Adventures in Twitterland

It’s that time of the year when we start thinking back over the previous twelve months. I’ve decided to use this last post of 2010 to briefly comment on my highlights-twitterwise

I feel like this year has been a huge leap forward in the use of twitter as cpd. I am not alone in seeing forums like edchat and ukedchat as great opportunities to extend professional dialogue beyond school. As @deputymitchell says, twitter can be seen as the biggest staffroom in the world. Much has been written about the positive benefits of twitter to support educators as this cannot be underestimated. It provides a wealth of support, advice, opinion and encouragement. Twitter has helped develop a worldwide conversation that can only help us to think more about our practice, make us better informed and connect us with likeminded souls to challenge, support and inspire us as we develop professionally.

Another benefit of twitter is that it is a peer network . People don’t engage because they have to but because they want to. This isn’t a directed package to support professional development, but a bespoke community, built through voluntary involvement. It is a network that also recommends and shares tried and tested strategies, approaches and tools to inform practice. Ask a question on twitter and you’ll likely be blessed with a range of replies to help you, from people who’ve been there and wrestled with the same issues and found solutions.

Looking back over my posts this year, it’s obvious that twitter has had a profound effect on me professionally and personally. I have benefited through my dialogue with a whole range of people across the world, where else could this possibly happen?

In Praise of Twitter

If you’re like me you’ve probably got one or two friends who are a little cynical about your use of twitter. I tell them that twitter is more than merely another social networking tool, it’s a way of staying in touch with educational thinkers and educational thoughts across the world. Not only through weekly forums like edchat and ukedchat but also on a daily basis, wherever you like, whenever you want. All you have to do is get in touch with your PLN and you are immediately engaged in conversation and dialogue with likeminded thinkers from around the world who selflessly provide support, encouragement, challenge and advice.

Many in education will say that during school hours the firefighting and cut and thrust of the day-to-day means you have to deal with a myriad of problems and situations as they arise, leaving you little time for thoughts about wider educational issues. That’s where Twitter comes in. Twitter enables you to pick up those conversations you miss and would dearly love to have during the day. It enables you to sit back in the evenings and at weekends and engage in a level of conversation it is very difficult to have during the day when there are so many immediate matters requiring attention. It’s great to be able to move beyond the operational, to put our heads above the parapet, to look at the bigger picture and think a little bit more about things. Twitter gives you that platform, it enables to you get involved in professional thinking above and beyond local networks. It is a gateway to education and learning worldwide, anytime, any place. I’m happy to be a part of the conversation.

How do you tweet?

A recent conversation with an inquisitive friend about twitter prompted the following Q&A script. It’s pretty much our chat but I thought it worth sharing to see if others have had the same!
1. So what is twitter?
It’s micro blogging. You can speak to people all over the world and join conversations with fellow educators, or anyone for that matter. But you can only use 140 characters.
2. Isn’t that a bit tricky?
Not really, once you get into it. If you want to say more you can always start your own blog. You can then post your link in twitter so people can read more.
3. So who do you tweet with?
Well, you can build up a Personal Learning Network quite easily. I started following educators who posted interesting stuff and then checked out who they were following and who was following them. You can quickly build up a PLN of likeminded thinkers.
4. So what do you talk about?
Anything and everything! There’s always a conversation going on about some educational matter that you have an opinion on or experience of. It really builds up your understanding. Not only nationally but globally. Then there’s hangtags.
5. There’s what? What are hashtags?
Well, if you see a hashtag and you click on it you can follow that conversation thread. For example on a Tuesday night it’s #edchat. You can follow and join in that conversation every week by simply clicking the hashtag. Every week there’s a different question posed and you can contribute by using the hashtag before you tweet. It’s very straightforward. Thursday night there’s a #edchatuk too.
6. So, how often do you tweet?
I have to admit I am on twitter most days, 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there. There are certain times I try and go on. Tuesdays and Thursdays obviously. Then there’s Follow Friday.
7. What?
Every Friday you’ll see people recommend people to follow using the #ff hashtag. It means they’re saying interesting stuff, or maybe the been really helpful to someone, shared some helpful advice or written a great blogpost. It’s another great chance to build up your PLN.
8. Right. So if I want to get started?
Just google twitter and you’re away! There are lots of twitter clients like tweetdeck and echofon but you can explore all of them and see which you prefer. You can tweet from your phone as well. Either via text or over the net.
Sound good. So is it a bit like Facebook then?
Err, yeah sort of!!