Why on earth would 2nd graders use Twitter? Read this to find out.

When the second grade students in Courtney Woods class were studying places tourists like to visit, they wondered how they could get more people to visit their small Canadian town of Bathurst. Their teacher knew this was a great idea and discussed with the class the importance of sustainable tourism. The class decided they wanted to help Bathurst become more of a tourist attraction and do so in part by connecting to the larger world so more people would know to come to their great home.  

The class decided that they would  use a tool called Photosynth to take digital pictures of the Promenade Waterfront. Photosynth provides a panoramic view with the ability to zoom into individual shops, services and attractions, allowing people to learn more about what the region has to offer. Students decided to compose and edit their own descriptions of each building in both French and English, representing the rich bilingual makeup of the community. 

The end result was phenomenal.   You can check it out here.

The point of their work was to attract tourists to their town. To do that they decided to use Twitter to let people know they could take a virtual tour of Bathurst that they hoped would entice people to come visit.  They decided to use Twitter as a primary outreach tool.

Because you must be 13 to use Twitter, the teacher set up a class account and together she and the class decided who they wanted to reach out to and how as per the Tweet below.

We are having a tweet-a-thon today! We are spreading the word about our #photosynth. Check it out! photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=…
— Mrs Courtney's Class (@Grade2C) May 8, 2012

Reach out they did.  The class researched local media, the Minister of Education, the Prime Minister, the tourism bureau and even Bill Gates!  These kids meant business. 

Here are some of their Tweets.

@pmharper Hi Prime Minister! We're a grade 2 class from Bathurst, NB. We did a project to promote our beautiful city. photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=…
— Mrs Courtney's Class (@Grade2C) May 8, 2012

@seenewbrunswick We are a grade 2 class learning about tourism. We made a photosynth to show off our city - Bathurst. photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=…
— Mrs Courtney's Class (@Grade2C) May 8, 2012

@billgates Hi Mr.Gates! We LOVE Photosynth.Thanks for making it. We did a project about our city, Bathurst,NB Canada. photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=…
— Mrs Courtney's Class (@Grade2C) May 8, 2012

@bathurstnbnews We're a grade 2 class at TFES. We made a photosynth about Bathurst. It is a great place to live &visit. photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=…
— Mrs Courtney's Class (@Grade2C) May 8, 2012

@jodycarr_mla Hi! We're a grade 2 class from Bathurst, NB. We did a photosynth to show off our city. Hope you like it! photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=…
— Mrs Courtney's Class (@Grade2C) May 8, 2012

@photosynth Hi! We are a grade 2 class learning about tourism. We made a photosynth about our city. What do you think? photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=…
— Mrs Courtney's Class (@Grade2C) May 8, 2012

 And, guess what? People cared and responded! 

WOW! We were so excited to come to school today and see all the RTs and mentions. We are so happy that people like our photosynth! -JR
— Mrs Courtney's Class (@Grade2C) May 9, 2012

You can see some of the responses below. 

The class was thrilled to receive Tweets from the Minister of Education, Photosynth, local media, and others.  What's more is they had the hosts of their favorite show, "Experience Bathurst" visit their class, speak to students, and stay to sign autographs. Then the local tourism bureau liked their project so much they now use it to help attract people come to Bathurst. And, Bill Gates? Well he invited their teacher to come to Microsoft's Partners in Learning Global Forum in Prague where I had the good fortune to meet Ms. Woods!

So, when someone asks you, "Why on earth would elementary students ever use Twitter?" just tell them the story of how Ms. Woods 2nd graders use Twitter to bring the world to Bathurst.

You can read more about the project at Ms. Woods page on the Microsoft's Partners in Learning site here. 

Unfollowing everyone but my very favorites on Twitter

Have you ever just wanted to reset your entire Twitter account to "following no one" and rebuild who you follow so you can have the best incoming feed ever? 

I did. 


I recently unfollowed EVERYONE on Twitter. I wanted to be discerning about who ends up in my Twitter stream so that I would have more focused and meaningful interactions. As a result, I now have a low quantity, but high quality feed. I know there are numerous ways to filter, sort and follow other Tweeters i.e. HootSuit, TweetDeck, but when it comes to Twitter, I like to keep it simple.  

