college academic advisor

What I Learned from Twitter

Who would have thought that when Twitter started several years ago,  it would evolve into what it is today.  I never used Twitter until last year.  I tend to resist using new technology until I have no choice but to embrace it!  Once I get over the fear of trying out a new piece of software and or technology, I usually end up loving it and can’t imagine why I did not start using it earlier.  Twitter was one of those things, I should have been tweeting!  One thing I did decide, I would only be using it for professional purposes.  What I found was a plethora of information from other professionals in higher education.  You are tweeting with people you do not know but are willing to share ideas, best practices and share professional wisdom and advice with you.  The resources that you can tap into from others across the country are amazing.  Using Twitter as a method of professional development is beneficial to educators and their students.  The objective of Twitter is to get enough people to follow you and reply to tweets.   If you are using this as a teaching method for a lesson with your students the outcome/purpose of Twitter is going to be different.  There will be safety concerns and privacy of information to be aware of with students.  I am using it for professional development purposes so my search is only for people in higher education with an academic background. 

Below are two good short (2.5 minutes) video on “how to get more people to follow you” and “how to get more leads on Twitter”.  These are good if you are getting started and want more followers to your account.  I found them helpful to get the Twitter process started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wwJrYlcwTHI