Do you Tweet? As an Educator..You Should!

I started a Twitter account a while back.  I added my brother and some other people/organizations that I wanted to follow, but other than that I did not see any benefit in posting what I am doing on a regular basis (although I was doing that on Facebook, but why somewhere else too?)  Then I started reading blogs related to education and technology.  I continued to see "Follow me on Twitter" widgets and gadgets.  I started wondering....am I missing out on something?

Turns out I was.  There are thousands of other educators, professors, administrators, and Technology Integration Specialists on Twitter.  There are groups on twitter that are important to follow.  In less then a month I went from following 3 Twitter accounts, to over 50 (so far).  I went from being followed by my brother to over 50 (so far)

What has Twitter provided me?  Resources, information, ideas, concepts, thoughts, knowledge, and colleagues who share all of that with me.  While at the same time I am able to provide resources, thoughts, ideas, concepts and knowledge to colleagues as well.  Of course receiving the Iphone as a Christmas gift from my wife also helped me to access and use a Twitter account more thoroughly.  I find myself checking Twitter at least 5-10 times a day and went from sending maybe a Tweet a week to at least 3-5 a day.  Sometimes I read stuff that is funny, sometimes I read stuff that will help me with my job.

What Groups do I follow?  There are others, but these are the ones that I find most useful.  You can find them using "hashtags" which basically means putting a "#" in front of the group.  Everytime you include this, it puts it into a group making it easy to follow.
Edchat
Edtech
Education
Technology

Who am I following?  I don't really feel like listing them all, but you can see who I am following by visiting my Twitter Page

Another benefit of Twitter is the "new" feature of List.  Its purpose is to allow you to follow someone or groups without actually following them.  It is for those Twitter accounts that you only want to check up on occasionally.  You can also follow other peoples list, therefore avoiding having to recreate list.  It is another way of organizing your Twitter account that makes it easier to follow.

So how do you find people on Twitter?  You visit other websites that have created list of people you might be interested in following.  Below are some ones that I have used:
1.) 100 Educators to Follow on Twitter
2.) Twitter 4 Teachers Wiki
3.) Educators on Twitter - Google Doc Spreadsheet.  You can add yourself by filling out the following form once you create your Twitter account.
4.) Connexions - Directory of Learning Professionals Online
5.) You can get some more ideas at Free Technology 4 Teachers: Seven Ways to find Teachers on Twitter, which is where I got started and got some of the list you see above.

So if you are new to Twitter and an educator, what tips are there out there for you?  Here is a great List of Tips from the Don't Waste Your Time Blog by David Hopkins

I would also take a look at The Power of Educational Technology Blog, who created the Google Spreadsheet.  Really helpful information, links, and resources.

If you create a Twitter Account and find yourself really enjoying it professionally, then I would look into creating an alternate account for personal use.

2009-2010 - A Year in Review...at Least Half a Year

As teachers we often base our years from August to July because that is how we normally plan our years.  Yes, we all celebrate the "New Year" in January, but my "New Year" actually began in August when I was hired as a Technology Integration Specialist for my high school and two feeder middle schools.  Prior to the position I was teaching Social Studies.  I had 6 years of experience under my belt, but always had a passion for technology and integrating it into my classroom.

As a social studies teacher I was always creating lessons for my students using technology.  Whether they were creating Power Point Presentations, completing Webquest, using the Internet for Research, or in some cases creating videos; I was constantly encouraging the use of technology by my students as part of assignments and projects.

Until this new job move I was unaware of all the technology and software that was not only available to me, but also available to my students.  I was finding websites like Prezi, WallWisher, GoAnimate, ToonDoo, Blogs, Online Timelines, Wordle, Glogster, just to name a few.

As part of the job, teachers at my high school are responsible for creating a technology project where students must create a final product using technology.  English teachers have created Piclits, websites to review novels they are reading, Glogs for book reviews, cartoons, and videos of novels that are created as a movie trailer.  Math teachers have created comic strip word problems that will be used as Bellringers, and will soon be creating videos, websites, and digital storytelling for their projects.  Later during the Third Trimester I will be working with the Social Studies Department.

So as I look toward the next year and the future of my job as a technology integration specialist one has to ask, "What is/are your News Years Resolution(s)?"  Honestly, I don't know, and honestly, I can't remember ever keeping one that I did make previous years.  What is funny is that there is a website to help you with that.  Free Technology for Teachers posted a link to a News Years Resolution Generator, and I thought I would share that with you all as I try and develop a resolution of my own...in the next few hours.

May the year 2010 (By the way, it is Twenty Ten, not Two Thousand and Ten) provide opportunities for growth both professionally and personally.  Hopefully this blog will be one of many to help you achieve that growth.

SMS Text to Web Chat

While searching the Internet for articles related to educational technology I came across an article by a student through Web2.0 Classroom's Twitter post.  The student is arguing about trusting students to use the technology in the classroom.  There was also mention of cell phone use by students.

Cell phones are a problem for many schools and districts across the country.  Many schools are embracing the technology in their classrooms, others are completely banning cellphones in the classrooms.  Some schools are also semi embracing them (use in the hallways, but not in the classrooms, etc.

There are tons of arcticles about the impact of texting in education, a few are below:
Text Messaging is Transforming Education
Txting away ur education
OMG! Teachers say texting can be good for teens
Could Texting be Good for Students?

So in trying to embrace Texting in schools I searched the Internet, but with little success for a web 2.0 software that students could send an SMS text too and it would appear in a chat box, kind of like TodaysMeet does.  Could we create an SMS texting software on the Internet that students could send a text too in class as part of a discussion?  It would be a great way for students who normally are quiet to get involved in the conversation.  Not every classroom has access to laptops or computers, but many students have access to cell phones....so I guess the question than becomes....

If you can't beat 'em, Join 'em?

What are your thoughts?  Please share below.

12 Essentials for Technology Integration

Recently the Edublog Awards opened the door to several blogs that will help many of you in your classroom.  One of the award winners is a Mr. Richard Byrne who is responsible for the blog Free Technology 4 Teachers.  I knew about his site prior to learning about the Edublog awards just by searching Google, and his site was part of my motivation for creating this blog as well.

One of the parts of his blog is a digital magazine that he created using Yudu titled The 12 Essentials for Techology Integration.  It is a great publication that offers free resources that you can use in your classroom.  His blog posts are also very original and offer a wide variety of resources across the spectrum of the subject matter that as teachers we cover in our classroom. 

I highly recommend this site not just to visit once, but to subscribe to as well.  He is not just on top of Web 2.0 technology but also news stories and websites helpful to technology integration.

5 Minute Videos

5 Minute Videos is a website dedicated to videos that are less than 5 minutes that can help you with everyday problems.  I personally checked out the Technology section and there were quite a few useful researchers that educators could use to help themselves as well as their students.  Many of the tech videos are organized by subject matter, ie.; IPhone Apps, Software, Tech support, Product Reviews, etc.  Surf through and see what you might find that is of use to you...I am sure there are questions that you need answered and these can help you.

Other categories include Health, Fashion, Games, Gardening, Music, Travel, etc.