This means I only user Twitter to follow Twitter and I look at three things: 

1) @Connect: To see what conversations I've been tagged in.

2) Home: To see what my selected Tweeps are up to.

3) #Discover: To feed or hashtags of interest on Twitter.  

That's it.

When you unfollow thousands of people, how do you go about figuring out who to follow? Well, I instantly thought of the top 25 people who influence and interact with me which makes up those in the list below, then I added from there where I've settled comfortably at about 170 people that I follow. My goal is to stay under 200. 

Join the #EdReform Conversation with These Twitter Hashtags

This post is courtesy of Online Universities blog

Politics and education frequently walk hand-in-hand on the beach at sunset when they aren’t arguing with one another over pretty much everything. And for good reason: the school system, on local, state, and federal levels, needs some serious reworking if it genuinely wishes to offer equal opportunities to all American kids and adults. With so much information pushing and shoving against each other, hopping on Twitter helps streamline the research process by spitting it all out in 140-character-or-less chunks. Pay some of these hashtags a visit for a quicksilver glimpse at the super serious issues pockmarking the education sector these days.

1. 
   

Great Tool to Create Infographics in a Snap

Infographics are cool. Infographics are hot.

But...

Infographics are hard. They are what other people create. Professional infographicians, right?

WRONG!!!

I just learned today from 12 Most writer Becky Gaylord McDonald that Visual.ly has been coming up with some really cool tools to let you graphically represent selected data using Facebook or Twitter hashtags.  This can be a wonderful tool for learning.  For instance, you can create a hashtag for a class research project and make an infographic when you are done. You can explore a topic you're interested in by creating an infographic of the hashtag for that topic.

Here are infographics of some of my most commonly used hashtags: #edchat #edreform #mlearning #unschooling #studentvoice

Twitter for Administrators, Teachers, and Students

Twitter is a powerful tool that enables administrators, students, and teachers to develop and strengthen relationships with others who share their passions and interests around the world. Despite the common criticism, Twitter is not about meaningless 140 character sound bytes. The reality is that it’s all about the conversation. Just as in real life there can be meaningless or meaningful conversations. It’s all a matter of who you choose to connect with. The beauty of the 140 character limit is that is helps prevent folks from dominating the conversation and promotes a give and take dialogue.

It also provides concise chunks of information about topics of interest when users know how to follow hashtags. A hashtag is simply the Twitter way to search for items of interest by placing a “#” before a term. For example administrators may use the tag #cpchat (connected principals), teachers may use #edchat (education chat) and students may use #APEnglish (advanced placement English).  For a list of commonly used hashtags visit the compilation Jerry Blumengarten‏ (@cybraryman1) has created at http://www.cybraryman.com/edhashtags.html.

So how might administrators, teachers, and students use Twitter to enrich leading, teaching, and learning?  Here are some ideas.

10 "Do’s" & "Don’ts" for more interesting & engaging social media updates & comments

When people think of social media like Facebook, Google+, or Twitter they often turn to thoughts of the cliche update about what someone had for lunch. Fortunately, most of the people I associate with in real life don't write such updates.  If they do I unfollow, unsubscribe, etc. Such updates waste the time of everyone who accidentally stumbles upon them.   When participating in social media, engaging participants take on responsibility to contribute meaningfully to the conversation.  The next time you update your status or Tweet, keep this advice in mind.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

Know someone who is questioning if Twitter is worth their time? Show them this video which highlights why Twitter is a powerful tool that should be given consideration. It also addresses the importance of regulating your social media diet.  The video features powerful conversations that happen on Twitter like those in #edchat. It also questions learner's use of Twitter and if students are tweeting about subjects. (by the way, they are tweeting about AP courses)  It shares some good ideas about using Twitter with students (Find additional ways to do that here).   

The video goes on to suggest a top five list for educators regarding "Who to follow" on Twitter and holy schmoly! I'm one of them (@innovativeedu). It is suggested Tweeps (Twitter using peeps) follow me because I'm not afraid to rattle cages with strong statements and out of the box thinking and says that I also engage other twitter users in relevant conversations. I'm in great company along with my awesome colleague @TomWhitby who has his own blog and has collaborated with me here, one of my idols @SirKenRobinson, a learning resource I grew up with as a teacher @edutopia, and the video creator himself @malalande.  

