Introduction to Twitter

Twitter is a micro-blogging platform which provides a powerful way for educators to connect with and build a personal learning community. Limited to just 140 characters, tweets can include links, @replies to individual users, and also direct messages (DMs.) In this session we'll explore Twitter and how to get started using it to build a personal learning network. We'll also examine a variety of Twitter tools which can be used to Tweet on the go, manage your Twitter account, and document feedback from conference events and other activities.

Wesley Fryer on Twitter: @wfryer

Background

  1. What Happens in 60 Seconds on the Internet (April 2011, Gizmodo)
  2. Social Media Revolution 2 - Refresh (Vimeo)
  3. The Logged Out User: "Let's remember one of the cardinal rules of social media. Out of 100 people, 1% will create the content, 10% will curate the content, and the other 90% will simply consume it. That plays out on this blog, that plays out in Twitter, and that plays out in most of the services we are invested in."

Why Twitter? A few stories

  1. #comments4kids (project background)
    1. The Fire (an August 2011 poem by 8th grader, Alexander)
    2. The Power of TwitterPosted by Kathleen Morris
  2. Twitter list of astronauts on Flipboard
  3. What's going on at school in Van Meter, Iowa? #vanmeter

Definitions

  1. Twitter
  2. Tweet
  3. Twitterverse
  4. Twitter client
  5. @reply
  6. DM
  7. hashtag - Educational Chats by Cybraryman
  8. Twitter Meme
  9. Tweetup (Example: NECC 2009)

Twitter Handbook for Teachers (via Tomaz Lasic - @lasic)

Twitter Handbook for Teachers

Creative Commons License

These materials by Wesley A. Fryer are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Contact details for Wesley are available.

Playing with Media

Twitter Tools

  1. Twitter (main website)
  2. Mobile Twitter
  3. Twitter Search
  4. Hootsuite
  5. TwitterFon (free iPhone and iPod Touch app)
  6. TweetDeck (free Adobe Air application)

Additional Resources

  1. share.playingwithmedia.com: Examples of shared student media using digital text, images, audio and video
  2. K-12 Online Conference (free: Nov/Dec 2011 - conference schedule, presenter Twitter IDs on each post)
  3. Free podcast: All a Twitter about Twitter: Micro-Blogging as a Professional Networking Tool by Beth Knittle (MASSCUE 2008)