Journal 4

Join the Flock

Enhance Your Twitter Experience - NETS 4

Miller, S. M. (2010). Enhance your twitter experience . Learning and Leading with technology, 37(8), 13-16. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publication/learning- leading/digitaledition/digital-edition-june-july-2010  

Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock. Learning and Leading with technology, 37(8), 12-14. Retrieved fromhttp://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning- leading/digitaledition/digital-edition-june-july-2010

Summary

"Join the Flock" written by Hadley Ferguson is an informative article about using Twitter to create or expand a Professional Learning Network or (PLN). I think that teachers using Twitter is a good idea. There is so much information and it is extremely easy to follow leaders of the education field. Ferguson wrote this in a very low pressure tone. He tells the reader that it is OK to stand in the shadows for a while and just take it all in. I think this is a good way to introduce this new world of communication. Many people in our 422 class were confused of the purpose of Twitter when we first made our accounts and I think it takes some time to get used to the idea. 
"Enhance your Twitter Experience" by Shannon McClintock Miller was a good second article to read because she took using Twitter to the next level. She offered a dictionary of Twitter-related lingo. She also provided a few examples of Twapplications, which are applications that make using Twitter easier and more organized. 

What is a PLN and why is it a useful resource to educators?

A PLN is a Professional Learning Network that can be used to learn and share information with others in the education world. A teacher's Personal Learning Network can be a great asset because it can be used for getting new ideas for lessons and activities. A teacher can also share activities that work well in his or her classroom with other teachers and education professionals.

What are some ways to enhance your Twitter Experience?

One example Shannon McClintock Miller mentioned that lots of people use is called TweetDeck. Tweet Deck is an application that organizes all of the tweets coming into your twitterstream. Utilizing Tweet Deck can make being part of a twitter conversation possible because it organizes all of the tweets coming in with a certain hashtag. When all of the tweets are in one place, they are formatted by cchronologically and accessible to anyone.