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There are many ways to grow your Personal Learning Network (PLN). Twitter is very popular among educators but it is not for everyone. Other tools can be used to grow your PLN and we are happy to work with you to find one that fits

you best.

Amy Vitala

Kelly Brown

May 14, 2014

Cobb County School District

Department of Professional Learning

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Table of Contents

How do I get Twitter on my iPhone? ................................................................................................................. 2

What do I need to set up my Twitter profile? ..................................................................................................... 2

I have installed Twitter. What do I do now? ...................................................................................................... 3

What does a Tweet look like? ............................................................................................................................. 4

How do I find people/organizations to tweet? ................................................................................................... 5

How do I follow a Twitter account? .................................................................................................................... 6

Educator Twitter Handles by Subject .................................................................................................................. 6

Weekly Twitter Educator Chats ........................................................................................................................... 7

Send a Tweet from the web ............................................................................................................................... 7

Send a Tweet from scratch ................................................................................................................................. 8

Twitter Chat Hashtag Example ............................................................................................................................ 9

Sample Tweets .................................................................................................................................................... 9

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Growing my PLN using Twitter How do I get Twitter on my iPhone?

1. Open Safari.

2. Go to https://twitter.com/

3. Click Install button.

4. Click Open.

5. Follow prompts to set up your Twitter profile.

What do I need to set up my Twitter profile? 1. Professional Photo ready.

2. Short Username. Long usernames are included in the allotted 140 characters per message.

3. Short Bio (140 characters or less) – Suggest including your professional role, geographic

representation, and special interest.

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I have installed Twitter. What do I do now? See screenshot below to familiarize yourself with the Twitter screen.

Create New

Tweet

Search Suggestions or

Categories

Settings/ Profile

Timelines Click to view most recent

tweets

A number here indicates new

tweets are posted where I am mentioned.

Blue circle indicates there are unviewed

tweets.

Search for Twitter accounts

Click to view my most recently

created tweets.

Send direct private messages. Both parties must follow each other.

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What does a Tweet look like?

Originally posted: http://www.leadlearner.com/learntwitter/twitterbasics/ Twitter 101 Quick Reference Doc Joe Mazza Blog, Connected Teaching, Learning & Leadership. Family & Community Engagement.

TWEET - A 140 character statement. This can include @mentions, #hashtags, RT retweets and links to websites. @MENTION - When you reply to someone else’s tweet or mention another Twitter user, put the @ symbol in front of their username. For example, “I’m excited to conference with my child’s teacher today.” Using the @symbol is a way of linking to another Twitter user. FOLLOWERS - The list of Twitter users who follow your tweets. RETWEET - When you re-post a tweet from another user because you want your followers to see it too. FAVORITE - You can use the ✭ icon to “favorite” a tweet to read it later when you have more time. Many on Twitter also use this feature as many on Facebook use the “Like” button. #HASHTAG - A topic with the # symbol in front of it such as #edchat, #cpchat or #ptchat. Hashtags make it easy to follow specific topics, events, or trends. By clicking on a hashtag, you see all the tweets users are sharing about that specific topic. There are many educational hashtag chats occurring each week on Twitter. Think of hashtags as television channels.

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How do I find people/organizations to tweet?

1. Click the magnifying glass symbol on your Twitter screen.

2. Type in a name, topic, organization, etc.

3. Click blue Search button in bottom right corner.

4. Choices will appear below.

5. Single-click on a desired choice to view Twitter account info and sample tweets.

a. Tweets: Number of tweets the account has made

b. Following: Number of Twitter accounts this account is following.

c. Follwers: Number of Twitter accounts followig this account.

d. Three sample tweets will be listed below. Can click to view more tweets.

6. Click Follow button if you tweets from this account to populate in your timeline.

Search results appear. Scroll to

view more accounts.

Type search item

Choose a Twitter

account to review. View

Tweets, Following & Followers &

sample tweets.

Click Follow if I want to

receive these tweets

in my timeline.

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How do I follow a Twitter account? 1. Click on the desired Twitter account. 2. Followed Account - A blue head symbol with a plus symbol to the left of it on a white background

appears. UNFOLLOW may also appear as a toggle to no longer follow the account. 3. Unfollowed Account – A white head symbol with a check mark to the right of it on a blue background

appears. FOLLOW may also appear as a toggle to follow the account.

4.

5. You may also see “FOLLOW” or “UNFOLLOW” in addition or instead of the head symbol. The same procedure would apply.

Educator Twitter Handles by Subject Twitter handles begin with @. See list below.

• Alice Keeler’s list of Twitter Educators – Links to Google Spreadsheet Listed on Alice Keller’s Teacher Tech Blog.

Indicates I am not currently following

this Twitter account. Click here to follow

an account.

Indicates I am currently following

this Twitter account. Click here to unfollow

an account.

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Weekly Twitter Educator Chats Twitter Chats begin with a hashtag #. See sample list below.

• The Complete Guide To Twitter Hashtags For Education – te@ach thought blog • Weekly Twitter Chats – Links to Google Spreadsheet compiled by @thomascmurray , @cevans5095 &

@cybraryman1.

Send a Tweet from the web

1. I found an article on the Web that I want to share with my followers. What do I do?

2. Look under the title of the article to find the Twitter logo or the word “tweet”. This can appear

differently on different web sites. Click “Tweet”.

3. A Twitter screen will appear with the tweet verbiage ready.

May 14, 2014 Growing My PLN Using Twitter Page 8 of 10

4. I could add text to the existing Twitter verbiage. If I wanted to mention someone, I would type @twitterhandle. Then that twitter handle will be sent this message as a notification. Click Tweet.

Send a Tweet from scratch

1. Click New Tweet button in upper right corner of Twitter screen.

2. Type your message over “What’s happening?”

3. Use @ twitter account to mention. Use # hashtag to connect with a conversation.

4. Click Tweet in upper right corner.

Twitter wording prepared for me.

Can add text for a mention.

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Twitter Chat Hashtag ExampleQuestion 6 (Q6) response shown by Answer 6 (A6). All those filtering #TXED will related responses.

Sample Tweets

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