My name is @TheresaShafer and I’m addicted to Social Media.
Okay, not really, I actually take time to read, kayak, knit, walk our dog, hang
out with friends, family and do many other things that don’t involve being
online.
That being said, my affinity for using social media
professionally, especially Twitter, began on November 10
th, 2008. At
the time, I was newly minted as Director of Technology for
Rochester Community School Corporation in
Indiana. I am not a “techie” by background, I am an elementary teacher with a
strong background in integrating technology in my classrooms, my superintendent,
Dr.
Debra Howe, felt that as we moved
into a 1:1 environment with wall to wall
project
based learning via a partnership with The
New Tech Network, we needed to focus on
technology integration, unblocking sites and tools , while modeling how to
incorporate them into the classroom authentically, not just in a lab setting.
When I needed help in my new role, the first place I went
was a tech directors listserv, my first post was something like “What are your
policies around students using cell phones for learning?” Wow, I practically
got hate mail! (In defense of that list, the voice has definitely evolved) but
in 2008, I needed a more progressive go-to source for collaboration!
Enter Twitter. Suddenly I’m a resource-finding genius for the
PreK-12 staff. Need an interactive, collaborative timeline? Need a resource for
royalty free music? How about an expert who will SKYPE with your class? I could
make it all happen with a tweet or two and have an answer for them in less than
10 minutes. All of that was happening when I was simply a “Twitter-Taker”. At
that point, I rarely answered others questions, I would give a re-tweet now and
then, I certainly valued the tool, but I was a taker!
Fast-forward to present day. My twitter style is much more
conversational. I tweet for New Tech Network, as well as continue to build my
own PLN. Every day I learn, find &
share resources, have conversations, have my ideas challenged, keep in touch
with schools, teachers & students from all over.
I have many examples I
could share around the power of using Twitter for both our professional
development as well as for our students! Here are just a few examples:
- #PBLChat is held every
Tuesday at 9pm EST. Each week people connect, share ideas and continue to
grow through this chat. One of my favorite aspects of this chat is that many
times students join. Here is a storify
that demonstrates the value of student voice throughout this chat. Check out the other archives of
the chat as well.
- Students at Sacramento New Tech High
created a zombie movie, Insert
Brains Here on their own time,
after tweeting their movie link, director Adam Rifkin re-tweeted
their movie and gave them critical friends feedback. Invaluable input
otherwise not available to these aspiring movie makers.
- Students at Danville New Tech High in
Illinois were exploring the novel My
Bloody Life, teacher Adam Babcock tweeted that a showing of the
documentary The Interrupters
would have great impact for his students. The Interrupters responded,
communicated via Twitter with students and culminated in an hour long
amazing SKYPE session with Alex
Kotlowitz. This
tells the story.
- Bloomington New Tech High
utilized Twitter to connect with higher-ed partner, Indiana University and the world
through their whole-school “Social Media for Global Change” project. They
explored how to go from talking about global issues to taking action.
Their story is here.
I could fill pages with all of the “Twitter wins” I’ve
witnessed or even helped to facilitate. So why do we do this? We do this to
connect our students & ourselves to ideas, resources and most importantly
people that we may have never otherwise met. This
Ignite Talk I delivered at our National
Conference this summer tells in more detail why we should be building bridges
with Twitter.
I’d love to hear from you! Please share your “Twitter Wins”!
