ICT in the classroom » twitter http://starnott.edublogs.org Looking at how to best get staff using the tools they have at their fingertips, to make learning engaging and real for the digital natives we teach. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:12:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 en hourly 1 To twit or tweet http://starnott.edublogs.org/2008/10/20/to-twit-or-tweet/ http://starnott.edublogs.org/2008/10/20/to-twit-or-tweet/#comments Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:18:25 +0000 Suz Arnott http://starnott.edublogs.org/?p=54 What is Twitter… I wondered that myself when I first joined up with Twitter a couple of years ago , when working on my Teacher Professional Leave Project, to see what it was all about… like I have with many other things web2.0.
What is Twitter???? It is a form of “micro blogging” posting short messages to other people, informing of updates, how you are feeling, things going on, interesting links and so on. A bit like the status updates in Facebook. The characters are limited to about 120 per post, so using txt spelling is sometimes a must.
I was at first confused, and not sure that my phone was able to cope… I tried the sms way to no avail, so used it sporadically when I was online… suprisingly it was not blocked at school like so many other sites are. I loved the Twitter add on in Firefox, but lost that when the newest version came out, and I can’t find anything similar in IE… ahh well

I added people I knew through my web 2.0 wanderings, and it took a while, but I now often use the internet on my phone to connect… and am kinda glad I don’t do the sms thing.

I was then introduced to Diigo, through Alexander Hayes, who was one of the first people to inspire me with the use of some of these tools, through funnily enough a twitter link on my phone…

Diigo is sort of like del.icio.us, sort of like a social networking site…but when you go to bookmark sites you can add them to a twitter post as well… (I always wondered how these clever people added the links in their posts… seemed too much like hard work… hehehe) This connection opened a whole new world of professional networking opportunities for me, as I was no longer just a passive getter of information, I could also share sites I had found :)

Finding people to follow can be interesting…. I have gradually added to my Professional Learning Network as well as a few interest/fun ones…

The people I follow are mostly very inspirational and innovative user web 2.0 tools, like Alex Hayes, Harriet Wakelam, Jo Kay, Kerry J, Helen Otway, and so on…. I must add Sue Waters too :) She is another one who has been very inspirational…

Twitter may seem a bit gimicky, but the power to build a Professional Learning Network, of like minded people not only locally, but around the world is its most powerful use I believe…. and I am going to see if I can twitter this… hehehe

There are some very cool tools to use with Twitter in your browser, but most of them are sadly blocked or designed for Firefox (my preferred browser, but not one I can use at school), which limits how I can use them. I added snitter today, but then realised it was blocked, had to use my mobile broadband… ahhh the trials and tribulations.

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