Teachers, What Will You Learn This Summer?

Well here it is, the year is winding down. That summer vacation for teachers is around the corner. You know that break the teachers get so that they enjoy all that money that they've made over the past year. Imagine it, the whole summer to yourself. Although, we know that's not what really happens. As a teacher you will spend your summer getting ready for the next school year, in fact you've probably been doing that for the past month. Sure, you'll take some time off relax but more than likely you'll spend a lot of your summer getting ready for your next class or classes of students. Many of you will take some sort of professional development. You will learn about new programs, new ways to teach, etc. Some of the PD you take maybe what you want some may be what you're expected to take, but let me talk about a way that you can get PD on what you want at any time.

I have used Twitter for my professional learning for about eight years now. Twitter allows me to ask questions of other teachers, share what I'm learning with other teachers, and make acquaintances all over the world in the field of education. You may say that's easy for you, you're a technology guy, but really twitter is a pretty easy tool. If I could get you to learn one thing this summer it would be how to use Twitter to get timely information that you can use.

There are a lot of using Twitter guides out there, so I am not going to create my own. I will however in this post share some of the better guides that I think are out there. One of the most important things you can learn about Twitter is the use of the hashtag. The hashtag is a way to keep similar information together on Twitter. For example, if you follow or you search for the hashtag #edchat, all through the week you will find teachers and others from around the country and around the world talking about educational matters.

We even have a local edchat using the hashtag #utedchat. This chat primarily takes place on Wednesday evening between 9 and 10 PM, although you can post items using that hashtag at anytime. So feel free to join with other educators across the state on Wednesdays and about what is going on in other areas of the state.

Now here are those Twitter guides I promised.

KQED Guide to Using Twitter in Your Teaching Practice

Twitter for Educators, A Beginner's Guide  This is a PDF that will download and you can read it offline.

The Complete Guide to Twitter Hashtags for Education

Have a great summer, and I look forward to seeing you next school year.