Twitter: A Teacher Tool

Twitter is a social media app used by numerous groups including teens and teachers. Teens, generally, use the app or website to converse with their 'Friends' and share life events with those they know. Additionally, teens follow the news of those who interest them and are their friends via Twitter. Teachers have a different, more functional use for Twitter. Twitter can be used to develop a professional learning network for teachers. Teachers constantly battle to stay current and exciting! A professional learning network helps teachers find new, innovative techniques, tools and lessons to bring into their classrooms.

Twitter is, simply speaking, another social media option for society. All an individual needs to create an account is a valid email, unique username and a password for security. Once an account has been created, the fun begins. First, vocabulary unique to Twitter:

• Followers: people who can see your Tweets
• Following: people who's Tweets appear on your feed
• Tweet: a post made with a limit of 140 characters
• Tweets can also contain links and multimedia
• Retweet: a user posts a tweet from someone else on their feed for their followers to see
• Favorite: a user saves a tweet to be able to see it whenever they would like

There are two major aspects of Twitter involving communication. First, there is the feed. The feed contains all the Tweets of users followed by the account. Normally, the feed contains comments, updates and information pertaining to the lives of friends, family and celebrities liked by the user. In a more professional atmosphere, the feed contains links and information that might be helpful in the related field. Professional learning networks are an example of a professional community using Twitter to better themselves. Second, direct messaging allows users to directly correspond with other users. These messages are private. Direct messaging is more often used by general users than professionals because professionals get most of their useful Tweets from users they don't personally know. General users use direct messaging as a instant messaging substitute for texting or other communication methods. Twitter acts as a communication and collaboration tool for society.

Using the basics of Twitter (described above), teachers can develop professional learning networks to enhance their classrooms. In order to do this, teachers develop their feed to provide information on topics regarding education. To begin, there is a search feature found at the top of the screen whether on the app or the website. In the search box, typing in topics related to education will provide accounts with information useful to teachers. Additionally, searching hashtags will find tweets with common concepts. Hashtags are phrases placed at the end of a tweet connecting the tweet to other tweets on the topic. For example, #globalclassroom provides a list of tweets about teachers integrating the world and different cultures into lessons. The search tool is a great starting point for developing a professional learning network. Next, add other teachers. When more teachers follow each other there is a greater opportunity to find useful information. Finally, by searching through the 'Following' lists for the education related accounts found earlier, teachers can find more accounts related to education.  At this point, the professional learning network foundation has been set. After developing the foundation for a professional learning network, teachers must continue to maintain, expand and utilize the network.

First, to maintain the professional learning network, teachers must ensure their accounts remain relevant to their needs. The Tweets that make up the feed represent the quality of the network. The accounts contributing to the feed should be tweeting about educational topics; not tweeting irrelevant information. Second, expanding the professional learning network is necessary. Teachers can expand their networks by following new accounts. The easiest way to find new accounts to follow is the feed. As other accounts retweet Tweets from their feed, users see new accounts related to the same topics they built their professional learning network around. Finally, the purpose for the professional learning network is to enhance the experiences of students in classrooms. Therefore, teachers who build these networks need to use the information found in their networks to enhance the experiences and learning of their students. Teachers do this by checking their feed often, searching for new ideas, activities and techniques for their classroom.

The concept of a professional learning network interested me enough for me to create one myself. To begin, I created my own account @diebel_noah. After creating an account, I sought out educational accounts by searching 'education.' Through this search, I found general accounts, including @STEM_Works, and more specific accounts like Karen Lirenman (@KLirenman). I enjoy reading STEM Works because the tweets provide links to learning opportunities. The topics are interesting and the sites are appropriate for students, allowing them to be used in the classroom.  In contrast, Karen Lirenman doesn't provide direct tools like STEM Works. She participates in discussions with other teachers on Twitter about topics relevant to me including technology in the classroom. Following Mrs. Lirenman helps me become a part of these discussions and learn from them. The combination of resources similar to each of these accounts builds a functional professional learning network for me to improve through as a future educator.

In conclusion, Twitter is a very popular social media app and website that can also be used for professional purposes. Twitter, as with most social media outlets, can have issues with security and privacy. However, the professional and careful use of Twitter by teachers prevents these issues. Reviews warn against the dangers of Twitter, but also promote the proper use of the tool. Teachers should use Twitter to build professional learning networks and improve the experience for their students!