So, if you've been questioning, if Twitter is right for you, I present you with...

Tweeting in the Library

Librarians love Twitter not only because it provides an instant and easy window into what is happening in their libraries, but also because it serves as a tremendous professional development resource as well as a tool to globally connect teachers and students. 

Using Twitter right from your cell phone enables librarians to provide the entire school community with a window into their library. Tracy Karas a Librarian in New York City uses her phone to Tweet updates about new books that have come in, to celebrate student successes, to provide reminders about upcoming events and more. All these Tweets are embedded directly on her library page from the school’s website. 

Look Who's All A- Twitter About Education

Me, Diane Ravitch, and Amanda Enclade 

You may have heard that our President made history this week by Tweeting live. Well politicians aren't the only ones who realize the power of social media for connecting, conversing, teaching, learning, and informing.  Innovative educators are also harnessing the power of social media in their work.  Most recently "This Week in Education's" Alexander Russo recognized 70-something Diane Ravitch as the most influential tweeter in the education policy space according to Klout.com.  As reported this week, by "Education Next" Russo, a freelance writer and blogger, remarked sardonically, “a 72-year-old grandmother has won the Internet.” She’s done it not only by linking to columns and articles she agrees with, but by offering bumper sticker–style statements that tend to set the web aflame. For instance, “Accountability is only for teachers and principals, not for students, families, elected officials, district leadership.” Or: “Last places to go to find out how to ‘reform’ schools: Congress/State Legislature/US Dept of Education.”

As I was reading the article and cheering for grandma Ravitch, I read on and was surprised, but happy, to see myself along with many educators with whom I'm friendly and I admire also listed in the top 25 list of educators.  How cool!  I've loved Twitter as a tool to drive and continue conversations and I'm psyched to be recognized among an awesome bunch for doing so.  If you're not following the people below on Twitter, they are certainly worth consideration.  I'm connected with most all of them and they've contributed immensely to my personal learning and I'm sure they will be to yours as well :-)
 

Why Twitter is a big deal

It seems every week I'm asked or told by illTwitterates that they don't get what the big deal is with this whole social media thing.  They don't get the idea of powerful conversations and connections.  They don't get that many of those I've connected with through social media become friends IRL too.  They don't understand that if f-2-f can occur with those with whom I've connected, it does.  They seem perplexed as to how I can develop enough trust with folks through social media that I actually have had many of these people in my home for a visit or overnight stay if they happen to be in my city.

This week there were three interesting articles The Innovative Educator Daily Newspaper that did a great job of summarizing my thoughts on the topic. 

Advice from the Twitter Hashtag Queen - Steve Hargadon Said So!

I was honored when Steve Hargadon recently anointed me with the title of hashtag queen but many people are still in the dark about why they are important.  Hashtags provide a way for others who are interested in a particular topic to see what you have to say even if they're not following you.  In other words, it allows people to follow topics rather than each other.  Through Twitter and hashtags I have made amazing connections with people around the world and boy is it fun when we get to meet face-to-face.  In essence, I've had the pleasure of meeting the minds of so many before their faces, and Twitter provides an excellent way to keep the conversation going. 

If I've sold you on the idea and importance of hashtags, you may be wondering how the heck you know which ones to use.  My technique is doing a Twitter search for a topic of interest and see what folks are using.  For those of us interested in learning at school, at home, or in life, Online College Courses has put together a great list of hashtags.  By simply following these hashtags, you can get connected with discussion groups, resources, advice, and more. You may also want to use "@" to mention someone in particular. I'm @InnovativeEdu so if you wanted to send out a Tweet by virtually tap me on the shoulder you might Tweet something like this:

#Parenting question. I want to opt my #specialneeds child out of #standardizedtests . Hoping folks like @InnovativeEdu might have advice

You've now taped into three hashtags and you've gotten my attention as well through the "@InnovativeEdu" mention. Next it's time to let the connections and the conversation begin! 

Here's a great list of hashtags to check out and give a try. 

10 Ways Technology Supports 21st Century Learners in Being Self Directed

Life in the 21st century provides a whole-new world of opportunities for self-directed, passion-driven, personalized learning.  Educators who are ready to move on from teaching the way they were taught, and administrators who will let them, can begin supporting students using tools and strategies available to the 21st century learner. 

