I have been an active contributor in the Twitterverse for several years now. I find it to be one of the most powerful tools to build community around a topic of interest and share information broadly across the globe. I have also used Twitter as a learning tool with my students. Each semester I use the course code as a hashtag and post an embedded widget in the LMS. Respectful of the fact that some students don't want to get a Twitter account but still need access to the information that we're sharing as a class, embedding the widget enables them to participate. Throughout the week I ask they find one article, blog post, etc related to the upcoming weeks topic and post it to Twitter using our hashtag. At the beginning of class we go through some of the articles together and have a discussion about the topic before the lesson begins. Students really enjoyed this activity and it helped them develop connections with others around the world. Using Twitter is also valuable to grow a personal learning network (PLN) and connect with others you may never have connected with otherwise.If you'd like to connect about anything education I can be found @alissabigelow! I look forward to meeting you!

~Alissa