Teaching with Twitter Infographic

Teaching with Twitter Infographic

Teachers and students are turning to social media to help inform their learning. This movement – often referred to as DIY PD (do-it-yourself professional development) – is empowering educators to utlize technology resources, digital media and community building to shape their own learning. However, the DIY movement isn't exclusive to teachers — classrooms around the world are turning to Twitter and social platforms to expand student learning. The Teaching with Twitter Infographic looks at different ways teachers can use Twitter to inform their professional development and classroom practices.

Twitter in the Classroom

1. Find Resources

• Have students conduct interviews with experts and industry thought leaders during Twitter chats.
• Find creative lesson plans, education websites and classroom resources from Twitter accounts across the globe.
• Follow @NYTimesLearning, @TpTdotcom and members of the #Teach100.

2. Develop Students’ Thinking

• Teaching math? Have students analyze the statistics of a viral tweet using Twitter Analytics.
• Have students tweet their thesis statements during the writing process so they can share and improve them in small groups.

3. Engage With Your Professional Learning Network (PLN)

• Connect with like-minded thought leaders in your area.
• Organize meet-ups and attend conferences. Strive for 25 percent of your followers to be people who have unique perspectives.

4. Monitor Emerging Trends

Follow hashtags and Twitter chats to monitor emerging trends.

Twitter for Professional Development

• Follow Twitter accounts of education thought leaders. Good places to start are @Edutopia @teachdotcom @USCRossier @tomwhitby @TeachThought and @thenerdyteacher
• Use Twitter's search bar. Type in keywords of things you're interested in to see what (and who) people are talking about. If you're interested in online education, try searching for "online learning" or "flipped classroom."
• Know your hashtags. They're a valuable tool to use to follow and participate in conversations on certain topics and themed Twitter chats. Look into #edchat, #MotivationMonday and #stuvoice.
• Engage with your colleagues by retweeting important or useful resources, starring interesting tweets, asking follow-up questions and sharing resources on other social media channels.