1. Personal Learning Networks
   Perhaps the core of passion driven, self-directed learning is the development of personal learning networks which can be developed through blogs, social networks like Facebook, Ning, or Group.ly, Twitter, and discussion boards.  Read 5 Things You Can Do to Begin Developing Your Personal Learning Network, The PLN Matures. The Progression of the 21st Century Personal Learning Network and 5 Ways to Build Your 1.0 and 2.0 Personal Learning Network to learn how to get started.
2. Tweet to Connect with Experts
   If you have an interest, Twitter is the place to connect with others who share that interest.  Simply do a search on Twitter for the topic and you’ll be connected to a many others interested in the same topic. Follow them. Reply to them. Use the search term in your Tweets and others interested in that topic will see your Tweet.  Students can even have their own newspapers created instantly about their topic of interest using a service called Paper.li.   
3. Skype an Expert
   You can make your classroom a global communication center for free with Skype by connecting with anyone around the world about topics of interests.  These experts may be people you have conversations with or perhaps they are people you learn from.  Author, blogevangelist, teacher, thought leader and father, Will Richarson uses Skype to supplement his children’s learning. Paul Bogush, an 8th grade social studies teacher not only supports his students in doing this, they take it up a notch with a program they produce called Lunchtime Leaders.  Students interview leaders from around the world on their opinions about what they should do to be prepared for the future. Paul and his students do most of their interviews using Skype and they turn the interviews into Podcast. You can listen to their podcasts at http://lunchtimeleaders.podbean.com.  where students choose to interview experts in topics they are interested in and then turn their interview into a podcast.  
4. Free Online Educational Resources
   Learn about whatever you want with free online education resources (OER).  The purpose of this coordinated movement is to move toward a common goal of providing quality courses for learning for free. “At the heart of the movement toward Open Educational Resources is the simple and powerful idea that the world’s knowledge is a public good and that technology in general, and the Worldwide Web in particular, provide an extraordinary opportunity for everyone to share, use, and re-use knowledge.” – The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Many of these resources do not require a teacher for students to learn.  
5. Online Learning
   When given the choice, students often say they LOVE learning online and not just because it lets them sleep in.  They find that they are exposed to many more possible courses in alignment with areas of interest and moving at their own pace without distractions of classmates enables them to learn more effectively.  Many public schools, universities, and colleges are starting to jump on board and companies like Zulama.com are popping up which offer High-interest online courses students can’t find at their high school. Access to unique subjects they’re passionate about makes Zulama a place teenagers want to go to learn. With Zulama, students connect, teachers simplify, parents stay involved, and schools get ahead.
6. Authentic Publishing In the 21st century, irrelevant hand-it-in teaching should be a thing of the past.  If a student’s work has no authentic audience beyond the teacher, it shouldn’t be assigned.  A student who is self-motivated to do something, counts, btw.  A teacher directing him/her to do it does not.  Most 21st century kids love to share with real audiences and are doing it outside school already.  Inside school, work should not sit lifeless on a computer, or even just the school website.  Support students in finding real audiences for their work in their Global Community.  If you’re not sure how find out by reading, “21st Century Educators Don’t Say, “Hand It In.” They say, “Publish It!”
7. Use YouTube and iTunes to Learn Anything It’s rather outrageous that many schools still block one of the most powerful tools for learning available for students today. YouTube.  While iTunes is a powerful option for learners on the go, YouTube adds the visual element, making learning even more powerful and FREE!  With YouTube Education and iTunes University, more and more colleges, universities, and their professors are sharing content for free.  While some schools are paying for pre-packaged online learning options, they’re really all already out there for free.  Empower teachers and/or students to design their own learning and learn about whatever they want with these free resources.  Not only are these good resources to go to learn from others, they’re also a smart place to ask for help like this student did who needed help with his bowdrill set.  
8. Passion (or talent) Profiles
   When we start collecting profiles of students passions, talents, interests, abilities and learning styles, suddenly students and teachers have an awareness that they may never have considered previously. A passion (or talent) profile is not only value for teachers and student self-awareness, it is also a helpful tool for students to connect with others who might share a passion.  These students could connect on a topic of interest, collaborate, and share ideas.  These profiles can be purchased using a company like Renzulli learning or they can be made for free with Google Forms and Spreadsheets.  Either way, it’s much easier to differentiate instruction when teachers and students can quickly and easily see where they stand and sort by interest, learning style, talents, or abilities.  
9. Develop Authentic Learning Portfolios
   When done write ePortfolios can be a powerful tool that not only helps remind students of all their accomplishments, but it also enables them to share these with the world.  In the 21st century, creating an ePortfolio is free and easy.  Student simply select a container (blog, wiki, website, Google site), decide how they’d like to organize it, and then post their work.  I strongly advise against using any paid for portfolio site.  It is important that students have ownership of their own work and that it can travel with them wherever they are.  When it comes to ePortfolios, Helen Barrett is the go-to person.  To learn more, visit her blog http://blog.helenbarrett.org where she shares fantastic ideas.  
10. Empower Students to Assess and Learn Themselves
    The days of teacher as gatekeeper of the answer key or teacher edition are gone!  Educators need to stop hiding and start sharing information with students including enabling them to learn how to assess themselves.  If a student wants to know their reading level, show them how with resources like those you can find here.  If a student creates a video, honor the built in authentic assessment like number of views and comments and the child’s ability to find audience.  Show him/her how to share with appropriate audiences and get feedback for improvement.  If a student wants to know how well they might do on a test let them find a test prep review site where they can take practice tests and see how they’ve done.  Empower students to develop their own learning plans and assessments so they can learn and assess independently.  After all, they are the ones who own the learning.  

