**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**
A guest post by Craig Kemp
As an educator that is addicted to using social media for professional learning, I wish I had a list of things to tweet about when I first started out.
This week I was inspired by @shiftparadigm and his list of Personal Rules for Twitter and a list of what a teacher should tweet about (anonymous, but first seen tweeted by @justintarte).
So in an effort to help those Educators on Twitter, here is my list of 9 things that educators should tweet about:
- Be yourself and show people that you are real! Tweet about what inspires you and what happens in your day to day life as an educator
- Create don’t consume by sharing images – people love to see what your classroom, school, project, activity etc. looks like so they can get inspiration
- Create don’t consume by sharing links to articles that you write or articles that you have read. Nearly every educator I know loves a good nighttime read
- Quotes and thoughts related to education (always remember to link to the author)
- Ask questions and give answers – tweet responses directly to people and ask questions if you are unsure
- Get involved in Twitter Chats – tweet your answers to questions and your thoughts to other educators tweets
- Support other educators by giving a ‘favourite’ or a ‘retweet’ to their posts. This shows that you appreciate and enjoy what they have tweeted
- Be positive – tell people how much you love their work, demonstrate positivity in everything you tweet. You can still be constructive and be passionate but always be respectful – like we tell our students “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it!”
- Suggest other educators to follow – you can do this at any stage but I like to make use of #FF (Follow Friday) where people share their favourite connections
I hope this list goes someway to help other educators get involved in Twitter. It has changed my life as an educator and as a leader and I hope that you get involved and utilise the power of a PLN.
Here are some other links to my other Twitter related posts that may be of interest:
- 10 steps to creating the perfect educational Twitter account
http://mrkempnz.com/2014/09/10-steps-to-creating-the-perfect-educational-twitter-account.html - Twitter for Beginners
http://mrkempnz.com/2014/10/twitter-for-teachers-a-live-learning-experience.html - My top 8 Twitter chats for educators
http://mrkempnz.com/2014/10/my-top-8-twitter-chats-for-educators-an-update.html - 5 tips for managing a fast paced Twitter chat
http://mrkempnz.com/2015/02/5-tips-for-managing-a-fast-paced-twitter-chat.html - Using Twitter in the classroom – my firsthand experience
http://mrkempnz.com/2014/05/using-twitter-in-the-classroom-my-firsthand-experience.html - Using Twitter in the classroom – from the student’s perspective
http://mrkempnz.com/2014/12/using-twitter-in-the-classroom-from-the-perspective-of-students.html - Twitter vs Paid Professional Development
http://mrkempnz.com/2011/05/twitter-vs-paid-professional-development.html
This post originally appeared on Mr. Kemp’s blog, and was republished with permission.
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Craig is a New Zealand born educator with over 10 years experience both in the classroom and in leadership. He is an enthusiastic, 21st century change agent that is passionate about every aspect of education and making a difference.
