Social media plays a large role in today’s society, and most educators aren’t scared to jump in and leverage Twitter, Facebook and other social networks to increase their professional learning networks.
In fact, regular Twitter chats that focus on professional development, resources for students, special educations, and myriad other educational topics can do wonders for teacher morale.
But as great as Twitter is, it also can be overwhelming. Who should you follow? How often should you tweet? Which chats should you participate in, and how frequently?
In a nutshell, you want to use hashtags with every tweet to help build up your Twitter community and find related tweets. It’s OK to lurk in Twitter chats before jumping into the discussion. And while you won’t always agree with every opinion you find on Twitter, you’re guaranteed to learn from your colleagues when you have respectful discussions. (For more tips on getting started with Twitter PLNs, click here.)
(Next page: 14 educators and thought leaders to follow on Twitter)
About the Author:
Laura Ascione
Laura Ascione is the Managing Editor, Content Services at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland's prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Find Laura on Twitter: @eSN_Laura