In our globally connected world, it is no longer acceptable for teachers to teach the way they were taught nor is it okay for administrators to allow it.  It is also no longer acceptable for administrators to take the easy way out and require connected kids to learn in a disconnected environment where they are banned from accessing sites or bringing to school the tools and technologies they love and need to succeed in the world.  In the 21st century, if we truly care about student success we will lift the bans, unblock the filters and connect our students to the world so they can learn effectively. 

Lessons I Learned about Web 2.0 Technology Working with College Students

by Jacob Gutnicki

This past summer I taught a graduate course that uses technology to support math instruction. Over the course of 5 weeks, my students created lesson plans using Google Docs, developed their own blogs, designed Web Quests powered by Google sites, published podcasts, and produced other educational projects. As always, I warned my students about the dangers of the Internet. However, this time was different. A number of informal conversations revealed that they understood the power of the Internet; both bad and good. Students were already aware of how to make their postings non-listed, how to use privacy settings, as well as other precautions. This might not sound significant. However, I assure you it is. I have taught this type of course various times over the past 7 years and previously, the students’ lack of net awareness was frightening.

However, these teachers were different. When they were in High School, the Internet was already a common household name. More importantly, their Internet experience was not dictated by restrictiveness. Rather, it was used to promote research at their fingertips. At the same time they were made aware of the dangers the Internet can pose if not used judiciously. This has tremendous implications for pedagogical practices in the 21^st century.

It is no secret that in the past 5 years web based applications have dramatically matured. Think about how cell phones, Facebook, Wikis, Twitter, You Tube, Google applications, and other Web 2.0 applications have transformed how we communicate. Today we can receive instant weather reports, traffic reports, and other vital information with our handheld devices. Simply put, Web 2.0 applications is the push technology of the late 1990s reaching its true potential. In five years from now, the next generation will laugh at us, as these devices will continue to revolutionize how we communicate and conduct business.

Yet despite it all, some educators fear the cell phone, are frightened by social networking tools, and as such have banned its usage in educational settings. In fact, it seems that our fears have been growing by leaps and bounds. For this reason, observing the first net generation was very telling.

In watching them use technology, I understood their awareness of safe technology usage was due to their High School and college experiences during which they experimented with all kinds of technology applications under the watchful eye of a knowledgeable teacher. Similarly, the students of today desperately need this training and exposure to both computers and handheld devices. Why you may ask? Like it or not if your students are not using cell phones currently, they will use it soon enough.

Will they know how to use it safely? Will they know about on-line predators? Will they know about privacy settings? More importantly, will they know when it is not appropriate to use the cell phone? This will depend on whether we teach students about proper usage and provide them with ample opportunities to use computers and smart phone technology in a classroom environment where they can share their successes and learn from their mistakes.

