I'm still not sure I'm into it.
I just got back from my homepage. Frank (@fnoschese) (do I need the @?) left his ID on the NSTA list serve, so I followed him. Then I went to his following list and added a bunch more. Mostly these are blogs I follow, so I recognized the names. Some tweeted science stuff, some tweeted education stuff. Jason apparently had a pretty wild birthday party at his house yesterday.
How random of me.
Someone was following Barack Obama, so I looked at his following list. Hmmm...President of Russia, the OFA of every state and a couple people apparently in the middle of playing drinking games. Not sure what I expected there, but I don't think that was it.
I'm going to give it try. I just am not certain this is for me. To me, Twitter seems kind of like a blog on crack. Or at least with a severe case of ADD. I don't think I want to feel, I don't know, so IN TOUCH.
I better go check my page.
PS: @bravesearth
Twitter is great, but it's hard at first. Other experiences might be different but for the first little bit I was just floating around a bit confused. The key to twitter is to just start jumping in to convos. Maybe say hi to one of the blog writers you recognize and jump in when you see the chance. Eventually you develop a circle or two or three of people. I've randomly fallen into a group of math teachers that I get a lot out of and Frank seems to have a good network of science teachers.
ReplyDeleteI did exactly what you did, going in and following a bunch of people someone I "knew" followed. There are also lists out there of science teachers or MS teachers you can follow as well.
Good luck with twitter. Say hi next time you're on and jump into a convo.
I've found twitter to be great way to connect with other teachers. I never would have heard of standards-based grading without it (and I probably never would have found your blog!)
ReplyDeleteI also started out by following a blogger that I read (@TeachPaperless), then discovered #edchat. I started following those who had ideas that I liked.
I hope twitter works for you!
Like you, I have had a Twitter account for quite a while, but I still never use it. It seems like there is so much on the internet that you have to select what you want to use and that which you don't. Not joining any network particular network will not leave you behind. I'm so busy with blogs, science ed email lists, and (less so) Facebook that I can't imagine fitting anything else into my life.
ReplyDeleteI joined Facebook a couple years ago and got very involved with it around my high school 30 year reunion. Now I read a few old friends, distant (genetic and physical) relatives, and political and educational acquaintances and groups, but with "only" (ha ha) 220 friends, my wall gets way too crowded (even haven "hidden" many friends).
So, good luck with Twitter, but my recommendation is don't feel guilty if you dump it, and don't let it detract from your great teaching :-)
Lee
Twitter is completely overwhelming when you are still getting the hang of it. Please stick with it!! You don't have to interact all at once, you don't have to answer every tweet, you don't have to read every tweet. But commit to it for a few weeks and see if you find it worthwhile. I have never found a more rewarding community of educators and learning. @ktenkely
ReplyDelete