Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/166026
Know&Tell TWITTER DEMYSTIFIED Tweets = text-based messages of up to 140 characters (letters, symbols, words, spaces and punctuation). Ideas for using Twitter in the classroom Tweet as a historic figure linkyy.com/8j Collaborative writing linkyy.com/8l Interview the experts linkyy.com/eYi @ = to. Added in front of a Twitter handle. Used when you're tweeting about someone and you want them to be sure to see it. 60 inspiring uses of Twitter in the classroom linkyy.com/ePp Handle = username. RT = retweet. Forwarding someone else's tweet, sharing with your followers. Hashtag = a word or phrase preceded by "#" (for example, #education), used to group tweets on a topic. You can add a hashtag to any of your tweets, and get the bonus of broadening your tweet's audience beyond your followers. Follower = someone who has chosen to get your tweets in their "stream." Twitter is not a two-way street. Just because you follow Ryan Gosling's tweets does not mean that he will follow yours. Provide information — Answer a question. Share an interesting article. "Live tweet" from a meeting or event. Take time to share your favorite resources by providing links to them, and be prepared to receive a steady stream of resources from others. Visit chat groups — Chat groups are formed around a specific topic of interest, defined by a specific hashtag. To join the group, you simply type the hashtag into the search box, and follow the posts and contribute to the conversation by posting a tweet followed by the hashtag. Benefits for educators Professional development opportunities abound on Twitter because it is a place to build connections. Educators are using Twitter as part of their expanded Personal Learning Networks, or PLNs. Can't find one that interests you? Start your own hashtag to collaborate with colleagues and like-minded educators. You can have students create their own hashtag for a group research project, and share information through the common stream designated by their hashtag. I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y E M I LY C A R E W W O O D A R D Educator 09 Sep 2013 v3.6 int.indd 21 SEP TEMBER 201 3 www.cta.org 21 9/3/13 2:25 PM