The Next Step

Getting Started with Twitter

5 Easy Steps

Twitter is a microblog in which you post status messages, links to research, websites or whatever you think is interesting with people in your own personal network. My Personal Learning Network (pln) is made up of edtech and online teachers from around the world.  It has been my greatest source of learning in the last two-plus years.  You can also use twitter to find out whats going on in places.  Take the Iran Election for example.  Average people will post real time messages about what is happening in Iran that you can track if you follow that person on Twitter or simply search #iranelection (all one word and include hashtag).  You can use Twitter to communicate with friends, family, or follow celebrities if that’s your thing.  Its amazing how much information you come across in a day that you will want to share if you know people are listening.

1.  Go to Twitter.com and sign up.  Fill out your profile and make sure you add a clear headline/description and picture.  Click here for an excellent blog post that will highlight the importance of getting off to a good start.

2.  Then go to Find People up on the top bar.  Search mrplough07 and when the results pop up click Follow next to my name.  You will notice I follow about 290 people or so.  Each of them is in the edtech field except for an occasional reporter or website owner.

3.  To begin building a list of people with edtech interests, go through some of the people I follow.  Click on their name and look at their profile page.  I always look to the short bio at the top right which is their personal description.  If they are edtech-change agent-type people, I follow them.

4.  After you click on a few people and follow them, then go to Home and watch your Twitter stream.  Messages that the people you follow will come on the page.  The more you follow the more messages and the faster they will pop up.  Click on links and begin learning.

5.  Let me know if you have any questions.  When you sign up to follow me I will get a notice.  Please send me an email (or direct message in Twitter) with your username so that I can tell my edtech friends to welcome you to the community.

note:  I originally wrote this in a lesson for my grad school class but decided to put up here in case anyone else could use it.

Twitter Avatar, Colored Green to Support People of Iran in their Fight for Democracy, for pics click here

Introoooducing:

What better way to get me around my writing embargo then a little post dedicated to just me, about me, and not about anything else but me   Well, actually I’m going to dedicate this to Beth Still and Adina Sullivan who both tagged me with this meme within a couple days so now I feel obligated to respond.  As a few of you know, I haven’t written much this school year so far, but I hope that can change.  As for now, lets try to uncover a little more of who I am.  Wow, that sounds strange to say outloud (or even in my head).

Here are the rules to participating in the 7 things meme:

• Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter and/or Plurk.

Here we go:

1.  I have lived in 37 houses and 21 towns/cities/municipalities in my 33 years.  I was not an air force brat, but moved alot nonetheless.  Wish I could tell you more about that one but I will have to leave it to imaginations.

2. I have neck, back, wrist, elbow, knee, and hip problems.  I think its from all the sports I played growing up, or all the time I spend on the computer, or I guess it could be that degenerative spine issue my ortho talks so highly of.  From what I understand it’s common but the doctor says I should probably avoid picking up my 17 month old son anymore if I want to be able to walk when I’m older.  That sounds depressing, really, its not so bad.

3.  I believe in sarcasm.  Some say its for the weak.  Others say it just masks insecurities.  For me, I just use it as another way to critique what I see as wrong in the world so its more of an analytical tool.

4.  I actually liked High School even though I almost didn’t graduate.  Well, let me be clear.  I hated most of my classes, disliked most of my teachers, couldn’t stand the emotional ups and downs, but all in all, I have fond memories.  I wonder if thats just time dilluting the experience.  When I decided to become a teacher, it was because I wanted to help kids who weren’t going to make it through unless someone took an interest in them.  I don’t think anyone ever took an interest in my future so I want to be that person for a few.  I’m not sure how this all adds up to me liking HS, but I can tell you I certainly didn’t hate it as much as most of my students do.

5.  I looooooooooooooooooovvvvvvve movies.  Watching them is my favorite hobby.  My other favorite hobbies include playing on the computer, playing with my Nintendo Wii, and eating brownies.  All of which add up to me not leaving the house very much.  Maybe I should find some new hobbies?

6.  If I could go anywhere in the world right now it would be Ireland.  That probably has to do with the fact that I was born on St. Patricks Day, have freckles, auburn hair, and no living relative who can definitively tell me if I have Irish in my blood.  There is something alluring about the possibility so I will just believe my grandma when she says “I think you have a little, sure.”

