Building A Global Classroom, Ten Reasons All Teachers Should Tweet.

I’m writing this post because I want teachers to be able to show their colleagues just what they’re missing out on by not having access to the global classroom I have recently become a part of on Twitter. This is what I refer to as my Personal Learning Network, or ‘PLN’. In my mind, educators have expanded their networks for some time, within their own schools or at conferences. Twitter is now giving us instant access to educators globally, which has massive implications on many elements of our professional learning and practice.

If you don’t have a Twitter account linking you to educators globally, here are ten very good reasons to go and get one:

Inspiration – My PLN inspires me to think critically, be reflective and actively improve my teaching and learning through communication and shared ideas. This is something that every teacher should be doing. Most of us are already; having a global PLN to support you makes it even easier.

Resources – Since starting to develop my PLN in late August, I have bookmarked a library of rich resources shared by other educators. These include Web 2.0 tools, lesson plans, other social media sites (such as Pinterest, Edmodo and many more shared in this previous post) but mostly just fantastic ideas that spark new ideas for learning that will suit my classroom. Using a tool like Delicious I can link my favourited tweets and bookmark interesting resources for easy future reading.

Learning – As mentioned elsewhere in this post, my Twitter feed constantly updates with teachers from all over the world sharing wonderful new ideas. This has encouraged me to actively seek opportunities for new learning. One example of this was my PLN’s positive response to Making Thinking Visible (Ritchhart, Church & Morrison) which I have since bought, and am now thoroughly enjoying!

Collaboration – In practice, teachers are encouraged to collaborate, share ideas, work together, debate, disagree and produce outcomes. This, of course, is the fundamental idea of the Twitter platform. It has been enriched further thorough use of hashtags such as #PLN, #Edchat, #Edtech and #OzPrimSchChat.

Politics – Social media has proved time and time again that it has a voice. Teachers too, can come together in this space and express an opinion. Although our AEU has some way to go with their social media campaign strategies (don’t get me started!), teachers have recently expressed their views in Australia using the hashtags in relation to federal funding with some success.

Easy – You can start setting up your PLN in three steps, here is an example of an easy way to start:

1. Go to the Twitter home page and sign up here.
2. Find my profile by searching for @TeddyMercer (or the colleague who encouraged you to read this!).
3. Follow everyone I am/they are following and everyone who follows me/them.

Now all you need to do is introduce yourself, ask for shout outs, explain you’re new to Twitter and teachers around the world will do their best to show you the ropes. There are some more detailed guides at the bottom of this post and links to other resources elsewhere on my page.

Ideas – There are two sides to this: sharing ideas with others and those people giving you feedback as to how it went when they trialed it in their classroom is hugely rewarding. On the flip side, giving others feedback about how you used their ideas, and watching an idea from your PLN blossom in your classroom, is great too. There is an abundance of amazing ideas out there, it is just a case of selecting the ones that suit you.

Fun – Chatting with other teachers is great! I have had the opportunity to share knowledge with Pre-service teachers like Ashley Azzopardi (@AshleyAzzopardi), tech-wizards such as Hayden Jones (@elearnjones) and Daniel Edwards (@syded06) and professors and experienced teachers like Shaileigh Page (@DrShaileighPage), Mary Jones (@MJ0401Mary) and Ross Mannell (@RossMannell). Finding such a vast number of people who share a passion for teaching and learning has been one of the most successful aspects of developing my PLN.

Support – Teachers can also find support for their personal and professional wellbeing on Twitter. #TeacherWellbeingChat is held at 2030 central standard time every Sunday and run by the talented Louiza Hebhardt (@equilibriumctc). It is easy to join in the discussion using the hashtag, and gives teachers a chance to share their feelings with other professionals on a range of topics chosen each week.

Accessibility – Other teachers in my PLN don’t mind if I take a couple of days off! I can leave my Twitter account for a few days (we all have other things to do!) but everything will still be there when I log on a few days later. I also have access to my Twitter feed via my iPhone, iPad and laptop so it’s never that far away.

Please share this post with your colleagues if you’re still trying to convince them to join Twitter. After all, the more educators we can attract to our global PLN, the better it will be! I would really love to hear your feedback, comments and suggestions in the space below.

Cheers,

Teddy.

Other resources to encourage teachers to join Twitter’s global classroom can be found here:

What is a PLN and why do I need one?

DEECD release: ‘The Ten Stages of Twitter’ – Great reading!

Daniel Edwards (@syded06) has a great blog here.

Nathan Jones shares some excellent tools here.

Ashley Azzopardi’s blog is here.