Lost in the Twittering
Twitter
and I have a complicated relationship. I recognize the value of engaging on
twitter, that it presents a unique way for professionals to collaborate and
inspire one another but the best use I have found for twitter so far is to simply
follow We Rate Dogs (@dog_rates). It’s not that I am
social media illiterate. I am current on the Instagram, I know a bit about
tumblr, and Facebook is (sadly) still my jam, yet, the twitter platform itself
is just not intuitive to my technological skill base. Likewise, I have always been
a peripheral social media user, I watch and listen, but rarely contribute. This
I realize is not an ideal way to ‘do’ social media, and that having a more conscious
online presence would be beneficial to my teaching practice.
So, why
twitter? This brief video seems to answer this pretty well. It is a few years old
now (from 2015) but it touches on the main reasons twitter is still a good
place to connect with other educators. It is also nice to look at (I am a sucker
for drawing videos), and it is short yet concise. So, with the potential for a global
PLN of fellow educators and beyond, the organization of hashtags, chats, and
more, the real question is why haven’t I been using twitter this way all along?
Ok, so I’m convinced. Move over adorable
doggos, twitter is the place to be for educators. Now what? How do I connect to
meaningful resources? How do I move away from my tendency to ‘lurk’ all the
time? How do I build my PLN and use hashtags efficiently? Well, thankfully the
internet provides yet again with this helpful how to. Here I can learn what ‘lurking’
means, what a tweet is composed of, and what the h*ck to do with a tweet deck. Another
useful site was a Q&A with tweeting teachers that Scholastic has
interviewed. This page also lists a number of chats, and hashtags to follow as
well. Similarly, I found this useful list of resources from KQED which outlines a
multitude in learning about the wonderful world of twitter.
I still
have a lot to learn about using twitter as a professional tool and not just as a way to look at very good dogs. Going forward I will be building my PLN, retweeting
and favouriting relevant resources and links, as well as venturing into the
unknown world of *gasp* actually producing a tweet. Wish me luck fellow
educators! Hope to see you out there . . .
References
"One-Stop-All-You-Need-to-Know Guide to Twitter," - David Truss' blog
Why teachers should use Twitter- Derek
Rhodenizer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30gN4-pEZWg"One-Stop-All-You-Need-to-Know Guide to Twitter," - David Truss' blog
Twitter is an excellent tool to connect with a very wide community of learners who are discussing and sharing their ideas and solutions to common challenges. I hope you will begin to explore hashtags like #tlchat and #edchat as well as start building lists of like minded educators who will support and encourage your growth and development as a TL. Good post with engaging links, images and labels.
ReplyDeleteI am generally a social media lurker as well. I like to follow, read, "like", and sometimes simply re-tweet, but rarely will I compose my own tweet/status/post. I think part of that stems from a lingering sense of imposter syndrome as a professional, but I'm trying to get over myself. :)
ReplyDeletePS - I'm also a sucker for those drawing videos.
I too am a social media lurker on Twitter. I just like to follow people and see what is going on through their connections and not so much through mine. Maybe a little bit through mine. I have never sent out a tweet and I am sure I would have to check out a video or question and answer forum to find out how I would do it. I follow quite a few different things so I think part of it is that it would take up some time. I find that I will go check something out and then my interest shifts and get diverted to doing something else and before you know it, poof, another hour has disappeared.
ReplyDeleteTwitter has the potential to be amazing or a total dumpster fire based on who you follow. I suggest deleting accounts that post content that annoys you or enrages you as quickly as possible. In fact it is best to simply avoid political content as much as possible. When you can keep it professional and exclusively relevant to work and proD (and the occasional dog rating) it's really powerful.
ReplyDelete