7.  I long to be led or to lead by goodness, intelligence, openness, and collaboration.

Tag, you’re it:  Oh, and since I haven’t been reading too many blogs recently, sorry if you were already tagged but just know I was thinking about you.

@teachakidd – she is funny
@michellek107 – she is funny too
@mkbwsu – leader in online education
@robinellis-  I wish I had her job, I think
@stonyriver – so generous with his knowledge
@robletcher – great ideas about online education
@kdumont – Mr. Mac

A student of mine contacted me the other day and asked if he could use Quizilla to complete a compare and contrast assignment by making a quiz.  It seemed like a really interesting method for a student to demonstrate a higher level of thinking so I said “go for it” before I even looked at the site. When I pulled up the site the next day, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it offered 5 ways to create:

• quizzes
• stories
• polls
• poems
• lyrics

A student could use any of those creative options to demonstrate learning for most of my lessons.  I sent this out to my kids and told them to feel free to develop and publish their own story as a replacement for any writing assignment as long as they cover the basic lesson requirements.  Meaning, if their story shows me they understand my objectives then they can be as creative as they want in how they turn work in.

They could also create a poll and publish it.   If its interesting enough people will take the poll and they could share the results as part of the assignment.

Writing poetry or lyrics for a song takes a special talent, so I encouraged them to “use it if they got it” but just make sure they demonstrate clear knowledge of the topic.

http://www.quizilla.com/

After reading a great description of how to get started on Phonevite a couple weeks ago, I decided to test it out.  Then I tested it out again.  Then some more. Then a little more after that.  Right now, I can’t get enough of this handy little tool.  Thanks Phonevite, for making yourself.

Back Story

At the beginning of school last year, I decided to call all of my students to welcome them to my courses.  I had about 150 students.  It took me 3 weeks to call them.  I was making calls at night and on weekends, averaging about 5-10 per night.

Usually I don’t need to call every student, just the ones who have fallen behind.  But in a school, a district, and a state that has difficulty graduating kids, we have a lot who are behind.  Enter Phonevite.

Here Comes the Great Tool Part

I can now call 150 students in 5 minutes.  Okay, okay, I’m exaggerating a little bit.  First off, I don’t have 150 students this year, I have under 100 (wish I would of known about Phonevite last year).  Secondly, it takes a little more than five minutes.

You have to set up your phone book.  I currently have 55 contacts which took me about 30 minutes to input over a couple sittings.  This is the longest part of the process.

Then you have to record your message.  I try to keep my messages around a minute.  My last one said something like ” Hi, this is Mr. Plough calling.  Your child currently has under 55% in my course.  Please give me a call back so that we can come up with a strategy to help them succeed.”  Of course, that’s the abbreviated version, and you can add as much or as little as you need in order to get the parent’s attention.

One of the negatives is that you can’t answer all the calls that blow up your phone right after your call goes out.  And, many of the parents calling me back wouldn’t leave a voicemail.  I could see they called on my ‘missed call’ list, but I feel a little awkward about returning a call when someone didn’t leave a message so I have to take those for a loss.

The best part is that parent’s get your messages, most of them listen to the entire message (you can check on Phonevite), and student’s start doing work. Immediately.  The teacher is connecting, albeit with an automated message, to the parents and then the parents are sitting down with their kids, or giving them that extra push they might have needed, and the assigments start rolling in.

Even though I’m excited about this tool, it is not the end all for contacting students.  I still have to meet them in their classes, call the parents personally and have long discussions, and send dozens of emails everyday.  But, this tool makes communication easier than it ever has been in my five years of teaching online.

It’s one week before the first quarter ends, and I have my highest passing rate ever at this point in the year.  Coincidence?

Early voting began in Nevada today. I just finished casting my ballot.  When I walked out to my car, a feeling of peace rushed over my body.  Chills ran down my arms and legs.  I had to sit in my car for a minute and gather myself before I could drive home.  My eyes welled up as I sat in the parking lot gazing outward to nowhere, forward to everything.  For the first time in life, my vote will truly change the world for the better.  Wow, what an amazing time to be alive.