To Tweet, or Not to Tweet? Tweet! |
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So, here I am. I'm tweeting. I must confess that I was reluctant to begin this "tweet fest," partially because I've grown a bit tired of what Facebook--that older social-media sibling--has become, notably a place that many people consider the resting place of their personal "mess." I find myself victim of the phenonemeon of TMI--too much information. However, having just recently admited that I have a PLN of sorts tied up in Facebook, it would be disingenuous of me if I did not acknowledge the merits of Facebook and social media in general as well. I've connected to some fascinating and inspiring spiritual leaders via Facebook, so I have no plans to abandon it. I do feel the need, however, to conduct some weeding or "spring cleaning" so that my Facebook account can be cleared of anything/anyone who does not contribute to my goals and my well-being. That's not an easy task, though. I'm at the moment drowning in email--to the tune of 20,000 messages in my inbox. I've yet to "find" the time to unsubscribe/sift through/prioritize my email subscriptions so that this massive behometh might stop growing exponentially by the day.
Which leads me to my plans for Twitter. My plan is to form my Twitter account into a place for PLN only--at least for the time being. No need to clutter it up with people with whom I already have a face-to-face relationship, nor with people with whom I attended high school, or people I just "know" from having known them for many years. Strictly professional is how I'd like to keep Twitter. Here's another reason for that: I think that teachers are secretly taking over Twitter. Yay!
I've only been involved with Twitter for about two weeks now, and already I see just how powerful a tool it will be for my own personal-professional development. On Twitter, I've already connected with several education-based organizations, companies, and individual teachers--all of whom offer a wealth of information about where the teaching profession is and where it is headed. I'm impressed--not only with the potential greatness of the future of education, but also with the generosity and collaborative minds-set among those involved in education. One might say that I'm pleasantly stunned at how many teachers are willingly sharing their knowledge, their skills, even their lesson plans and units--for free! Nothing of the sort was happening when I exited the profession twelve years ago. At that time, I was fortunate (or not?) to have the pre-packaged worksheets and tests that accompanied the textbooks that were being used in the classroom. Oh, and the bits and pieces of activities that the teacher prior to me had left behind. All else consisted of me trying to "re-invent the wheel" so that my lessons might be at least partially meaningful to my students. Today, with the massive amounts of information, activities, and technology tools available at our fingertips, I am almost overwhelmed by the possibilities. My question to myself as I re-enter the profession is not "What am I to do with and for my students?" but instead, "How do I choose from among all of these tremendous opportunities for learning so that my students might benefit the most?"
So for me, Twitter is at this moment a tool. A tool for becoming familiar with the impact that technology is having on learning, on schools, and on the teaching profession. It is allowing me access to sources of learning through which I am learning new vocabulary and new ways of teaching. Because since my exit in 2001, everything has changed. From taking roll to delivering lessons, to teaching skills, to creating assessments, to communicating with parents--everything has changed. Technology has forever altered the way we learn and teach. So I have to be engaged in technology in order to teach with technology. Twitter will be a huge part of my PLN, perhaps for years to come. I look forward to connecting with more teachers and education experts so that I might become that effective and inspirational teacher that I've always wanted to be for my students.
In return, I hope someday to have helpful content of my own to share with other teachers and learners. Twitter is a great tool for disseminating information without having to explain a whole lot. Tweeters pretty much just toss out info and include a shortened url, making it very easy for their followers to locate content that they've placed either on servers or in a "cloud" environment online. This not only saves time, but sanity as well.
One idea that I have for incorporating Twitter into the classroom is to have high school students connect and share on Twitter much like professionals do. I think that older students headed for college or the work world should connect with key persons working in their profession of choice in order to learn what the work is like and how people conduct themselves within the particular profession. Doing so would help them not only in researching future possiblities, but also in making the professional connections with those who might assist them in entering the profession. This could be incorporated into a real-world writing assignment such as writing a letter of application, or even perhaps as a means of using primary sources in a research paper about their chosen profession. When I was young, teachers had us use The Occupational Outlook Handbook to find out things like what does a dentist do, how long does he have to go to school, how much money does a dentist make per year. Remember that? How much more engaging and real it is for kids today to "follow" their local dentist, the ADA, and a particular school of dentistry on Twitter! I could certainly ask questions of my local dentist back in the "80's, but how could I have possibly received an answer to a question from the ADA or a school of dentistry? By snail mail several weeks after I'd written them a paper letter and well after my curiosity had peaked. Via Twitter and other social networks, and because of all of the technology of the internet, kids answers now, while they are curious and at a time when engaging them in conversation might possibly affect their lives for many years to come. Who knows? Maybe if we'd had Twitter in my day, today I'd be pulling teeth instead of blogging about Twitter!
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