how & why stem educators need to be using twitter jeffrey p. carpenter elon university twitter...
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How & why STEM educators need to be using Twitter Jeffrey P. CarpenterElon UniversityTwitter handle: @doccarpenter
This presentation @ http://bit.ly/twitternoyce
“Teachers are taking over Twitter” - @braveneutrino
Learning targets Participants will know
how to use the micro blogging service Twitter
how Twitter can enhance in-class and out-of-class learning, & communication with students & parents
how Twitter can enhance STEM education professional development via resource sharing, collaboration, individualized learning, & leadership
Who am I? How did I end up on Twitter? flipped learning personal excitement about Twitter counter negativity around traditional PD more student-teacher, student-student
interactions more audience & feedback for students'
ideas
Set Up Twitter & one of tweetdeck, hootsuite, etc. – to follow #
hashtags, chat Handle – professional, maybe some personality Profile – necessary for non-lurkers; no profile, no
followers
Following – Who you follow > who follows you
People @TomWhitby @web20classroom @teachingwthsoul @shellterrell @mathhombre @cybraryman @nmhs_principal
Organizations @educationweek @edutopia @nsta @eyeoneducation @edudemic @isteconnects @mindshiftkqed
How do I figure out who to follow? Stalk other
people’s followers & following
Look @ profiles Look @ # of
followers
Watch who posts using hashtags of interest to you
My resources curation (more later) has more recommendations
How do I tweet? How many characters? What is this: # What does it mean to “tweet at”? RT ? MT ? DM? Who sees my tweets? General settings:
Followers Anyone who searches / follows any #s used Anyone who searches any terms used Possible to limit to followers only
Using hashtagshashtag = community w/ shared interesthashtag = broadens convo
#edchat #21stedchat #ntchat #edtech State chats (e.g.,
#nced)
#mathchat #stemchat #scichat #chemchat #flipclass #flipsci
Do nows Backchanneling Find related resources Communication & questions – teacher-
student, student-student
Twitter for students
PS - for k-12 world Communication w/ students – they
follow you, not vice-a-versa Communication w/ parents – what’s
going on in class, pics of great student work, etc.
Why bother? Asynchronous resource sharing &
acquiring constant source of filtered or vetted ideas
& links - “None of us is as smart as all of us”
current: STEMbites– Google Glass videos based outside of the classroom
More why bother Networking & community – connecting
w/ those w/ similar interests from around the country & even globe E.g., Andrew Thomasson & Cheryl Morris
are co-creating their English classes – in NC & CA
E.g., Conducting research w/ someone from Wichita State University I met via Twitter
Twitter participation: voluntary- people want to connect!
Backchanneling at conferences
What is a chat? Pre-arranged, typically weekly or
monthly conversation on one topic One-hour of tweeting w/ specific # Big & small Poll beforehand, archive afterwards Follow the chat in hootsuite, tweetdeck,
etc.
More chatting Moderators Introductions & then Q1, A1 format Lots of tangents, side convos
What might be considered unprofessional/ misbehavior in traditional PD is encouraged in chats
Favorite-ing for later reference
Some chats to consider #edchat – the original, the largest Tuesdays @
noon & 7pm #ntchat – new teacher chat, Wednesdays 8 pm,
also #edteach Tuesdays 8 pm #21stedchat – Sundays 8 pm #stemchat – variable times, monthly #chemchat – Thursdays 9pm (new AP curriculum) #mathchat – Thursdays 8pm #flipclass – Mondays 8pm
Isolation & PD negativity - it doesn’t have to be that way! Young, novice, and even veteran
teachers need to be around positivity & problem solvers
Need to have a place where they can share & acquire ideas w/o judgment
Twitter … Allows for individualization & autonomy
in learning Can provide sense of community &
support Just in time learning Positive, solutions-oriented environment
For young & novice teachers Enhanced sense of self as professional:
"I had not considered myself a teacher yet, or much less one of that quality or caliber."
“Offers validation as an active member of the teaching community.”
For veteran teachers Another way to contribute to the
profession & share your wisdom A way to break out of potential rut &
expand your thinking
Resources How to: Info for the Twitter Novice –
short version http://bit.ly/M0TWx0 long version
http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/ Videos Tutorials: http://bit.ly/YWXk2p Chat List: Chat topics and times
http://cybraryman.com/chats.html Educators to Follow: A list of influential
education tweeters http://bit.ly/TxhouC All Things Twitter:
Jeff’s curation of web content regarding Twitter for educators http://bit.ly/SjFIMo
wiki page about Twitter in edu http://jillthompson.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/Twitter