Twitter for educators - Why Start Now
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Twitter for Educators:Why Start Now?
Education Undergraduate Society
Kurtis HewsonUniversity of Lethbridge
@hewsonk27
Join the conversation at #edteach
Additional Resources
• http://kurtishewson.wordpress.com– Related additional resources and further
information
• Twitter for Pre-Service Teachers– Scoop.It page with resources, videos and other
things related to Twitter
• http://edteachchat.wordpress.com – Bi-weekly Twitter chat for pre-service teachers –
follow the website or get involved
Tweeters in the Room
Essential Questions
• Why start now?• How do I start an account?• What are some basic terms/features to know• What are some ways I can get started
Tweeting?• What are hashtags?• What are chats?• What are Twitter Clients?
Why Start Now
• Establish a network (PLN) of other educators and supports prior to entering your first classroom
• Find information fast and keep current of trends and resources
• Develop and strengthen technology skills
• Network – open doors to connections and possible contacts
Why Twitter?
Sharing from Tweeters in the room…
Starting an Account
• Go to http://twitter.com
• Consider:• Choose your name wisely – consider your “brand”
for a uniform on-line presence• Complete your profile, including a blog address• Include profile details that will be informative to
other professionals and capture you as a professional
• Begin tweeting and following others
Some basics
RT – Retweet (passing along someone else’s tweet) – shares with an increasing circle of followers @ – Reply (references the initial author
or directly sends the tweet to another user (but seen by all followers)
Shortened URL – used to shorten long url’s (Twitter Clients do this automatically, or go to https://bitly.com)
# – Hashtag (posts the tweet on a list that many more people may follow) – distributes the tweet to a larger, often particular audience
Direct Message – same as an email to a Twitter follower – only seen by the message recipient
What Should I Tweet?
• Retweet others (great way to start)• Links/resources that you find valuable• Blog posts you’ve created• Comments on other posts/resources• Interesting quotes• During presentations• Questions you have• Insights you have• Thanks to those that follow
Hashtags
• Great way to follow a topic or get a tweet out to a wider audience
• Will begin to observe frequently used or useful hashtags– #edteach, #abed, #edchat, #ntchat
• Great for creating a conversation/backchannel
• Used for chats
Chats
• Utilize hashtags
• Formal chats scheduled on pre-determined topics (list on the blog)
• Can view past chats online
• Can “participate” or just observe
• #edteach – every other Tuesday, 6 pm MST
• #ntchat – Wednesday, 6 pm MST
• Establish your own chats
Twitter Clients
• Make it easy to utilize Twitter on your desktop or mobile device
• View multiple social media platforms
Next Steps
• Moderate a Twitter chat - #edteach
• Utilize Twitter with your hand-held device
• Use a Twitter client to follow hashtags
• Pictures/exemplars
• Begin building lists
• Suggest who to follow - #ff
• Connect your online presence
Questions and Further Support
• Questions??
• http://kurtishewson.wordpress.com
• Follow me @hewsonk27
• List of U of L Education students– @hewsonk27/u-of-l-education-students