Twitter = PLN, PD & PJs

A few years ago I began participating in Twitter Chats with my district. I enjoyed it so much I began to branch out and found a few chats that provided unlimited information and connections WAY beyond my usual space. I wrote about it here. It is super easy for me to use to connect with others. I can scan it quickly when I have a moment and retweet a few things to read later. I may be known to read articles and watch TED Talks late at night when I cannot sleep. ; ) I encourage you to try Twitter as a method of collaboration and connection to push you beyond the walls of your school. Plus you can search, chat and learn in your pjs!

One of my favorite chats while I taught first grade was #1stchat. I still love learning from so many amazing educators I connected with through this incredible group. They encouraged me to also have a Twitter account for my classroom. My class now follows @Wonderopolis, our local weather, NASA, Peter H. Reynolds, GoldieBlox, etc. and we are thrilled that most of the people we follow will respond to us when we have questions, comments or WONDERs from WONDER Wednesdays (our Genius Hour).

Last year I moved to second grade and I was excited to learn about #2ndchat. Again, I was learning from others all over the world on how to improve myself as an educator and finding new ways to connect my students (we participated in a Holiday Card Exchange, a 24 Hour Skype-athon and other amazing experiences). 

This year I am moving to third grade and I am looking forward to the new connections I will make with another group of educators. Tonight I searched #3rdchat in hopes that one exists and found they chat Wednesday nights at 8pm EST. While I was scrolling through #3rdchat, I found a few new people to follow. The amazing thing about Twitter to me is that I was only on a few minutes, found a whole new group of educators to learn with, began following a dozen new people, heard back from a few already and gained some new ideas - including the Postcard Exchange!

I want to encourage you to get started on Twitter. I can go on and on about how much I learn via this amazing tool, but you have to try it to know. It is as much as you make it - you can connect with people, lurk on chats, collaborate with experts, and share what you experience. Go for it!