Twitter for Beginners

I believe that all teachers should have a way to reach out to others, and build a Professional Learning Network (PLN) of like minded educators.  We all have interests, problems, questions, and need advice.

There are many ways to build this PLN, and there are many educators using Twitter.

Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called "tweets". It is a microblogging platform, which allows you to post and show what you are doing, ask questions, and follow an interesting feed of information.

Many people use Twitter to:

• Share ideas
• Develop a PLN (Personal Learning Network)
• Connect and collaborate with people
• Reflect and engage in dialogue with others
• Access to new resources...every day
• Follow interests
• Expand your professional development

Here are some common definitions of commonly used terms in Twitter.

#tags (n):	hashtags are markers placed in a Tweet that can be traced by other Tweeters. They are used to link people interested in similar topics. HashTags are not a ‘source’, they are a label only.
#tagchat (n):	a ‘conversation’ that is connected and followed via a specific hashtag.
@symbol (v):	the transportation method to get a tweet to a particular individual.
Followers (n):	people interested in what you say and share.
Following (v):	individuals who say and share things you are interested in.
PLN (n):	Personal Learning Network.
ReTweet (v):	the act of Tweeting someone else’s tweet. Referred to as an ‘RT’ in most tweets.
Twit or Tweeter (n):	a Twitter user
Twitterverse (n):	a universe inhabited by individuals who are active members of Twitter.
Tweet (v):	the act of communicating via Twitter.
Tweet (n):	a single message communicated via Twitter.
Tweacher (n):	a teacher who uses Twitter to engage in great ideas with students and other teachers.

Common hashtags used by educators on Twitter, curated by @cybraryman1

Social Media at KIS

KIS needs your help in promoting great things here at KIS.  Social Media is a great way to get the word out about what your students and co-workers are doing!

There are lots of great things happening, but we need to consider a few things.  What concerns do faculty members have?  What privacy issues need to be considered?

Our Students use lots of Social Media networks.  Out of 285 students polled, our percentages of students using these networks are shown below.

Your students use social media.  Sometimes the conversation needs to come to them.

Help us to gather a little information, so we can reflect your ideas in KIS policy.

The Draft Social Media policy is linked here.  

Make "Suggestions" so we can make this better, with your input.

Let's look at it together, and discuss what is in it.