The 9 Step Plan to Combating illTWITTERacy

The illTwitteracy epidemic that has afflicted many educators can be eradicated with a simple 9-step plan that will have those who follow it all aTwitter with plenty of ideas for harnessing the power of the Tweet. Following this plan will enable Tweeps (Twitter using peeps) to not only learn how to Tweet from their phone or computer, but they’ll also discover why they’d even want to by looking at real examples of education Tweeple (Twitter people) who use Twitter to enrich teaching and learning. Upon completion of the plan Tweeps will be on the road to achieving the basic Twitteracy necessary for success in the Twittersphere.



Step 1 – Understanding
You can’t use Twitter effectively unless you understand how it can enrich teaching and learning. Twitter is a great tool for classes or schools to use to share interesting and relevant information with the student body, staff, parents and family. No software to download and even with just one teacher cell phone per class, contributions can be made and modeled anywhere, anytime. Twitter also provides a terrific way for teachers to get an unlimited stream of feedback from students over a period of time on any subject.

Twitter Captures Students Thoughts and Ideas

Twitter provides a terrific way for teachers to get an unlimited stream of feedback from students over a period of time on any subject. Students and teachers are using Twitter in a variety of ways.

Ideas for using Twitter with students.

1) At Marta Valle High School they held a science fair celebrating the successes of the innovative work teachers are doing with their students. Some students were selected as fair reporters. These students interviewed attendees with the question, "Please tell me in 140 characters or less what has impressed you most about what you've seen so far." Students tweeted the responses using their school hash tag. The Twitter feed could be seen on monitors throughout the school using http://twitterfall.com, and on their school website using an rss feed. This provided a unique way to capture their school celebration publicly and provided recognition of the work students were doing in an exciting way which they could share with their parents.

2) Text to capture reflections during field trips. If you're in a school where cells are banned, you may be able to have students bring them on field trips. If that is not allowed, the chaperon's devices can be used. Rather than have students walk around taking notes. Have them Tweet their reflections. You can set up a tag for your tweets if the place you are visiting doesn't already have one. Give parents the feed and they'll instantly know what their child did at school today and can have robust conversations about it. When students are back at home and/or school a review of the tweets could lead to powerful conversation or could serve as a launch for further study i.e. pick the most interesting tweet or set of tweets and create something to share with others about the topic you are tweeting about. This could be a podcast, video, blog post, etc. These digital creations can all be posted in one place as a reflection collection and even shared on the website of the school and place visited.

3) Have students do a daily or weekly tweet about something that day. In his post “What Did You Create Today?” (http://weblogg-ed.com 08/22/09), Will Richardson shares some great possibilities that could be used in a daily tweet: What did you teach others? What unanswered questions are you struggling with? How did you change the world in some small (or big) way? What’s something your teachers learned today? What did you share with the world? Not only is this a great way for teachers to have a sense of what is going on with their students, it also provides students with a way to connect with each other and their parents.

4) Use Twitter as a tool to capture student voice by having them respond to class lectures using Twitter. Texas educator Dr. Rankin had a tremendous amount of success with this noting how much more engaged students were during lessons, how they were able to make meaning in new ways, and her students note how this has really helped more students develop and share ideas. Hear from the teachers and students directly at http://tinyurl.com/TwitterinEdVideo.

Here's how to get started

• First each student needs to register for a Twitter account with an email and password.
• Remind students that this is their academic account and everything on there should be appropriate. Discuss consequences for inappropriate use.
• Encourage students to follow a standard protocol for their account names that reveals identity to only those partaking. One way to do this is having students use the first three letters of their last name, first three letters of their first name, and middle initial. For instance my name, Lisa Michelle Nielsen would be Niemlis. This should be set up as a whole class activity so all students can be walked through the account set up together to provide clarity on account set up.
• Next the teacher should explain to students how they will be using tags. Tags allow the teacher and students to follow tweets. Look at the "Trending Topics" in the right hand navigation for popular tags. Let students click on them and share what they notice about tagging.
• Then the teacher can share with students the tags they will be using. There may be a school tag (i.e. Susan B. Anthony High School would be SBAHS), a class tag, and tags for particular activities or areas of study.
• Next the students need to set their twitter accounts up to receive text updates. They do this by entering their phone number at http://twitter.com/devices.
• They will then enter Twitter into their phone with this number: 40404.
• After this one time set up is complete, you and your students can start engaging in some engaging microblogging assignments.

