Twitter – Powerful Personalized Professional Development
Imagine having conversations with renowned educational experts such as Ken O’Connor (@kenoc7) or Rick Wormeli (@rickwormeli2) or Douglas Reeves (@douglasreeves) along with educators from around the globe on important topics of the day. Would you consider this experience to be valuable professional development? Did I mention it is also free?
An easy entry into the social media world to advance your professional learning is Twitter. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that enables users to post brief messages on any topic and interact directly with other posters. Twitter has transformed my professional development and provided a venue to share passions and struggles in shaping learning experiences.
Let’s get the notion out of the way that I am a social media or tech expert. I’m just like you. I have a love-hate relationship with technology, relied on the school’s tech coordinator or tech-savvy teacher too much, and struggle with my self-concept around digital literacy.
But I am also a learner, just like you. And we have a professional responsibility to use the tools for learning that meet students where they are, not where we are.
Students Are Impacted By Your Use Of Social Media
According to a recent University of Phoenix survey conducted by Harris Poll, 87% of teachers have not incorporated social media into their classrooms. From the same survey, 56% of teachers don’t believe social media will enhance students’ learning experience. Based on my own observations, a small percentage of teachers and administrators are active participants on Twitter.
However, Twitter is a growing resource for educators around the world. We are among the largest user groups of Twitter with more than 4 million tweets per day. Top educational Twitter chats often hit ‘Trending’ status. USA public school teachers, frustrated with high stakes testing and slow-moving districts, reach out for support and information via Twitter.
Build Your PLN
The real power of Twitter enables you to tailor and maximize your own Professional Learning Network (PLN) of people and resources. We have all grumbled when the “one size fits all” school-based professional development does not meet our own learning needs. Differentiating for professional development mirrors the same strategy teachers are expected to utilize with learners in the classroom. Ultimately, 21st-century adult learners are responsible to create and shape our own professional development.
How education professionals use Twitter
Longtime tweeter Jabiz Raisdana (@intrepidteacher), middle school English teacher at UWCSEA East in Singapore states, “Because I have used Twitter to create and build relationships, I have connections to experts and practitioners in many fields. They are just a Tweet away.”
Douglas Reeves, author and expert on educational reform and creativity in schools, hopes his sharing on Twitter benefits teachers, leaders, and policy-makers. He notes, “Sometimes a Tweet will really hit a nerve – particularly about grading, teacher evaluation, or the hypocrisy of some policy-makers.”
Reeves also sees value in Twitter chats which “offer focused topics, excellent moderators, and great group participation. I almost always find an article or book I had not yet heard about.”
It only works if you use it.
A word of caution: Commitment. Twitter reports in 2014 that 44% of accounts had never tweeted. Although you can start slow, you will not build a powerful, personalized PLN without making a long-term commitment. Raisdana has been highly successful in building his “tribe” and advises Twitter “is not a tool for trying out. It is an investment.” Reeves dedicates three hours a week to Twitter and does not follow his feed “minute-by-minute.” For myself, I usually have my Tweetdeck tabbed in a web browser and check frequently on a daily basis. Guilty as charged.
Chances are very good your tech coordinator or tech-savvy teacher is on Twitter and can help get you set up. In 15 minutes or less, you’ll be tweeting. Lastly, be sure you check your school’s expectations around social media use.
Find me on Twitter @BradLatzke
Links to getting started: