Skip to main content

Tuesday Teacher Tips - May 21, 2013 - Twitter # & Invite to get started with Edmodo


Click on underlined text to follow links.  If you have trouble, email me and I’ll send you direct links.

The power of #


I tweet—sort of—mostly I just flitter around on Twitter and see what other people are doing.  Admittedly, I am not very good at Twitter, but it’s something that I believe is a good tool, and I have plans this summer to work harder at using it effectively.

If you’re on Twitter—or even if you’re not but want to get started—it’s worth it to take a look at some of the incredible ways that you can use it to improve teaching and learning. 

Trust me, I started sloooowwww and with a # to help guide me in figuring out who to follow and how to use it. A hastag (#) is a way to indicate a specific topic on Twitter.  It’s a searchable tag that allows other users to find people talking about their interests.

I started with #tlchat (teacher librarian chat), and I can't adequately describe to you how the power of that one little hashtag has changed my outlook on my job and has helped to connect me with a network of people from all over the country  who are passionate about their careers.  The wealth of knowledge available and the number of ideas that are shared are almost overwhelming!

So, what are the hashtags?  Google “Twitter Education hastags” and you’ll get—no lie– over 2 million results.  Some to start with, according to Edudemic “The 2012 A-Z  List of Educational Twitter Hashtags” are:

· #edchat—educational chat from all over the US and World, lots of people use this!

· #kinderchat—related to kindergarten

· #edtech—I like this one, it relates to technology in education and you can usually get a lot of links and ideas

· #edapp—educational app suggestions for those of you with iPads

· #mathchat—math

· #scichat– science

· #engchat—English

· #spedchat—Special Ed

· #flipclass—Flipped Classroom

· #SSchat—Social Studies

The list literally goes on and on, and there is a hashtag for each grade level, and you’ll even find them for administrators, counselors and AP classes. 

One of the things that I have discovered and am loving is that educational groups often meet to have live Twitter chats using these hashtags.   I have only participated in three so far, but I look forward to continuing discussion in the future.  If you use Twitter often and if you search the hastags, you’ll find that you’ll start seeing people post about when these chats are going to be.  If you’re not on Twitter often, you can check The Educational Twitter Chats Calendar to see if your content area will be chatting any time soon.  This is a great way to find people to follow and to also find out what current trends are and what resources people are using.  I have found topics to be timely and relevant to my own needs, and have discovered many fascinating professionals this way!

 
Need more info?  Check out this 10 minute videos: Twitter for Teachers on Edudemic—or email me and we’ll figure it out together

How to search Twitter



If you’re new to Twitter, start by searching for the hashtags either on your phone’s app or on the Twitter web page.

To do that, just click in the search box at the top of the page and type in # and the education hashtag of your choice.
This is the basic way to follow a chat as well.  If you see that there is going to be a chat soon, you can simply type in the hashtag at the specified time and watch the chat develop.  If you want to check it out, there’s an #edchat every Tuesday afternoon from 12-1 and again on Tuesday evening at 7.  Often, someone will post a link on Twitter for an archive of the chat, that way you don’t miss anything if it’s going too fast.
If you find someone you want to follow this way, just click on their post, and using the app, click the picture of the icon that has the bird and + sign.

Summer is the perfect time to learn about Edmodo


This is year was the first year I really dabbled with Edmodo.  Edmodo is a social media learning platform that I used in the library as a place for third graders to share research and post about books they’ve been reading. 
While the kids were really excited to give it a try—and some of them use it on their own—I would say that I have a long way to go to unlock the full potential. 
The site is an excellent platform for flipping your class, extending discussion or for the trending  “Gamification” by allowing you to assign badges to students for completing tasks.  There are also a wide range of applications available for purchase and for free,  in addition to a plethora of resources to explore through the Discover Icon.
As with many forms of technology, I think one of the best ways to learn how to use Edmodo is to jump in and play around with it and then of course share!  And, the great part is, we can use Edmodo to learn and share together.
To do this, follow this Group Link for a PLN class I created (Professional Learning Network) and if you haven’t already, create a free teacher account on Edmodo  and we’ll begin learning together.
I’ve already got a how to article posted that will help us get started making connections with other teachers.
Email me if you need help!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Library Centers for Kindergarten & First Grade

Center Inspiration After much debate at the end of last school year, I was able to get 10 extra minutes added on to each of my classes for this year boosting class library time from 35 minutes a week to 45 minutes a week for my fixed schedule.  For me, 35 minutes a week, just wasn't enough to pack in all the awesomeness I wanted to achieve.  It seemed like we would just be getting started into something great when it was time to go. I was thrilled to know that this year I was going to have the extra time to work with my classes on research skills and technology projects while working in more time to allow them to browse the shelves and look at books.  That being said, truth be told, I was completely freaked out about what to do with my kindergartners for 45 minutes. Did I mention in my former life, I was a high school English teacher?  Four years ago, my first two weeks in an elementary library were a complete culture shock to me. I was used to walking into a room and just say
12 comments
Read more

Project Genre-fy the Fiction Section!

After a lot of thinking, I finally decided to take the leap this summer and move the fiction section of my elementary library from the traditional first-three-letters-of-the-last- name organization to a genre based organization. Now that the project is almost complete, I cannot wait to get the kids back in the library so I can show them! Deciding Factors There are many reasons individual teacher librarians might choose to genrefy their library.  For me, I was driven to start with the fiction section because I've noticed an alarming drop off in students checking out books by the time they get to fifth grade.  This drop off could be for any number of reasons: increased activities after school, loss of interest in the materials they see on the shelf, lack of time, or they could be overwhelmed by book after book organized by letter. I realized, too, that although my 3-5 graders don't ask for "funny" books or "animal" stories, they seem to get stuck on c
20 comments
Read more

Digital Interactive Notebooks: Getting Started

Post appeared also on FtEdTech It's no real secret that I love Digital Interactive Notebooks.  I create them every chance I get and encourage teachers to use them for everything from long term Project Based Learning (PBL) projects to weekly unit work with vocabulary .   The Interactive Notebook (INB) has long been a staple of the classroom to engage students more directly with their notes.  The traditional interactive notebook often includes traditional student notes, questions, and interactives that students cut, fold, color and paste into their notebooks. You might find graphic organizers, pockets with measuring tools, data charts, and foldables that act as study aides.  In the NSTA article " Science Interactive Notebooks in the Classroom " Jocelyn Young explains the benefits of INB when she shares that " By using notebooks, students model one of the most vital and enduring functions of scientists in all disciplines—recording information, figures, and data.
8 comments
Read more