Welcome to the best CPD ever!
Getting to grips with Twitter and making it work for you
Welcome to the session
Firstly, thank you for choosing my session. I hope it will prove to be a worthwhile, practical experience that gives you a flavour of what Twitter can do for your own CPD.
I started using Twitter during my PGCE year and to me it is the most supportive staffroom around! People are so willing to share ideas and it helps me to reflect on my practice and how I can do things differently to help support students in class..... hopefully from today it will do the same and maybe a little bit more for you!
My twitter tag is @MissKMcD
The powerpoint I am using is also in the CPD area of Frog (if you want to leap ahead!)
Twitter Terminology
Jargon:
Tweets - 140 character updates on Twitter
Follower - a user interested in your updates
Symbols:
@ - public conversations
# - adding a tag to a tweet
RT - retweeting is sharing tweets with others
d - direct messages (which are similar to emails)
#tweachertubemap
Your to-do's
Getting started with Twitter
Head to www.twitter.com and sign up / log in if you already have a Twitter account.
Follow me, follow me!
Here you need to find some useful people to follow! Use the #tweacherstubemap to search for people by their Twitter Tag (user name) and read their bio's (short profile that is next to their photo that explains a little bit about them and what they do). If you want what they tweet about to appear on the twitter feed when you log in to Twitter, click on 'Follow'.
Create / Subscribe to lists
You can subscribe to lists of tweeters that already exist - if you view my profile (@MissKMcD) you will see I have a list called 'Cotham Tweeters'. Subscribe to this list if you want to find out what other #tweachers in school are doing.
Tweet!
Hashtags!
The most useful hashtag for education purposes is #ukedchat - type it into the search bar and see what is being tweeted about!
Make it your mission to try and find out what the hashtag(s) is/are for your specialist area...(from following relevant people). I know for Business Studies one of my favourite hashtags is #buss1 - Tweeters use the hashtag to make it easier to share information related to our first AS unit so when you search the hashtag you will find all related tweets.
One of the best things about CPD on Twitter is the weekly #ukedchat that happens every Thursday at 8pm. Those people interested in teaching and learning all tweet under the #ukedchat hashtag and this forms an ongoing dialogue. Topics that have been discuss recently include;
> What is an appropriate ICT curriculum?
> Could Google's 20% project / self directed time work in schools?
> How do you develop pupil productivity?
> Feedback: how can we make marking make an impact?
You can check out the #ukedchat archive here.
@Teamtait's view on why to tweet
This was taken from Jon Tait's blog. Jon is an assistant headteacher in Durham.
For me, Twitter is a gem. Fantastic ideas from teachers all over the world, when I want it, where I want it. And that's without mentioning the opportunity to collaborate with this community of inspirational teachers from all corners of the globe.
To start with here is my blog post 'To Tweet or Not To Tweet' about why Teachers might get involved with Twitter and the power that it possesses, which also includes links to blog posts by the great Mark Anderson and Tom Barrett, the man who set me on my Twitter way.
If you've been emailed this blog post and you're now thinking about giving it a go, read this case study / blog post 'Twitter Power CPD' from a newby 'Tweacher' Lee Garrett on what he's learned in such a short space of time.
So, if you've read the previous two posts and you're now ready to begin your online journey into the Twitter Teaching Community, or you're already Tweeting, but want a few tips in building a successful professional network then look no further than '100 Twitter Tips For Teachers' by the online 'TeachThought' blog site.
Similarly, take a look at the '10 Stages of Twitter' by technology in the classroom Twitter expert Daniel Edwards - what stage are you at?
There are also various 'hashtags' used in Twitter to tag tweets for certain subjects. This enables tweets to be easily searched for by a certain hashtag even if you are not following that specific person. To find out more about using Twitter hashtags, take a look at 'The Complete Guide To Twitter Hashtags In Education' by Terry Heick at TeachThought.
And finally, if you're now up and running or even if you're the most experienced of Tweeting Teachers, you must check out the amazing 'Tweachers Map' created by Pete Jones. Based on the iconic London Underground map, it is a map of all the most influential teachers on Twitter - perfect for you to see who you should be following. And if that's left you wondering about Pete's motivation for creating such a masterpiece, read his thoughts on why he created it via his blog post.