Baby Steps to a PLN using Twitter: Get engaged!

Hopefully you've taken some baby steps-or giant steps-with Twitter since my last post. If you have, it's time for that next baby step. Learn from me and take those next steps sooner rather than later. It will change you from a passive observer to an engaged learner in your PLN.

1. Start Tweeting (I really had to push my growth mindset here!)

• It's okay to stalk observe Twitter to get a feel for it, but don't wait too long. I followed people off and on for about a year before I felt comfortable with how twitter works. Then I realized I needed to jump in if I was really going to grow. I still don't tweet that much but I'm getting better. New worlds do open up once you tweet more yourself.
• I dipped my toe in with "favoriting" Tweets. Yes, I Googled how to do this, too! This is when you click on the star to show you like what someone had to say (similar to "liking" on Facebook) or maybe you want to refer to that tweet later (like bookmarking).
• Then I started "retweeting". The idea that each click I made was going to build my Twitter personality for my PLN was scary for me. It wasn't until later that I understood hashtags  (below).
• Then I started sharing a few tweets of my own. Each tweet built my confidence and I'm sure soon I'll be Tweeting without a 20 second pause before hitting "send".

2. Follow and Start Hashtags

• It took me a bit to realize that you enter the hashtag into the "search" field and it will take you to the tweets that are using that hashtag. You can also save that search so you can easily go back to that hashtag. 
• When I created my first (and only) hashtag, I wanted a hashtag that my staff and I could use to share ideas and info so we started #rvwhatif. My staff and others in our school district use this hashtag when they want to share with my staff or give us a shout out.
• I have many teachers who create a hashtag each year to make it easier for the parents (and students) in their class to follow their journey on Twitter. 

3. Join a Twitter Chat

• I started with #MOedchat because I felt safe learning with some of the amazing educators in my PLN but you can start anywhere.
• Consider a Twitter Chat like walking into a room at a conference. The people from your PLN are there...plus many more. 
• Sometimes there are scheduled chats. They usually have guiding questions with a timeframe to answer the questions. Just like any discussion, you can choose to just listen by reading the tweets with that hashtag or you can jump in with a comment of you own by referring to the question number and including the hashtag. In a scheduled chat. you can follow how it works then tweet your thoughts when you get the hang of it (true confession: I haven't done this yet in a chat but it's my next mini goal. Baby steps for me.)
• You can also use that chat hashtag any time you think the people in that chat would like to see what you are tweeting

4. Random Ah-ha's

• Twitter is like a conversation going on constantly at a 24/7 coffee house (minus the coffee). The people you follow are the people in the coffee house who you know. Hashtags are what identify different conversations that you can choose to join or leave at any time. 
• You'll never read all of the Tweets out there so don't try and don't worry about it. You can tap into Twitter at any time by reading tweets, clicking on someone you follow or searching a hashtag.
• Starting a tweet with @ will make that tweet specific to the person you tag but is visible to anyone who follows both of you and it shows up in you twitter feed.
• What you tweet is captured in your Twitter feed and it builds who you are in the Twitterverse
• You can make lists of people you follow so you can read their conversations without wading through all of the Tweets from the people who tweet a lot. Tweet Deck is a great way to organize lists and hashtags or people you follow.

I recognize that I still have a lot to learn, but I wanted to share my "baby steps" journey so far. When I see how many PLN "experts" there are out there, I get quickly overwhelmed. Hopefully in sharing my experience, I can provide courage for people who have yet to take that first baby step. 

Baby Steps to Building My PLN with Twitter

I know there are many before me who have figured out how to build a PLN through social media (here's an overview of professional learning networks from Connected Educators). As educators, we are talking about personalized learning for our students. One of the best ways to improve in this approach to learning is to experience it for ourselves. Building a PLN is a great way to live out the personalization journey.

I decided to start my PLN journey with Twitter. For those who are new to Twitter and would like to enter this new dimension of PLN, I'd like to share a few lessons I learned and offer words of encouragement. Remember, I'm new enough at this to know I don't know much, but hopefully if I share my growth journey I can encourage others to build and learn from their own PLN. 

Less than a year ago I admittedly didn't get Twitter, I wasn't interested in getting it and I was secretly scared that I couldn't get it even if I tried. So I forced myself into a growth mindset. Along my learning journey, I created mini goals to keep myself moving forward and I love how much I've learned so far. I am blown away by how much learning there is to be done through Twitter so I can't help but share.

