I Used to Think...Now I Think...

Inspired by a Flip Grid created by Danielle Mammolito (@dmammolitio) during a graduate course at Molloy College)

I used to think that Twitter was stupid; for lack of a better term. Why am I limited to 140 characters? Do I have to witty and clever each time I post? What is with the "hashtag" and am I supposed to read it as I read through someones tweet? (Ex: Is "I love #coffee" read as "I love hashtag coffee?") Then as I heard more about it, I just figured it was glorified fan mail for celebrities, or another platform for people to rant about politics. Neither of which I was interested in.

Then I took a class about educational technology with Ed Kemnitzer (@kemnitzer3) last summer. I had a personal Twitter account, but never went on it. I followed some comedians, athletes and the 1 friend who I knew who had an account. I decided to ditch that account and create a professional one. Everyone in the class created an account and we all used it for the duration of the class. We had Twitter Chats, followed each other and were "required to post" at least 5 things to the class hashtag. (Oh God a hashtag!) I still didn't fully "get" Twitter, but I at least now had an open mind about it.

So I bit the bullet and I participated. For that week, I found myself dedicating a Google Chrome tab to Twitter at all times. I refreshed to see if anyone I was following has something interesting to say. I searched for people or companies to follow and I was on my way. I decided to keep this account strictly for my professional use. I even found that if you tweet at a company someone usually replies, likes or retweets your tweet.

To be honest, after that week in class, I didn't go on to Twitter as much as I should have. I went on every once in a while to read an article or just to see what people were up to in their classrooms.

Then I took another class this summer. Twitter was introduced to the class and my curiosity was heightened again. I also learned about Flipgrid and that is when the tweeting really took over. I have been able to become a Flipgrid Certified Educator and Community Builder simply by using Twitter for resources. I have created a Padlet (@padlet) and tweeted it out for any and all HS math teachers to use and contribute to. It is amazing how connected we can be if we just take a small risk. I have chatted with CEO's, "stolen" other teachers ideas about lessons, posters and flexible seating. I re-tweet things I want to look at again.

Now, I think that Twitter is am amazing tool and platform for anyone looking to learn! My PLN used to be restricted to the teachers in my building and the IB Coordinators on Long Island. Now I am connected with teachers an administrators from all over the country, one or 2 from Europe and CEOs of Educational Technology companies.