Share a Tweet Via Email
The #1 users of Twitter are teachers (I have no idea where I heard that but here is something I found when searching for it). However, not all teachers are on Twitter. Twitter is a huge teacher PLN. How do you learn new things that are not the same things your colleagues learned in their PD? TWITTER! Awesome teachers are sharing on Twitter the awesome things they are doing every day for free.
I often am asked “How do we get more teachers on Twitter?” I do not have an answer for that. I’ve never once heard a teacher say “I have all this extra time” and I understand that it feels like another thing to do. Although, I would argue that the network of teachers I interact with on Twitter SAVE me time because they share so much.
Tweetdeck
On my
It’s generally a good idea to always include a hashtag in your tweets. A hashtag is a topic. So people who do not follow you can read the hashtag thread to find new people who are sharing on the same topic.
Using Twitter.com I have to manually search for a hashtag at the top or click on one of the hashtags in a tweet I see. [tweet]Tip: Be in the habit of being curious. If someone uses a hashtag try clicking on it to see what others are tweeting on that hashtag.[/tweet]
Tweetdeck allows you to have multiple columns for following multiple hashtags. When you click on a hashtag in a tweet in Tweetdeck, it creates a column for you of those using the hashtag. If you search in the sidebar on the left for a hashtag it will create a new column to show you the results.
Found an Awesome Tweet
If you’re using Twitter correctly it should not take you long to find something that helps you be a better teacher. Tip: This means do not mix your personal Twitter with your PLN teacher Twitter. Have a Twitter account just for teaching and follow people who give free ideas, free lesson plans, free tutorials, and free resources. If you read your Twitter stream WITHOUT SCROLLING (maybe scroll one screen) can you find something that is helpful for teaching? If not, rethink who you’re following. Tip: Justin Beiber does not tweet about teaching. Do not follow celebrities on your teacher Twitter. You can have more than one Twitter account.
I Wish My Colleagues Were Following This Hashtag
For a second you may feel a little sad when you find some awesome resources or information because the teachers you teach with didn’t see it.
“How can I get them on Twitter?”
This may be a lost cause (keep trying to convince them). So instead (also) share the tweet with them via email. Send the best of Twitter to your teacher friends.
Using Twitter you can click on the “More” arrow in the upper right of a tweet to copy the link to the tweet and then email the link. This is a little tedious and they might not click on the link.
Tweetdeck 3 Dots More Menu
In Tweetdeck look for the 3 dots More menu at the bottom of the tweet. This will give you the option to “Share via Email.”
This launches my email and puts the text of the tweet right in the email. No Twitter required. Twitter is blocked at my school so sending Twitter links to my
Create a Group
You may want to create a contact group for the teachers who are open to you sharing the
Side Rant About Folders/Labels in Google
I applaud Google for trying to rebrand folders. That is a concept of paper that does not translate exactly to Google Drive. In digital formats, there is no actual folder the file is sitting in.
The file has a file ID that is unique. When you put a file in Google Drive into a “folder” there is no such thing. It is just LABELING that document with the “folder” name. This is why in Google Drive you can add your files to multiple “folders” because there is no folder. There is just a label that has a list of file
Google Contacts
If you are a Gmail user you can create groups in Google Contacts. Or at least you used to. Now they call it a “Label” thus forcing you to understand how digital information organizes. There is no group, there is no folder. There is just a label that creates a list of all the email addresses. I am telling you all of this because the other day I went to make a group and I could not find an option to make a group. Took me awhile to see they changed it to “Labels.”
Create a label called “Twitter Teachers” or something. Now in Gmail just type in Twitter teachers in the To line to bring up the label (group) to send to multiple teachers at once.
