PLN ReflectionAdventures in Twitter

by Caitlin Evans

I used to think…

Twitter is pointless

Twitter is for over-sharing things nobody wants to hear

I can’t learn anything useful on Twitter

Nobody interesting actually uses Twitter

I don’t have time for Twitter

My PLN’s Growth

When I created my Twitter account on July 11th, 2013, I

followed fewer than 30 people.

But now, check out my Twitter today (August 15th, 2013):

I’ve written 37 tweets (including 15 re-tweets) and started

following 145 individuals and organizations. That’s progress.

My PLN’s Growth

I have also gained

22 followers, and

I’ve been learning

to interact with

them in 140

characters or less.

Who I follow

The International Educator

I follow for two main reasons:

Job opportunities. I’m interested

in teaching internationally, and

they frequently post international

job listings from their database.

Information about International

Education. I have worked in an

international school in the past,

and it’s a community and

phenomenon I find fascinating.

Following TIE keeps me up-to-date

in the field.

Who I follow

AprenderesFácil

I follow for three main reasons:

Ideas for teaching in another language. They provide lots of ideas and information on Ed Tech and innovative pedagogy, and if I limited myself to English I would miss out.

Learning about teaching from a different cultural perspective.

Practicing my Spanish! I try to follow many Spanish language Twitter feeds.

Who I follow

Steven W. Anderson

I follow for three main reasons:

I think it’s important to follow

individual teachers to make

personal connections.

Ed Tech ideas. He often posts

interesting links to Web 2.0 tools

and more.

Inspiration for the classroom.

Using a conversational tone, he

provides support for teachers

more generally.

My Participation

I retweet interesting posts.

I respond to the content in other peoples’ tweets, using

the “@” symbol so they can read my response.

I follow, and participate in ongoing conversations, using

the hashtags #edchat, #intedchat and #edtech

Now, I think…

Twitter has lots of potential uses.

No over-sharing needed; instead I can focus on professional content.

I can access a wide variety of information that will help my career as an educator, and more importantly help my students learn.

I can connect with lots of interesting professionals.

Twitter doesn’t take that much time – maybe 10-15 minutes a day.