building collections of web links with peers that they work with in person, teachers have discovered that digital tools can make sharing—one of the most approachable collaborative practices—easier for everyone.
Finding Sources of Professional Challenge and Inspiration
One of the best examples of the benefits of sharing first and gathering later in education is the groups of connected educators curating content for one another on Twitter (www.twitter.com), a social space that often serves as an entry point for any teacher interested in exploring the impact that digital tools can have on collaborative practice. Users who spot potentially valuable resources in online spaces—blog entries, research reports, student project samples, lesson plans, provocative videos—can publicly broadcast what they are finding in short, 140-character messages, called tweets, with one click of a browser-based button. While individual messages are often shared without intentionality—users are generally not concerned with who sees the content that they post to Twitter—each message draws attention to useful content, which has the potential to save others time, energy, and effort.
Shirky (2008) argues that reducing the barriers to sharing allows tools like Twitter to make it possible for latent groups to “self-synchronize” (Kindle location 540). Because the perceived value of sharing websites with one another has always been low, large groups of users with shared interests—think teachers—never bothered to invest time and energy into organizing the online content that they were finding for one another. However, Twitter makes sharing websites easy, increasing the perceived benefits of the practice in the eyes of users. When sharing—and discovering the shares of others—becomes a one-click process, it also becomes a collaborative behavior that we are more likely to embrace.
Self-synchronization becomes even more powerful for educators when users start adding hashtags to their Twitter posts. Hashtags—like the labels added to Flickr images that made organizing Mermaid Parade photos possible—are unique identifiers added to the end of individual tweets. They typically start with the # symbol and are followed by a short phrase indicating the kind of content that is being shared. Messages that include content connected to PLCs, for example, are tagged #atplc. Messages that include content connected to educational technology are tagged #edtech. Messages that include content connected to school leadership are tagged #cpchat, and messages that include content connected to global education are tagged #globaled.
When users add hashtags to posts in Twitter, others can search for and find their tweets. Teachers of a specific grade level like kindergarten (#kinderchat) are using hashtags to organize content for one another in Twitter. So are teachers working in unique subject areas (#physed), teachers working in entire states and countries (#txed, #aussieED), and teachers with particular interests (#geniushour). That means any teacher—regardless of grade level, content area, or professional passion—can search Twitter (www.twitter.com/search) to find valuable resources. By making it easy to access a constantly updated stream of resources connected to teaching and learning, Twitter can serve as a source of instructional support and intellectual challenge for PLC members. Revising and reflecting on instructional practices—behaviors that define the work of the most effective learning teams—starts with exposure to new ideas and outside evidence.
Twitter can become much more than a ready source for finding web-based resources, though. Over time, Twitter can also become a ready source for finding new colleagues to learn alongside and to lean on. As teachers begin to follow streams of messages connected to their individual interests, they inevitably spot individuals who are regularly sharing content that resonates. With little effort—replying to other teachers in Twitter is also a one-click process—members of learning teams can reach out and establish new partnerships with teachers who are studying the same topics. While the interactions in Twitter are often superficial—cooperation and collective action can’t happen 140 characters at a time—interactions in Twitter can lay the groundwork for more meaningful connections outside of the platform. It is not at all unusual for seasoned Twitter users to turn to members of their digital network when they have questions or need inspiration.
Taking advantage of Twitter’s sharing power depends on the following reminders.
Remember to Follow Users With Similar Interests as Yours
One of the easiest ways to access quality content in Twitter is to “follow” other users. When you choose to follow other users, the messages that they post will be added to the time line on your Twitter home page. That means the choices you make about who to follow are incredibly important. Fill your home page with people teaching similar grade levels, content areas, or both, and you are bound to find useful content every time you log in. Fill your home page with people working outside of your field, and you are bound to waste time sifting through irrelevant resources in order to find anything of value.
Remember to Find and Follow Hashtags Connected to Your Interests
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