I am obsessed! I have reached the point where I need to take a break because my brain may explode from the overload of information and excitement that Twitter brings me. This was not always the case, in fact getting on Twitter is quite the story! I had just started a graduate course with a passionate professor about Educational Technology. Marialice BFX Curran (@mbfxc) is the most passionate, inspiring, and courageous educator I know! She has started me on this journey and I will be forever grateful. Her first assignment was to create a Twitter Account and assign a picture (you do not want to be an egghead!). I was VERY hesitant, scared, and skeptical. Why would I want to put myself out there? Who will want to follow me? How will twitter help bring technology into my classroom? Begrudgingly I signed up for Twitter and created a lame username (wish I could change it but I had no intention of using Twitter beyond the course). I even went through all the settings to ensure that I was private, only people I wanted to see could see my tweets, and I would only follow people I knew face to face (in my grad class) unless otherwise specified by Marialice. However, that did not work. I had followers that I did not know. I feared that my profile would reflect something or some idea that I did not agree with. It basically came down to my insecurities of the unknown. Nevertheless, I stuck with it, slowly. During that semester, I used Twitter to connect with an author, a middle school teacher, and other first grade teachers. Here is a Glogster representing the use of Twitter during that semester. All of this was a slow process, it was painful, there was a lot of nail biting, and hopeful thinking. My interactions with others on twitter was basically a public e-mail (in the shortest form). I would reply to a tweet and participate in a class discussion but I wouldn't check back on it often, scour for ideas, or linger too long on the webpage.
From there I would continue to lurk and find new resources that I could use in my classroom. The next semester I took a course in blogging. My experience with blogging was a lot easier than Twitter. I felt in control of the content and the scope of it's reach, for now. I wanted my students to be able to blog as well, so I set out to Twitter to find other classes that were blogging and to find out where to start. Having already followed Kathy Cassidy (@kathycassidy) I knew she would be a good place to start and from there I was introduced to Karen Lirenman (@Klirenman) and Leka Degroot (@lekadegroot). These two are my idols. I read many posts by Karen and was inspired to turn my classroom into a transformative mecca based on her use of technology in the classroom. From Karen, I found Kristen Wideen (@mrswideen) and from Leka I met a host of other first grade teachers that I would collaboratively participate in a 7 way GHO to celebrate Dr. Seuss. All of these connections were made through Twitter.
However, in February of 2015 there was a turning point. I am not 100% sure what it was but my Twitter excitement began. The number one change was participating in #1stchat on Sunday nights at 8:00pm. Sundays are usually work days for me. I spend Sundays planning, organizing and getting ready for the week. Planning for Guided Reading consumed my life! I would plan for hours for each group I would meet with, go to school Monday and the whole plan be shot because my timing was off, or the lesson didn't quite go as expected. I needed a change and I had exhausted my resources within my school. Lucky for me, the topic of #1stchat was guided reading. I had a question and I was seeking to find an answer. I got that and so much more! I felt validated, satisfied, and friendship. Participating in this chat brought so much satisfaction to my life that I even participated while on vacation in Vermont. Sundays at 8:00 EST I have a date with the best first grade teachers in the world!
Whether it is blogging, twitter, or roller coasters I have learned that as I have grown older I have lost that kid- like attitude. The risk-taking, the courage, the think about consequences later has been lost but slowly I find the glimmer of light that excites me like a kid. When someone favorites my tweet, or the enthusiastic banter of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory quotes going back and forth, or a teacher shares an idea that I know will be a game changer in my classroom the light shines through.
I am still cautious when it comes to sharing my thoughts and ideas but I love Twitter, more importantly I love the educators I connect with on Twitter. I have changed my ways and I am never looking back. Terry (@firstatbat) said it best in a recent chat "At first it felt like making time, now it is just a part of how I do what I do..." in response to a question about how you make time for Twitter chats.
Twitter will become part of what you do, give it time, build your PLN and watch the interest grow!
From there I would continue to lurk and find new resources that I could use in my classroom. The next semester I took a course in blogging. My experience with blogging was a lot easier than Twitter. I felt in control of the content and the scope of it's reach, for now. I wanted my students to be able to blog as well, so I set out to Twitter to find other classes that were blogging and to find out where to start. Having already followed Kathy Cassidy (@kathycassidy) I knew she would be a good place to start and from there I was introduced to Karen Lirenman (@Klirenman) and Leka Degroot (@lekadegroot). These two are my idols. I read many posts by Karen and was inspired to turn my classroom into a transformative mecca based on her use of technology in the classroom. From Karen, I found Kristen Wideen (@mrswideen) and from Leka I met a host of other first grade teachers that I would collaboratively participate in a 7 way GHO to celebrate Dr. Seuss. All of these connections were made through Twitter.
However, in February of 2015 there was a turning point. I am not 100% sure what it was but my Twitter excitement began. The number one change was participating in #1stchat on Sunday nights at 8:00pm. Sundays are usually work days for me. I spend Sundays planning, organizing and getting ready for the week. Planning for Guided Reading consumed my life! I would plan for hours for each group I would meet with, go to school Monday and the whole plan be shot because my timing was off, or the lesson didn't quite go as expected. I needed a change and I had exhausted my resources within my school. Lucky for me, the topic of #1stchat was guided reading. I had a question and I was seeking to find an answer. I got that and so much more! I felt validated, satisfied, and friendship. Participating in this chat brought so much satisfaction to my life that I even participated while on vacation in Vermont. Sundays at 8:00 EST I have a date with the best first grade teachers in the world!
Whether it is blogging, twitter, or roller coasters I have learned that as I have grown older I have lost that kid- like attitude. The risk-taking, the courage, the think about consequences later has been lost but slowly I find the glimmer of light that excites me like a kid. When someone favorites my tweet, or the enthusiastic banter of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory quotes going back and forth, or a teacher shares an idea that I know will be a game changer in my classroom the light shines through.
I am still cautious when it comes to sharing my thoughts and ideas but I love Twitter, more importantly I love the educators I connect with on Twitter. I have changed my ways and I am never looking back. Terry (@firstatbat) said it best in a recent chat "At first it felt like making time, now it is just a part of how I do what I do..." in response to a question about how you make time for Twitter chats.
Twitter will become part of what you do, give it time, build your PLN and watch the interest grow!