Learn how to use Twitter to grow as an educator. In addition, see how students can use the Twitter format to show their understanding of literature. Includes real student samples.

1. Twitter in the Classroom
Jason Stephenson
Deer Creek High School
Edmond, OK
@teacherman82
@teacherman82

2. Today’s Objectives
• Understand how Twitter works
• Determine ways Twitter can be used
for professional development
• Connect assessment with Twitter
• Create a Twitter account (if
applicable)
@teacherman82

3. Who has a Twitter account?

7. Twitter on the Web
www.twitter.com

8. Twitter on a
Smart Phone
•Free app
•On the go
@teacherman82

9. Tweetping.net

10. Tweetping.net
Wed., January 30, 8:45pm CST

11. Twitter at a Glance
• Social media website created in 2006
• Over 500 million users
• Microblogging (140 characters or less)
• Connect with educators, colleagues,
authors, organizations, pundits, students
• Opportunity for free, individualized
professional development
@teacherman82

12. Anatomy of a Tweet
Image courtesy of @RAndersonFHS & @Amy_LovesYA

13. Twitter 101: Key Terms
• Twitter: an online social networking
platform that allows users to send and
receive text-based messages known as
tweets
• Tweets: text-based messages of up to
140 characters (letters, symbols, words,
spaces, & punctuation)
@teacherman82

14. Only 140 characters?
Letters: OCTE
Numbers: 2013
Punctuation: ,.!:
Spaces
Symbols
@teacherman82

15. If Jane Austen tweeted…
• It is a truth universally
acknowledged, that a single
man in possession of a good
fortune, must be in want of a
wife.
• 23 characters remaining
• First line of Pride and Prejudice
@teacherman82

16. If Charles Dickens tweeted…
• It was the best of times, it was
the worst of times, it was the
age of wisdom, it was the age
of foolishness, it was the
epoch of belief, it
• 0 characters remaining
• First line of A Tale of Two
Cities
@teacherman82

17. If Harper Lee tweeted…
• When he was nearly thirteen,
my brother Jem got his arm
badly broken at the elbow.
When it healed, and Jem’s
fears of never being able to
• 3 characters remaining
• First lines of To Kill a
Mockingbird
@teacherman82

18. Twitter 101: Key Terms
• Twitter Feed: the running list of tweets
from the people you follow (subscribe to)
• The most recent tweets appear at the top.
• You control who you follow, so you control
how small or large your Twitter feed is.
@teacherman82

19. Twitter Feed
@teacherman82

20. What can you tweet?
• Updates on your classroom practice
• Questions to other educators
• Links to interesting articles & blog posts
• Live updates of an event or conference
(also known as “live-tweeting”)
• Photographs of student work
• Responses to a Twitter chat
• Just about anything!
@teacherman82

21. My Tweets
• 4 of 5 stars to Team Cul de Sac by Chris Sparks
http://t.co/Gw5SG8y7 Jan 27, 2013
• @NickRogerss Certainly. Jan 27, 2013
• @leviww You bested me! I need to practice my skills.
Kudos! Jan 27, 2013
• Try to beat me! My Ruzzle username is 'teacherman82'.
@ruzzlegame http://t.co/nFtN7JKZ Jan 27, 2013
• Tonight's din: Rachael Ray's creamy mushroom
spaghetti with leeks & parm http://t.co/dD5Wg96r Jan 27,
2013
• RT @_Snape_: #SomebodyTellMeWhy the Weasley
twins had the Marauder's Map and never questioned
why Ron was sleeping with a man named Pete ... Jan
27, 2013
@teacherman82

22. My Tweets
• "...to his administration's official position on what
constitutes a good school." --Alan C. Jones
http://t.co/F4z6Qsh6 #edchat Jan 26, 2013
• "Our highest government official [sends] his children to a
school with an instructional philosophy diametrically
opposed..." (1/2) Jan 26, 2013
• My secret family got me note cards with books on them.
They know me well. #DeerCreekPerks
http://t.co/qTPY1XQX Jan 26, 2013
• RT @OfficiallyAlly: Seriously, people. Being a teenager
isn't about figuring out who you should be with. It's about
figuring out who you ... Jan 26, 2013
• RT @Earth_Pics: Worlds most exotic Tennis Court.
Located on the top of Dubai's 7 star hotel Burj Al Arab.
http://t.co/VghSRBae Jan 26, 2013
@teacherman82

23. Twitter 101: Key Terms
• Follow: (verb) subscribe to the tweets of a user
• Followers: the people that subscribe to your
tweets
• Following: the number of people you follow
• Unlike Facebook, you do not have to follow
people that follow you, and vice versa. Users
will not receive messages if you decide to
unfollow them.
@teacherman82

24. Twitter 101: Key Terms
• @—a way of referring to another user
@teacherman82

25. Who to follow?
Create a personalized PLC.
Enjoy interesting professional development.
Make your account public or private.

