Social and Professional Networks

While Social Networking sites were initially created to do just that, get people to be social, I feel Twitter has evolved into something much more professional, particularly for those in Education. I initially got created a Twitter account at the request and prompting of some students. For about 4 years it sat untouched. I didn't do a thing with it, wasn't even sure what my login information was. Then I started getting curious. I had been seeing the "experts" talk about it, about PLN's, chats, etc. I started logging in and checking it out. By a stroke of luck (the planets were in alignment, the Gods were smiling down on me, you make the call) I began following a group of educators from Nebraska. Come to find out, they were the right group of educators because they got me started chatting in #nebedchat on Wednesday night. A new Twitter bird was born!

I have since moved to using Tweetdeck so I can follow multiple hashtags conversations and lists that I create. The picture above is just a screen shot of my Tweetdeck. I currently have 17 columns up and running (granted a few were there when I created the account, but I do use them). I adjust them periodically based on conferences or meetings I want to follow, particularly if I cannot attend.

The professional connections I have made on Twitter are irreplaceable. These are colleagues in the education profession I would never have found without the use of technology. I attended a conference last year based on recommendations from these people. And the crazy thing is, I have only met a small handful of them face to face, but I feel I know them almost as well (or better than at times) as those I spend all day with at school. For an educator to spend their nights and weekends sharing resources and responding to requests for information from others through technology, you know they are dedicated and passionate about their work.

I am passing my passion on to the staff members at my school by teaching and challenge teachers to use Twitter. This month they are participating in a March Madness Twitter Challenge. For those that had not used Twitter before, it's a great way to learn some basic skills used when tweeting, as well as sharing resources. My hope with this project is that these same teachers will find that technology has the added benefit of finding and sharing resources with those in their same content area, giving them connections outside the building and expanding their Professional Learning Network (PLN).

What I especially like is that I can get updates on my phone when there is activity on my account. Expanding on that, I have created Twitter accounts for all my classes. I post reminders and pictures from class for students and parents to follow. Now this is only one piece of technology I use for communication (Remind101 works great, and we're also using GroupMe now that we're working on simulations) but I keep in mind how I can best reach the students. While all technology might not be classified as "social", I feel if they are communicating with people in a way that is live and creating a digital footprint, I get the opportunity to teach them about proper communication, proper etiquette, and correct grammar and writing skills.

The photos above are examples of students using GroupMe to look for help in our Accounting simulation. The first one is my favorite. A student posed a question, and before I could answer, another student stepped up and answered! The perfect example of collaboration! AND using technology to do it! The others are pictures student sent with questions. Helps to see what they are doing, and it's in real time and can access GroupMe either on a phone, through an app or on the web.

Students might not see this as educational, necessarily. In fact, in the beginning, it was more of a game, "texting" each other using this app about non school related things. This did, however, give me the opportunity to educate about appropriate material being sent, and reminding them that we all could see EVERYTHING, including me, their teacher! Now that we've gotten into the simulation work more, they see it as a tool to help them. If you haven't tried this, I highly recommend it.