Twiiter

Twitter is another very exciting social networking tool. To access twitter visit twitter.com, create an account and start tweeting. You can also find others on twitter who you either have a professional or personal interest in. To do this use the find people search and either search them by name or search them by interest. Once the person you have made the request to approves you, you will then begin seeing their updates in your friend’s time line. Keep in mind that your tweets will post in their timelines as well so if you are following for professional reasons be sure that you use correct grammar and sentence structure. Also be mindful of the information that you share through this type of medium. That is a rule that should be followed no matter what social networking tool you are using. I follow for both professional and personal reasons and I find value for using it both ways.
I have followed educators on twitter and have been very impressed with their information. While in the classroom I taught U.S. History. I have found someone who uses tiny URL to provide very interesting resources. This has helped me so much in that area. Currently I am the Coordinator of Instructional Technology for a school district and I have been able to use twitter to solve technology problems, get ideas and direction on integration strategies, and share information as well.
My director asked me not too long ago if we could set up a twitter account for our district without enabling replies so that we could minimize the level of monitoring that would be needed for usage of this type of tool. We want it to be a tool, not another task. I am still exploring this, so if any readers know the answer please share. I am very excited to explore it further and see what educational value for students it will have. So far the things that come to mind are that it can be a place for teacher to place class updates, assignment reminders, or announcements. However, I do feel we have tools better suited for those needs. I want to find a unique uses for twitter and this is why I will be investigating it further and will appreciate any information readers may have. In the mean -time feel free to follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/Chacha03