Journal 2: "Join the Flock"

Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock. Learning and leading with technology, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2011.aspx

Summary: It is important for educators to have a PLN or Personal Learning Network.  Twitter can play a large role in a PLN.   The article went on to say how it is important to have a good bio because people often to choose whether or not to follow you based on your bio.  Twitter provides an opportunity for educators to come together to talk about good educational resources as well as ideas or issues.  At first you don't necessarily have to say anything in the conversations, you can read and learn.  After you find people to follow, conversations come to you.  It is also important to "retweet" information so that helpful links/tips can be shared with more people.  That is often how you get more people to follow you.  The next step is to then join the conversations and to share your ideas.  Using hashtags or the pound sign is also important because it gives you more exposure.

Q1:  How can I use twitter to help me become a better teacher?
        Twitter can enable to be a better teacher by giving me access to more resources.  There are people out there who have probably been in situations in the classroom that I haven't and I can learn from them.  Twitter can provide access to more information without having to do much work finding it.  Instead of possibly spending hours looking for answers or tips, twitter can provide immediate responses to questions or problems.

Q2: How can I contribute to Twitter?
      I can contribute by sharing my findings with the twitter world.  If I come across a good article I read or learned something interesting, I can post a link to share with others.