Twitter Mosaic

I just accidentally ran across the new Twitter Mosaic as I was catching up on reading some blogs that I follow. @Crista has a great blog called Reflections on Practice, and I happened to see where I was tagged for "passing the torch" so others can see the latest way for easy access to all of your Twitter friends. I am a member of several social networks, and in my opinion, Twitter is at the top of the list! I just feel a greater connection where I can log on to Twitter.com and have quick access to a wealth of information.
Twitter is an important part of my newly established PLN where I can read the latest findings for research, best practices, cool classroom technology tools, and all other interesting (or even bizarre) discoveries that compel readers to click the attached link for more information. Even though I began using Twitter for educational purposes, I have gained so much more from recommended books to read and recipes to try, to political views and thoughts on the economy. The best part is that I can count on a quick response to an unanswered question that I toss out there in an update of 140 characters or less. I have found that there are so many gifted and talented educators all over the world who are willing to spend any amount of time sharing their experiences so that it might benefit someone else. It just gives me the feeling of being connected and being on the forefront of the latest uses of technology in the classroom.

Just three months ago before I knew of Twitter, I was implementing limited technology. I continued to just "think" about blogging, I had never heard of wikis, and I never knew what technology tools could do for strengthening my students' grammar and writing skills. Now I am using an interactive blog with my students, a classroom wiki, and we have partnered with another school across the country collaborating on our writing and sharing about cultural likenesses and differences. Not only am I gaining from social networking, but my students are greatly benefiting as well.

I decided to track the mosaic back from the person who tagged me, who tagged her, etc. I found some new fabulous educators to follow and it was neat to see some familiar faces among the different Twitter Mosaics.

I will now tag some "Tweeples" who I have gained so much knowledge from and who have been such an inspiration. The first one is @msmithpds my tech support who introduced me to the land of Twitter. The second person is @cthumphreys who I give credit to for my blogging efforts. @grammasheri is a brilliant, dedicated, and creative teacher who has taught me so much in the short 3 months that I have known her. @AngelaMaiers is doing remarkable work as she is always posting the latest educational research on her blog as well as making her tweets so informative and thoughtful. @Kellyhines has an awesome blog where she discusses the latest educational topics and uses of technology in the classroom, and she is dedicated to helping others on Twitter. As others have said before me, don't feel obligated to continue tagging. I wanted to highlight some pretty fabulous people who have made a difference in the transformation that I have made in the past few months, and this was just a way to say THANKS!!!



(I had to remove my Twitter Mosaic because it tremendously slowed the loading of my blog site)

Here are the rules:
1. Go to http://sxoop.com/twitter/ to create your mosaic (you can choose friends or followers).
2. Copy the code and paste it into a blog entry.
3. Reflect and comment on your mosaic.
4. Tag some “tweeples.”
5. Link back to this post or the post where you were first tagged.

Tweeting on Twitter

Twitter.com It is great to feel connected to the rest of the world! I feel excited to know that I am a part of a network where the latest technology is being shared and a wealth of educational information is posted, and it all happens in a 140 character tweet!

I began taking time to read Twitter bio's in order to find other educators who I could learn from, but I soon realized that there are people who are educators who don't have teaching degrees. I follow people who travel the world and tweet about their experiences, as links to authentic photos are shared. From a writing teachers perspective, writing prompts are born and pictures can tell a story all on their own. What a great idea to use as a critical and creative thinking/writing activity. The students could analyze the image captured and headlines or captions could support their interpretations.

I also follow someone who posts daily quotes. These quotes could be used as a reference when needing to grab a reader's attention in an essay! Better yet, they can be analyzed for meaning and students can determine how it applies to their own life.

Not only do I get writing ideas, but I also learn about the latest news. Someone sent out a tweet that was about the HMS Victory wreck being found and with it came a direct link to the site. The Los Angeles Times quoted, "American salvagers say they have discovered the long-sought wreck of HMS Victory, the mightiest and most technologically advanced warship of its time, which sank during a violent storm in the English Channel in 1744." This is historical news at our fingertips and a great way to bring current events into the classroom for discussion about what was happening during the time of the Colonial Wars.

Through Twitter, I have learned about the latest technology tools that I can take and creatively gear toward an English or writing skill. The tech tools can serve so many purposes and can be applied to almost any skill that is being taught. It can be a bit overwhelming because of all that is available, so I need to remind myself that I should really learn the use of one tool before moving on to another.

One thing that I don't want to forget to mention is the importance of giving back. I always make sure that I am doing my share of research outside of twitter and contributing just as much, if not more, than what I am taking.