Our Twitter Challenge- Pursuing 21st Century Professional Development (Part 1)

The pursuit of professional development is something which is increasingly more difficult now than ever for educators, but hasn't lost any of its significance in our growth.  Due to financial constraints and mixed support from schools, educators may find achieving quality growth opportunities.  But, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't try.

One of my goals each summer is to find some way in which to achieve this growth.  I try to find a great conference, or read a great book, but the goal is simple:  come back to school invigorated by having been challenged through some kind of professional development.  Without a doubt this summer was the biggest for me in terms of growth as an educator, and I have one medium to thank for it:  Twitter.

We're back in school now, and I am still brimming with the excitement that comes from professional growth, I want to get as many teachers within my building as I can on Twitter; they need the resource, and we need to grow together as a team.  To that point I've begun what I am calling the #GetConnected Challenge, a "Twitter in 5" challenge designed to encourage online discussion and afford a great way for the teachers in our building to pursue 21st Century professional development.  The challenge will take place over the course of 5 weeks, with each week putting a new challenge in front of the teacher.  The weeks lay out as follows:

Week 1- Make a professional Twitter. Put your picture up, fill in a bio, and send a Tweet.  Familiarize yourself with the basic vocabulary and uses of Twitter:

• Favorite
• Retweet
• Hashtag- tagging and chats
• Direct messaging
• Notifications 

If you have questions or need help, just ask!

Week 2- Brainstorm at least three ways Twitter could be used to advance your teaching, and Tweet the ideas with the hashtag #fhsconnect; this way we can all learn from your ideas.  Remember that Twitter use in a classroom or for a teacher is not a “one size fits all” deal; it may work differently for you than others.  Consider classroom posts, class hashtags, a connect to your blog, a connect to other blogs which inspire you, participating in a Twitter chat, etc.

Week 3- Follow at least 10 other users.  Consider going to other teachers, even in the building, and seeing who they follow.  Remember: the more people you follow, the more you’ll get out of Twitter!  Building your PLN is key to getting the most out of Twitter!

Week 4- Post at least 3 Tweets that details something going on in your classes.  It could be a text Tweet, picture of your class at work, etc. If you’re comfortable, post even more!

Week 5- Participate in a Twitter chat.  These are usually titled with hashtags, and some of my favorites are #edchat, #sunchat, #saskedchat, #leadupchat, and #kidsdeserveit.  Below, however, you will find a table with some other awesome options.  By searching these hashtags, you can access prior discussions and/or posts.  There are many that are content-area specific (mine is #sschat); look for those.  If you find great chats that inspire you, please share with us!

chat	who	when
#sunchat	Sunday Chat	Most Sundays, 9:00 am EST
#satchat	Saturday Chat	Saturdays, 7:30 am
#bfc530	Teacher inspiration chat	Every week day, 5:30 am, all time zones
#nt2t	Teachers new to Twitter	Saturdays, 8 am EST
#edchat	Education Chat	Tuesdays at 12 pm
#urbanedchat	Urban Ed Chat	First Sundays of the month, 9 pm EST
#engchat	English Chat	Mondays at 7 pm
#mathchat	Math Chat	Times vary
#sschat	Social Studies Chat	Mondays at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET
#ntchat	New Teacher chat	Wednesdays at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET

Week 6 and Beyond- Hopefully this has gotten you started down a road to growth.  For some of you, perhaps this isn’t going to work.  But I hope most of you see the value in this kind of 21st Century PD!  My goal with Twitter is to try an commit at least 20 minutes a day.  Some days I don’t, some days I go well beyond.  But I know that I have honestly come treasure the relationships I have built, and continue to build, with my PLN, and I hope you find the same!

Without a doubt I'm excited about where this could take us as a school, and each teacher as individual educators.  I've labeled this post as "Part 1" because I hope to reflect on the challenge at its conclusion, with (hopefully) great stories to share.  Before I conclude I have to give credit where it's due.  I am certainly not the first to encourage something like this in a school.  I give big thanks to the advice and support of some EduRockStars:  Abbey Dick (@abbeydick), Todd Nesloney (@techninjatodd) and Adam Welcome (@awelcome).

Let's see how this goes, and let's grow together!