26. Twitter Users / Tweeps
• Penny Kittle
• @pennykittle
@teacherman82

27. Twitter Users / Tweeps
• Kelly Gallagher
• @KellyGToGo
@teacherman82

28. Twitter Users / Tweeps
• Jim Burke
• @englishcomp
@teacherman82

29. Twitter Users / Tweeps
• Carol Jago
• @caroljago
@teacherman82

30. Twitter Users / Tweeps
• Donalyn Miller
• @donalynbooks
@teacherman82

31. Twitter Users / Tweeps
@teacherman82

32. Twitter 101: Key Terms
• RT—retweet—(verb) share the tweet of
one user with all of your Twitter followers
• Retweet tweets you find interesting,
important, and relevant to your followers.
• If a user retweets too much, go to the
user’s profile page on the Twitter website
to turn off their RTs. You cannot disable
RTs through the Twitter smart phone app.
@teacherman82

33. My retweets
• RT @_Snape_: #SomebodyTellMeWhy the
Weasley twins had the Marauder's Map and
never questioned why Ron was sleeping with a
man named Pete ... Jan 27, 2013
• RT @OfficiallyAlly: Seriously, people. Being a
teenager isn't about figuring out who you should
be with. It's about figuring out who you ... Jan
26, 2013
• RT @sethmeyers21: Favorite Discovery of the
Week: Chinese tennis player Li Na is really
funny http://t.co/9QS0gr60 Jan 26, 2013
@teacherman82

34. Twitter 101: Key Terms
• MT—a modified retweet—a revised or
edited tweet
• A way to give your followers better context
for what you want to retweet
@teacherman82

35. My modified tweets
• MT Beautiful sunset in the Sooner State!
“@rustysurette: Almost a perfect triangle in the
blazing sky. #Oklahoma http://t.co/lw6fyiH9” Jan
24, 2013
• The Credible Hulk “MT @morgetron: You
wouldn't like me when I'm angry. #engchat
http://t.co/ovOsOu8k” #ethos Dec 05, 2012
• Great tips for annotating an AoW: “MT
@annadhughes: Nice worksheet on "How to
Mark a Book" http://t.co/aseuSCJl” Oct 19, 2012
@teacherman82

36. Twitter 101: Key Terms
• Reply—when you directly respond to a specific
user beginning with their username
• Your Twitter followers will not see your replies
in their Twitter feeds unless they also follow the
user you are replying to.
• If your account is public, users can view your
replies by viewing all your tweets.
• Easy way for students to communicate with you
@teacherman82

37. My @ replies
• @Taylorsturner7 You could read the book too!
Jan 26, 2013
• @Ejar34 Buck Wild = Honey Boo Boo + Jersey
Shore Jan 25, 2013
• @ElaynaMarie22 Yes. Pick your own. Did you
get my Newsflash? Jan 25, 2013
• @hale27storm That book is fascinating and
unsettling! Jan 25, 2013
• @AngieSimonton I wonder how she would do
against Otis. Jan 25, 2013
@teacherman82

38. Twitter 101: Key Terms
• Favorite—(verb) mark an important tweet
by favoriting it.
• Read or watch a link to an article or video
contained in a tweet at a later date.
• Show agreement or support of a tweet
@teacherman82

39. My Favorites

40. Favorites
• Locate your favorites on your profile page
(“Me”)

41. Twitter 101: Key Terms
• DM—direct message—You can only send
a direct message to someone who follows
you.
• More private conversation
@teacherman82

42. My direct messages

43. Twitter 101: Key Terms
• Hash tag: a word or phrase preceded by a
“#.” By using hash tags, you can group
tweets around that topic.
• Hash tags act like hyperlinks. Click them
to see other tweets which also contain that
hash-tagged word or phrase.
@teacherman82

