TCEA 2011 is winding down and although our presentation went well, I did ask the audience one question that did not pertain to the subject at all:
How Many of You Are on Twitter?
Only about 10% raised their hands! I wish I could say I was shocked but I pretty much expected the result. I implored them to create a Twitter account and showed them through TwitterFountain that Twitter IS NOT about what people had for lunch!
Then, this morning while I was standing in line to get the mandatory cup of coffee to start my day, I had the opportunity to talk to a teacher who said she learned a lot but was having trouble deciding where to get started. I asked her if she had a Twitter account and she said not yet but she will now! If that is the only thing she got out of the conference then it will be worth it. Twitter, combined with Google Reader, is equivalent to having professional development every day of the year–24/7.
I realized that many teachers do not know about Twitter and this teacher would have never found out unless she attended the conference. But what about all the teachers who didn’t get to attend or who never get to go to a tech conference. It’s then I realized that edtech teachers must take it upon themselves to introduce Twitter to their fellow teachers. You cannot just tell them about it. You must provide resources on how to get started and who to follow!
My idea is that you should try and get a new educator on Twitter EVERY day! In order to make that happen, here is a list of resources that will help you assist in getting them started:
This is by no means an exhaustive list but it is a great way to get started. We can no longer just tell people about Twitter! As with any subject we must be willing to teach, provide resources and support our fellow teachers. We can’t afford not to!
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