*Disclaimer: if you already are a Twitter user, my "baby steps" journey will likely not add anything to your skill set. However, if you have suggestions to improve our Twitter journey, we'd love to have you share them in your comments.

Here are the baby steps I took:

1. Join Twitter  (if you haven't already-I joined in 2012 but didn't do anything with it for two years. I told you...baby steps for me)

• Consider the purpose of your Twitter account and make the decisions below with this purpose in mind. I created my account to build my PLN and learn from others so you won't see me tweeting about the great meal I just ate or the amazing things my son does-usually. I do believe that we should have one online personality and I keep this in mind whenever I use social media. For me, choosing the purpose of my Twitter account helped me to keep my personal life and professional life organized....and I admit that my PLN may not love pictures of that amazing catch my son made at baseball practice.
• Create a handle (which is your @ name) that you'll stick with and that will represent you well. Mine is @laurajlac Not the most creative but it gets the job done. I wish I had used my full name to make it easier to search so you may want to do the same if you aren’t already established.
• Write your professional bio so others know who you are and what you stand for. @TraceyKracht encouraged me to use the same bio across all social media. This allows people to become familiar with your web presence. Here are some more tips from @InnovativeEd 
• Don't stay an "egg". Choose a picture of yourself that captures who you are. Just like your bio, use this picture across all social media so people can recognize you. Resist the temptation to use a silly picture of your dog or random clip art. People need to know who you are and see your smiling face. No pressure!

2. Start Following Others

• Follow people who will push your thinking and help you achieve the purpose of your Twitter account. Here are a few that I started with:
• @TraceyKracht
• @gcouros
• @E_Sheninger
• Follow respected colleagues who are already in the Twitterverse
• See who others are following, notice who posts tweets that interest you and follow them.

It amazed me how a "community" began to form as I followed more and more people. Because my purpose was to build and learn from my PLN, I added mainly educators, motivational leaders and colleagues. It really is a small world and Twitter lets you read and share ideas with others who have similar passions as you do.

3. Observe How Twitter Works

• Read tweets for content and to pick up on how mentions, retweets and favoriting work. There is a twitter etiquette but people are very understanding if you don't get it right the first time.
• Not sure about something, maybe a hash tag that everyone else just seems to get? Don't let that stop you. Embrace that growth mindset and Google it. Doing this not only gets me the answer but reminds me that others have the same questions because many have written about it.

Now that I'm building my PLN, I'm learning a ton and am getting great ideas from educators around the world. I was even inspired to start this blog, which is something I thought I'd never do! Thank you to the many colleagues to patiently taught me along the way.

My journey has admittedly been a timid one, which isn't usually like me. I think it was a combination of being fearful of doing something "wrong" that could negatively impact my reputation as an educator (I can't even imagine now what that "wrong" thing would be!) and the fact that it was all so foreign to me. 

So remember, baby steps...or just jump right in. Either way, there's just too much learning through Twitter to miss out. Get started today and next week I'll blog about growing from a passive Twitter observer to an engaged Twitter learner.

Share your journey with creating a PLN or starting Twitter. Do you have advice for those who are just jumping in?

The Moment

I love when children help me put things in perspective.

On the last day of school, one of my students was bursting with excitement. As he skipped into school he exclaimed, "I'm going on vacation to Colorado!". When I asked him when he was going, he kept skipping and yelled over his shoulder, "I don't know! I don't even know what today is!".

Well said.

His simple statement made my day. However, now weeks later, I can't stop thinking about it. There is a lot to be said for living in the moment, for appreciating the now and for reveling in genuine excitement. My young friend was completely in the moment. He was feeling the sheer joy of knowing that he was going on vacation...you know, whenever. Time didn't matter because he was so excited by the idea.

Each year, I am thankful for summer break. Besides providing time to decompress, it is the perfect crossroads for dreaming. The school year is far enough behind so I can more objectively learn from my successes and mistakes. On the horizon lies the promise of a fresh start, a new year with new possibilities. There are many directions I can take and, most importantly, I have time to reflect on each of them. What a gift.

So even as I gear up for the start of another school year, I am enjoying the moment. I am energized by the past school year and motivated by the anticipation of starting a new one. And, like all skilled vacationers, I can say with simple enthusiasm, "I don't even know what today is!".