So the second challenge for our district's Summer Tech Challenge was to create and use a twitter account to connect with other awesome educators. Well the first part of the challenge was easy for me. I created a twitter account clear back in January after our district's Google Summit. The first people I started to follow were my partner teacher, a third grade class in our building, and of course The Voice. A very small, but dynamic group! ;)
And that's where the story ends, I haven't logged on to my account since that cold January day. That is until yesterday when I dusted off my handle and started exploring the possibilities twitter has for me.
The first thing I saw when I logged back into my long lost account was the name of the person who won The Voice the night before! SPOILER ALERT!!! The husband and I had DVRed the finale and were planning to watch it later. Boo! (Notice I left our the winner's name in case you haven't watched it yet either. You're welcome!)
But, after I stopped pouting (I wanted someone else to win.) I got back to the real reason I logged onto my account in the first place, to connect with other educators and to expand my PLN!
I have started to follow a few new people and know that the list will indeed get longer. I have to admit that twitter is still a little intimidating to me, but I'm sure in no time I will be saying "How did I ever survive without it!?"
Are you on twitter? If so follow me @jamispeidel
It's so good to hear that there is someone else who was motivated enough to create an account....but then did nothing with it! The only person I followed initially was my daughter - and she was NOT happy that 'Mommy Dearest' was following her! Can you believe she hasn't posted anything since?? hehe
ReplyDeleteOkay, on to important things - I bet you wanted Michelle to win, didn't you? I'm a total Voice junkie! Lex and I actually sit in our bar stools and turn around during the blinds if we would pick someone. (yes, we are cool like that)! I have to say, I would have been happy with any of the top three winning, but I did love the message Michelle brought with her.
Happy Tweeting!!!
Yay, Jami! So glad you dusted off that Twitter handle. And let me tell you, there is so much more to Twitter than the Voice! (Sorry, I'm an Idol fan.) I firmly believe that Twitter is all about who you follow. And it is not about quantity, it is about quality. Follow people who have the same interests as you do professionally and you will learn sooooo much!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see you Tweeting!
Thanks Mickie! I'm glad to hear you say it is not about quantity, but quality. I have been very selective of who I follow or "friend" on social media. I hate when my feed or page gets filled with hour by hour updates of what someone is doing! ;)
ReplyDeleteI feel so honored that I was one of the firsts one started following, but at the same time it makes me realize how 'in' I wanted to be at the time and how 'out' I actually was. I had been on twitter for years and only visited it occasionally, the Google Summit being one of those times. I may have joined it long before you, but as you say - #wearebettertogether. Guess this is just another thing we are going to muddle through as a team! Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait!
I have been on Twitter a long time too. Glad this challenge has pushed me to really start to use it. My only concern is how much time I have been spending with it. I know this will get better as I learn more about it. I feel I can communicate with my teenagers better now that I know more about using Twitter. (They were hoping I would stay out of the loop! They have informed me that I am asking too many questions!) I know what you mean. You got to keep up or you will be lost.
ReplyDeleteThat is perfect picture to add. It's exactly what I felt like. I had no idea what I was doing in the beginning. I haven't branched out of the educational realm at all. It took me a little while to get used to the format, much like the Reading Mastery text actually.
ReplyDeleteNow I have retweeted blog posts from others and had them actually respond thanking me for reposting! Pretty cool stuff. I feel VERY connected.