44. Twitter Chats
• Engage in scheduled or ongoing
educational discussions
• #engchat: weekly
• #titletalk: monthly
• #edchat: ongoing
• #ncte: ongoing
• #northr4p: classroom-focused
@teacherman82

45. Twitter Chats
• User TweetDeck or tweetchat.com to
keep up with rapid-fire chats
@teacherman82

46. Tweet Deck

47. TweetChat.com
@teacherman82

48. TweetChat.com

49. #engchat
• #engchat: a weekly Twitter chat on
Mondays at 7EST about current trends
and ideas for teaching English
• Each week has a different topic: teaching
vocabulary, writing instruction, online tools
for teachers, etc.
• Chats are archived at www.engchat.org
• The chat is hosted by @meenorami
@teacherman82

50. #engchat

51. #titletalk
• #titletalk: a monthly Twitter chat on the last
Sunday night at 7pm CST about reading.
• Each month has a different topic: social
issues with books, setting goals, graphic
novels, etc.
• Chats are archived at
http://titletalk.wikispaces.com
• The chat is hosted by @donalynbooks and
@colbysharp.
@teacherman82

52. #titletalk

53. #edchat
• Educators from around the world tag their
tweets with the #edchat hash tag.
• Meet other like-minded or differently-
minded educators through this hash tag.
@teacherman82

54. #edchat

55. #ncte
• English teachers from across America tag
their tweets with the #ncte hash tag.
• Meet other like-minded or differently-
minded educators through this hash tag.
@teacherman82

56. #ncte

57. #northr4p
• Claudia Swisher (@ClaudiaSwisher) at
Norman North High School created a
special hash tag for her Reading for
Pleasure classes.
• Students use #northr4p to tag their book
reviews and quotes, and Claudia RTs
them.
• They tweet to authors who sometimes
tweet back!
@teacherman82

58. Claudia Swisher
@teacherman82

59. #northr4p

60. Twitter in the Classroom
• Short posts
–compressed language
–summarization skills
–clever abbreviations, hash tags,
and memes
• Makes for quick assessment
@teacherman82

61. Tweeting Assessment
• To Kill a Mockingbird tweets
• No need to make an actual
Twitter account for this
• Use paper or a website
• http://faketweetbuilder.com
@teacherman82

62. Atticus Finch
@I_See_Gray
• What defines a man these days?
Character or color?
#WeAllKnowThatANSWER
• My children are remarkable. S/O to
@Scout_Finch for keeping the peace.
• @Ms.Dubose Jem will be happy to read to you
#sorryabouttheplants
• I am always a little up and to the left. Still got the
job done though. #GoodShotForAnOldMan
@teacherman82

63. Arthur Radley
@scissor_recluse48
• @PoutScouty235 You’re welcome
about the blanket. #payitforward
• What’s up with the kids at the school thinking
my tree’s fruit is poision? #Goonkids #eatup
• Someone give me the deets on the trial! I
wanna know if the world is ready 4 me again
• Totes just shanked @OleBobbyE after he
attacked two kids #whatapunk
@teacherman82

64. Scout Finch
@Scout_finch
• #thewayiseeit we’re all people, so why
don’t we all get treated equally?
#peoplethesedays
• @QueenAlexandria I hate being treated like I’m
stupid! I don’t want to act like a lady! I want [to] wear
overalls and run around outside everyday!
#tomboyproblems
• #thatawkwardmoment when you get in trouble for
using bad language when your cousin is really the
one who started it all. #stupiduncle
#stuckupcousinproblems
@teacherman82

65. Short Story Tweets
• “Searching for Summer” by Joan Aiken
• “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen
Vincent Benét
• “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray
Bradbury
• “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• Twitter was not the only project option, but
many students chose it, even students
who did not have Twitter accounts.

