Twitter is a terrific way to connect and expand your Personal Learning Network (PLN). During a chat, teachers "meet" on Twitter at a prearranged time, and discuss a different topic each week. Depending on the number of participants involved, these chats can be fast paced and provide participants invaluable resources they can implement in their classroom. There are Twitter chats scheduled throughout the week for every subject, topic, and grade level imaginable. Iowa even has its own education chat #iaedchat that occurs every Sunday at 8pm. Many educators say that Twitter, and Twitter chats, are the best free Professional Development they access each week. I encourage you to sign into Twitter, and give a Twitter chat a try!

Things to Remember:

• Use the hashtag (#). If you don't, only the chat participants that are following you will see your contributions.
• It's okay to just watch the chat the first few times, you'll learn a lot that way as well.
  
• Twitter chats move quickly, don't feel like you need to read every comment.
• You have great ideas to share, don't be afraid to tweet them out!
• If you aren't able to make it to the scheduled chat time, be sure to check out the archives.
  

Great Chats to Checkout:
#edchat
#iaedchat
#tlap (Teach Like a Pirate!)
#edtechchat

Tools To Use:
Due to the fast paced nature of a Twitter chat, it is recommended you use a tool like Tweetdeck, Tweetchat, or the Hootsuite app. These tools isolate the chat into its own column, eliminating the likelihood that great ideas from other participants get lost in your Twitter stream.

Helpful Resources:

• Cybrary Man's Twitter Chat
• Educator's Technology List of Twitter Chats