
info about you in your • Findsomeone you
bio know/trust to follow
ﬁrst - then follow
• Give yourself time to people they follow
develop connections
• Remember what you
• Use a Twitter client say stays online!
• Follow many people • Jump in & connect

• Tweet your lesson ideas • Beeclectic in your mix
of people you follow
• Add web link & some
info about you in your • Find
someone you
bio know/trust to follow
Give yourselfﬁrst - then to
time follow
• Give yourself time to
develop connections people they follow
develop connections
• Remember what you
• Use a Twitter client say stays online!
• Follow many people • Jump in & connect

FINAL WORDS


• Don’t worry if people don’t follow you back

• Don’t worry if it takes a long time to ‘get’ - just about
everyone says that

• Visit the Blogger’s Cafes at conferences to meet up with
people

• It can be addictive

• Persevere

• Join the conversations

• 140 characters leads to tight, focussed writing/thinking
Poem
Next


• Don’t worry if people don’t follow you back

• Don’t worry if it takes a long time to ‘get’ - just about
everyone says that

• Visit140 characters leadsup with
the Blogger’s Cafes at conferences to meet to
people
tight, focussed writing/
• It can be addictive
thinking
• Persevere

• Join the conversations

• 140 characters leads to tight, focussed writing/thinking
Poem
Next


I Dream in Twitter

(listen to the podcast http://www.box.net/shared/static/
gqkaej08ww.mp3)

I dream in Twitter
in 140 characters
that cut off my thoughts before they are complete
and then I wonder, why 140?
Ten more letters would serve me right
as I write about what I am doing at that moment
in time,
connecting across the world with so many others
shackled by 140 characters, too,
and I remain amazed at how deep the brevity can be.


I find it unsettling to eavesdrop on conversations
between two
when you can only read one
and it startles me to think that someone else out there
has put their ear to my words
and wondered the same about me.
Whose eyes are watching?

Twitter is both an expanding universe
of tentacles and hyperlinks that draw you in
with knowledge and experience
and a shrinking neighborhood of similar voices,
echoing out your name
in comfortable silence.


I dream in Twitter
in 140 characters,
and that is what I am doing
right
at
this
moment

by Kevin - @dogtrax


http://twitter.com

@kiwijoe90

http://twitter4teachers.pbworks.com/


Twitter4teachers Ulearn09

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