66. Searching for Summer
@teacherman82

67. Searching for Summer
@teacherman82

68. Searching for Summer
@teacherman82

69. Searching for Summer
@teacherman82

70. Searching for Summer
@teacherman82

71. By the Waters of Babylon
@john_sonofjohn
•The spirits in the Dead Place are drawing my spirit out
of my body #feellikeafishonaline
•I'm watching myself sleep but it's not me. Looking upon
the city of the gods where it doesn't get dark
•The gods are restless #alwaysinmotion
#thisplaceismagic
•The gods wisdom can't grow until all is peace
•They ran around like ants in the streets of their city.
Then the towers began to fall. Only a few escaped
#thinkinboutthegreatburning #anddestruction
@teacherman82

72. By the Waters of Babylon
@john_sonofjohn
•My father is a priest, I am the son of a priest.
#bejealous
•Going to the Dead Place #notevenscared
•Just touched the metal #stud #didntdie
#gonnabeapriest
•Finally a man. Dad said it's time #goingonajourney
•8 days to go #letsdothis #gotmybowandarrow
•Looking south, guess what I see... #placeofthegods
@teacherman82

73. By the Waters of Babylon
@john_sonofjohn
•Making the raft, singing to myself #soemotional
#imscared
•Finally made it over the river. Why is it forbidden?
•Not afraid anymore. Hungry for knowledge #andforfood
•Heading to the god road, big dog is following me. About
to lock them behind a door #seeyalater
#didntseeitcoming
•Dry and dusty in the house of gods. I think they washed
in the air. #gettingthirsty
@teacherman82

74. By the Waters of Babylon
@john_sonofjohn
• I see the dead god. The back of his hand is like dry
leather #ew #scaredtoapproachhim
• It's bugging me. How old is he? #confused
• We don't only go to the dead places for metal. There's
also books and writings and magic tools. But the
magic tools are broken #whatashame
• Lincoln, Biltimore, and Moses weren't gods. Nor were
they demons. They were men.
• We must build again #rememberingthedeadmansface
@teacherman82

75. There Will Come Soft Rains
@teacherman82

76. There Will Come Soft Rains
@teacherman82

77. There Will Come Soft Rains
@teacherman82

78. There Will Come Soft Rains
@teacherman82

79. There Will Come Soft Rains
@teacherman82

80. Meme
Picture
@teacherman82

81. Harrison Bergeron
@teacherman82

82. Harrison Bergeron
@teacherman82

83. Harrison Bergeron
@teacherman82

84. Harrison Bergeron
@teacherman82

85. More Ideas
• Cynthia Nichols, a professor at OSU,
tweets about upcoming due dates,
assignments, study tips, and sample test
questions for her students.

86. More Ideas
• Kevin Hime, the superintendent of Clinton,
created #cpsreds for his district.
• CPS: Clinton Public Schools
• Reds: Red Tornadoes (school mascot)

87. Jennifer Egan’s “Black Box”

88. More Ideas
• Ask questions
• Engage parents
• Post supplementary materials
• Write reviews (or include link)
• Direct message students & parents
@teacherman82

89. Twitter 101: Advanced Term
• Live-Tweet: to tweet about an event as it
is happening real time.
• “I’m going to live-tweet this ridiculous
movie on Netflix.”
• Teachers can live-tweet books, movies,
field trips, lessons, conferences, etc.
@teacherman82

90. Twitter Testimonials
• “Because students are so comfortable with
using social media, I found out things about
them that I could connect to our discussions /
writings. In addition, I use it as another method
for reminders. And, as a display of my hilarity!”

91. Twitter Testimonials
• “I LOVE the availability of information with
social networking, especially Twitter. I wish we
could spend more of our time during PD talking
about the different ways that people utilize this
tremendous source.”

92. Twitter Testimonials
• “Truly, I learn more sitting down in a 30 minute
period alone or sharing with other colleagues
via internet than in hours of "meetings"! I feel
like I have refreshing information to share every
day.”

93. Twitter Testimonials
@teacherman82

94. Twitter Testimonials
@teacherman82

95. Start your Twitter account!
• What’s stopping you?
@teacherman82

96. Sources
• Some Twitter 101 terms courtesy of Dr.
Kimberly Tyson (@tysonkimberly)
• Miller, Samantha. “50 Ways to Use Twitter
in the Classroom.” TeachHub.com
• http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/arc
hive/2013/01/what-twitter-really-looks-
like/272583/
@teacherman82

97. Today’s Objectives
• Understand how Twitter works
• Determine ways Twitter can be used
for professional development
• Connect assessment with Twitter
• Create a Twitter account (if
applicable)
@teacherman82

98. Twitter in the Classroom
Jason Stephenson
Deer Creek High School
Edmond, OK
@teacherman82
@teacherman82