Twitter

Twitter is an amazing and important avenue for professional learning.  There.  I said it.

I'm going to be honest.  Five years ago, if someone had told me I would type the words 'twitter' and 'professional' in the same sentence, I would have scoffed.  Couldn't see it happening.  Even after Dr. Goodson told me I "should be on Twitter".  Even after attending a great session about Twitter, tweeting, and professional development at MACE 2009.  I didn't get it; and I didn't want to.

But then one day, a little over a year ago, I started 'following' people. People whom I respected for their insights into kids, education, literacy, and technology.  People whom I appreciated for their honesty and their humor.  And then I 'followed' some of the people that they 'followed'.  Suddenly, with a click or a swipe, I had the knowledge and insights of more than 100 professionals on my computer, iPad, or iPod screen. 

One of the things I appreciate most about Twitter is that it's ready availability.  If I have a few minutes, I can swipe through my timeline and see what the thinkers are thinking today.  I can retweet someone's thoughts or I can share some of my own.  With a 140 character limit, there's no pressure to be verbose. I can participate in discussions and search for topics by using hashtags (#).  I can look at the timeline of the folks that I'm following to see what they are thinking and talking about. 

Some days, Twitter is my professional learning lifeline.  This link has information about using Twitter in a K-8 classroom http://www.scribd.com/doc/63331406/Twitter-in-K-8-Classroom-Globally-Connected-Learning.  Follow me on Twitter @sherbev and check out the timelines of some of the folks I'm following. 

More on-purpose professional learning, just a click away.