Twitter in Education?!?

The last week or so I have witnessed the power of Twitter and just some of the possibilities through one social media outlet. One of my goals through not only this blog but some other avenues is been to try and spread positive things and thoughts that are either in my life or around me. I truly believe Twitter has brought me many connections and moments in just the last week that are hard to come by.

First, last week I participated in a baseball coaches chat (#ABCAChat). Not only is this a great place to gain knowledge from thousands of coaches around the county, it is a very inviting chat! In just the last 2 chats I have connected with other coaches from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Texas and California. One of the coolest moments for me was through the chat and sharing ideas, the head softball coach from UW-Eau Claire liked and commented on one of my Tweets. This actually brought back a connection that I had in college as we reconnected from a time when we participated in a bible study together in Eau Claire. How awesome is that? Reconnecting with someone from college through a Twitter Baseball Coaches Chat!

While that connection was awesome and I have been welcomed by so many other coaches across the country and have been encouraged to and will attend my first ABCA Clinic this January in Dallas, Tx, I have felt my role with Twitter is just getting started! This past week at school, I hosted 4 different PD opportunities with our staff about Twitter. It was so encouraging and motivational for me to see so many staff members embrace the idea of Twitter and come interested in trying something they thought they would never use! It does not matter whether you a millennial or a dinosaur, the educational opportunities on Twitter are endless!

This last week alone, I have found 24 exit ticket questions that I can use in my classroom and shared a Investigative social studies website for teachers and students. That does not include all the other awesome ideas and articles I have found on topics such as Standards Based grading, #MathChat, or #SciChat. In addition to all these great resources on Twitter, our staff at TJ has begun to embrace Twitter and we are sharing so much of all the great things that are happening in our classroom everyday! Please go on Twitter and follow @TJMSPride and search the #TJMSLearning. Our staff is working hard on finding positive resources to help in their classrooms while also sharing all the wonderful learning occurring in our classrooms daily!

Once again I will leave you with a video just to reinforce the idea of how powerful Twitter can be in Education!