Unlike Facebook, Twitter does not come natural to me, even though I have spent the past two years being intentional about tweeting professionally. It's almost as if when school ends, my tweeting pauses and resumes back in August. So, tweeting this week about education wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I was quite surprised by the number of educators taking this course that weren't already using Twitter. I made the assumption that individuals pursuing a higher level of learning would probably already be using Twitter as a PLN (personal learning network). Regardless, those who shared they were new or struggling with tweeting did appear to be up front and open for tips on how to get started. I faced one challenge today where I saw a fellow classmates tweet I didn't agree with. I hesitated to reply, but the statement seemed so wrong to me that I couldn't let it go. I respectfully disagreed and gave my explanation as to why. When you're limited to 140/240 characters and all that connects you to another human being is a hashtag or follow, it's difficult to create a sense of community overnight. I genuinely hope my response didn't offend my fellow classmate. There are quite a few apps on my phone/iPad that can quickly share things to Twitter. The most common apps I have that work with Twitter are news related, like WFAA and ABC news, or photography related such as Boomerang and GIF Maker. But the most common app I probably use with Twitter is YouTube. I can't say I frequent many websites that are external of these things on the web. If I do, it is because I originally found the article on Facebook or Twitter itself. This is not to say I believe it is less powerful than maybe perceived. ANYTHING can virtually be shared in a click or two, and before you know it can go viral in a heartbeat. This proves to me that everyone has an audience, and when you are part of Twitter, you are given access to the world's platform. I think we, as educators, should leverage this technology in an attempt to fine tune our craft for the betterment of our students.
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