Twitter for Educators

Twitter Videos Twitter in Plain English New Twitter Layout & Features

What is Twitter? Microblogging in 140 characters or less Tweets: short “bursts” of information from Twitter users – Often answers the question, “What’s happening?” Allows users to “follow” people and organizations of interest in real time Allows users to read & write to the WWW

Hashtags the # symbol; used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet No spaces Clicking on a hashtagged word will show all other Tweets in that category Hashtagged words that become very popular are often Trending Topics.

Start Using Twitter 1.Register for a Twitter account 2.Discover Sources – Search for people and organizations of interest. – With your permission Twitter can examine your address book for Twitter users.Twitter can examine your address book – See who those of interest to you are following. – “Follow” your choices.Follow

Start Using Twitter 3.Check your account often. – Tweets display on your homepage timeline. – Click links embedded in messages to view web pages, videos, photos, etc. – View other Twitter users’ profiles. – Click on a hashtag (#) keyword to see where that term appears in other users’ tweets.

Start Using Twitter 4.Connect with your Mobile Devices – Twitter apps are available for free for iPhones, iPods, iPads, Android phones, etc. – Tweets may be received by text (via SMS) from the followers you designatevia SMS

Start Tweeting 1.Build a Voice – Retweet messages from others that you would like to share with your followers. – Reply to messages with your reaction. 2.Mention Others – Include others’ Twitter usernames by using sign before their username. The person being mentioned will be notified that their name was part of your tweet.

Start Tweeting 3.Explore Advanced Features – Lists Lists – Direct Messages Direct Messages – Favorites Favorites – Include links to articles, photos, or videosvideos

Shorten Long URLs With a 140-character limit, it is sometimes necessary to shorten the URL of a web page to be included in a tweet. These sites automatically shorten URLs: – – – –

Twitter for Schools 65 million tweets a day Over 800,000 search queries a day on Twitter Opportunity for free advertising Inbound marketing strategy

Twitter for Schools 1.Reserve a Twitter ID for your school ASAP! The ID is limited to 15 characters Consider the branding implications Avoid special characters or spaces

Twitter for Schools 2.Personalize the Profile Replace the default egg photo with a logo or other school symbol Enter the school name, location, and website Complete the bio section with a general description of the school Choose a solid background color in the Design section

Twitter for Schools 3.Create a Twitter Account for Yourself Allows for experimentation 4.Begin Listening Follow other schools and people on your personal account Check out Cassie Dull’s Twitter 101 resourceTwitter 101

Twitter for Schools 5.Participate Personally Better to answer “What do I find interesting?” rather than “What am I doing?” Notice which tweets earn the most retweets and engagement.

Twitter for Schools 6.Participate for your School Sports scores and results Daily lunch menu Special events Picture of the day Question of the day Alumni information

Twitter for Schools 7.Promote your School’s Twitter Account Put links to your Twitter account on your homepage, blog, and Facebook account Put a link to your Twitter account in your signature Promote your Twitter account in school newsletters

Twitter as a PD Tool Potentially a great source of real-time professional development Ask questions Learn from experts Share resources React to ideas and events

Twitter as a PD Tool What kind of tweets are helpful? – Links to noteworthy news – Links to blog posts – Invites to online conversations or webcasts – Back channeling during conferences

Twitter as a PD Tool Scheduled Twitter “Chats” with Edutopia Chat for math educators #mathchat Mondays 7pm ET/4pm PT#mathchat Chat for music educators #musedchat Mondays 8pm ET/5pm PT #musedchat Chat for ELL educators #ellchat Mondays 9pm ET/6pm PT#ellchat

Twitter as a PD Tool Scheduled Twitter “Chats” with Edutopia Kindergarten Chat #kinderchat Mondays 9pm ET/6pm PT#kinderchat General education chat #edchat Tuesdays 12 noon ET/ 9am PT, 7pm ET/4pm PT #edchat Chat for science educators #scichat Tuesdays 9pm ET/6pm PT#scichat

Twitter as a PD Tool Scheduled Twitter “Chats” with Edutopia Chat for new and pre-service teachers #ntchat Wednesdays 8pm ET/5pm PT#ntchat Chat for parents and teachers #ptchat Wednesdays 9pm ET/6pm PT#ptchat Chat for arts educators #artsed Thursdays 7pm ET/4pm PT#artsed

Twitter as a PD Tool Scheduled Twitter “Chats” with Edutopia Chat for educators teaching world languages #langchat Thursdays 8pm ET/5pm PT #langchat Chat for educators teaching in the elementary level #elemchat Saturdays 5 pm ET(US)#elemchat

Twitter as a PD Tool Scheduled Twitter “Chats” with Edutopia Chat for educators teaching 4th grade #4thchat Mondays 8pm ET/5pm PT/7pm CT #4thchat Chat for educators teaching social studies #sschat Mondays 7pm ET/4pm PT/6pm CT#sschat

Twitter as a PD Tool

Link to Popular Education-Related Hashtags