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Georgia schools scamper to join legions on Twitter

Twitter, the latest rage in free social networking, is being used by celebrities, CEOs, soccer moms, and now even tech-savvy school districts to keep the public informed about important, and not so important, daily events, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. From the banal to the braggadocios, "tweets" about student achievement, homework, school plays, and school boards in Georgia and across the nation are being sent to cell phones like breaking news bulletins interrupting network programming. The headlines, up to 140 characters, are shared with "followers"–mostly parents and educators–who sign up to wade through messages. "It’s a very cost-effective way to communicate directly to people who basically want to get the content," said Dana Tofig, Georgia Department of Education spokesman, who is leading the state public school tap into Twitter. "We can throw pictures up … [and link to] press releases and recordings. I think it’s a great tool in the toolbox." The state DOE on April 29 had 65 followers of its breaking "news" tweets–about 25 more than last week. Forsyth County Schools, which debuted as the first metro Atlanta public school on Twitter in March, has 304 followers…

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