Why Teachers NEED Twitter

I know, it's a social media world nowadays. You have blogs, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest,
Periscope: there are so many ways to connect with other teachers, so why Twitter?

1. Twitter is professional development in your pocket.

This summer, from the comfort of my couch, cuddling with my baby girl, I was able to "attend" conferences such as ISTE and Nerd Camp. The attendees (and some presenters!) shared takeaways, quotes, ideas. Conversations continued within the conference hashtags... I was able to learn and get takeaways to apply this school year. Of course there is value in actually being able to attend the conferences themselves, but due to time, money, among other factors professional development isn't always possible or as in tune to the individual teacher: Twitter changes that! You customize the professional development by who you follow, chats you participate in, and as a result make it tailored to you.

2. Develop a PLN

One thing you have to love about education are all of the acronyms {shout out to my special education friends, you especially know what I'm talking about!}... so what is a PLN? PLN is a Personal Learning Network. This is all about making connections and networking with others that you find interesting. Remember this is a personal learning network, tailor it to fit your needs. The learning is avaliable 24/7, just as quick as opening up your computer or smart phone. See what those in your network are talking about, is there a chat going on or hashtag of interest? Finally this is a network. In my PLN I follow people all over the states and all over the world. It takes a little while to develop the connections but it's well worth it.

3. Together We're Better

When teacher collaborate good things happen. Kayla from Top Dog Teaching has her 2nd graders tweeting {instilling digital citizenship from an early age}, there is a Global Math Task Twitter Challenge going on, there are so many opportunities to open the world up to kids, to connect, to collaborate.

Where to start? The Peppy Zesty Teacherista has a great tutorial to check out for beginners.

If you're already set up, but your head is spinning on how to establish a great group of people to follow? Look for hashtags that interest you. Participate in twitter chats. For the scoop on when various chats occur check out the list of all list for twitter chats from Cyber Librarian. There is also the TpT Chat on Sunday evenings, more information can be found at Erin Integration.

I'll be honest, at first I didn't think there would be much benefit to 140 characters, but once I dove in that completely changed. If you take the plunge in be sure to find me @teacherinoz I'd love to connect with you there!