8 Good Reasons Why Educators Should Use Twitter

I went to a really good professional development session up in Deniliquin last week. It has completely changed the way I see myself in the wide world of education.

The session I attended was run by the HT of Maths at Deniliquin HS, Meagan Rodda. (You can find her on Twitter - @meaganrodda) Our two focus points were Twitter and Maang. Now, don't get me wrong. Maang is a nice idea. But Twitter... Oh. My.

Since the session, I've been connecting to educators all over the world and improving my own teaching practice. I even ran a Twitter session here at our school. Hopefully the idea will catch on.

Since last week, I've perused the internet for as much educational Twitter info as I could find.



Here are the top 8 reasons I could find that you, as an educator, should be connected through Twitter:




1. It is free professional development.

2. It is quick and convenient.

3. It is a free marketing tool.

4. It is eco-friendly. No need to send out paper notices to students or their parents. Have information longer than a tweet allows? Link to the school blog, where all information can be communicated at length, with relevant links and in colour.

5. It is a direct line of communication between the school and parents. And it’s instant.

6. It is the future. Our students need 21st century skills to thrive in the modern world.  As educators, it is our responsibility to teach them to use these new text types safely and effectively.  This means, if you’re interested, you can build a classroom twitter trend.

   For example:

   In class, I ask my students to tweet a statement reflecting on their    learning for the day. They must include the hash tag #norbseng.  A portion of their class work mark (the portion usually dedicated to student reflection) is generated based on their ability to successfully communicate in this medium in an appropriate form.

 7. It is a means of staying up to date with the Board of Studies, Teachers Federation, DET and any other important educational body. The news comes directly from the top, removing the middle-man.

8. Instead of relying on your own innovations, or those of teachers you have regular access to, you will be able to connect directly with leading educators and their resources from across the globe. Need a video to help demonstrate world biomes? Tweet, and ye shall find.

I'm sure there are more ways to use Twitter in the educational setting, and I'm keen to find out what they are!