Safety note: Teachers should note that some schools may have policies against following your students on Twitter. That's okay. With tags, you don't need to follow your students and searches will only turn up tweets related to the topic you are exploring with your students.

Related posts

• Eight Reasons An Innovative Educator Uses Twitter
• Twitter - It's All About the Conversation.
• 5 Real Examples of Using Twitter for Education
• Follow the Leader Who’s a Tweeter
• Bravo to The Lady Leaders Who Are Bloggers and Tweeters!

Keep the Education Conversation Going on Twitter with #EdChat Even After the Hype

Education Nation, Waiting for Superman, Mark Zuckerberg Announces on Oprah He’ll Donate $100 Million to Newark Public Schools...

It seems like suddenly everyone’s talking about education and that’s great, but once hoopla dies down, how do we keep the conversation going? Answer: Twitter provides an excellent platform. When I speak to educators about why it’s important for educators to use Twitter, I start by explaining it’s really all about the conversation and connections. In fact, I had this conversation today with some high profile educators who I was trying to convince to get more involved in social media. They share the sentiment that, “If I want to converse, I’ll talk to my colleagues.” The problem with this is that 1) They may not be interested in or feel like talking about the same thing you do, when you do and 2) A conversation with the same few people might not provide the richest experience.

Twitter solves the issue by providing global connections with those passionate about the same topics you are and if education is your passion, then #edchat is a conversation you should join. “Ed Chat,” or as we call it in the Twitosphere, #edchat is a terrific way for educators to join the education conversation on an ongoing basis. It enables educators all over the world to participate in online discussions that take the form of a fast-paced chat room on Twitter about important educational topics such as, “How can we teach our students about their digital footprint and maintain a positive one ourselves?” The discussion centers around the selected topic, with people posing questions, responding to each other and retweeting statements, questions or ideas that they like. Participants tag their tweets with #edchat so that anyone can follow the conversation. (Thanks to @MBTeach for this description on her blog.)

The #edchat wiki describes it this way.

Open, collaborative, focused discussion can open and expand minds. But let's not stop there- let's harness this wisdom of the many to crowdsource possible solutions to some of the major issues that are uncovered...

Here is a video overview of #Edchat


Here is how you can participate.

• When does #edchat take place? There are two edchat discussions which take place at 12pm and 7pm NYT (EST).
• How are Topics Chosen? Every Monday, Tom Whitby, Steven Anderson, and ShellTerrell create a twtpoll of 5 topics to choose from for Tuesday’s discussion. You can vote in the poll by visiting http://twtpoll.com and searching #edchat. You may also propose topics by sending us a Tweet or DM to Tom, Steve, or Shelly!
• What is a hashtag? Check out this video to discover what a hashtag is and how to use a hashtag. Every Tuesday, at the designated time, you only need to add “#edchat” to the end of your tweet to participate in the discussion.
  

So what is so special about #edchat?
Participant & moderator Mary Beth Hertz provides this insightful overview explaining why educators find #edchat so useful sharing this.

I find the fast pace discussion exciting. The varied opinions and points of view are enlightening, and the discussion is always deep and meaningful. Some might think of it as organized chaos, but it is just like sitting in a room of brilliant educators and never having to move around the room to hear everyone's conversations. What's even better, you can jump in at any time when you see a topic, statement or idea that grabs you or that you feel strongly about without feeling like you're interrupting a conversation.

The #edchat discussions are also a great place to find like-minded educators to add to your PLN (Personal or Professional Learning Network). Often, after a session, you will find your email inbox full of people from the chat who found you on Twitter, and you can search them out as well to follow.

Get Going with #EdChat today
You can get started today, or any Tuesday by logging onto Twitter at noon or 7 p.m. EST and using your preferred tool like Twitter Search, Twitterfall, TweetDeck or HootSuite, Twhirl or TweetGrid to follow and engage in the conversation and visit Twtpoll to check out the conversation topic.

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