View or share this material in a Google Doc: Using Twitter to Extend Your PLN
Objective
Learn and explore the social media application Twitter to extend your professional learning network (PLN).
Initially, this activity should take 20 minutes; then, it will vary.
Explore this Website
On page 28 of the NYSED’s Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework, a teacher expectation bullet states, “Engage in inquiry groups and professional learning communities with peers and mentors.”
Twitter is a social networking site used to connect people from all over the globe. It can seem like a scary undertaking if you are new to the Twitterverse, but it is a free way to connect with peers, mentors, resources, and more. Read the two websites below to learn more about how Twitter can be used to build and extend your professional learning network. One of the authors states, “Twitter isn’t much good until you form a community — a professional learning network (PLN).” So true!
Take Action
Individually or in pairs, explore this site that provides you a list of education Twitter chats. When you go to Twitter, search some of the hashtags listed from the site and begin to explore the people and topics associated with that hashtag. Give them a follow! Like or retweet any posts that are of interest to you and comment on them. Take time to engage in conversations around topics of equity, cultural responsiveness, anti-racism, and more in order to grow your professional learning network.
If you do not have a Twitter account, follow the steps below to get started:
- Go to http://www.twitter.com and click on the Sign up button.
- Enter your name and phone or email address. You do not need an email address to use Twitter. Click the Sign up button.
- Create a secure password. A green check will appear when it is strong enough. Click Next.
- Enter your mobile phone number to make your account more secure and make it easier to connect to friends. You can skip this step. Click Next.
- Choose a username to identify yourself on Twitter. The green check will appear when you have found a unique username. Click Next
- You are now going to complete several steps to configure your preferences. Click Let’s go!
- Check the categories you are interested in. Click Continue.
- Twitter will suggest some people you can start following. Select those you wish to follow. Click Continue.
- You can add a photo or other image to customize your profile. Click Continue. You can also skip this step and do it later.
- You can connect your contacts to Twitter to find people you know. Click Continue. You can also skip this step and do it later.