Love That Twitter

I can remember a few years ago when I first signed up for Twitter after hearing the buzz. I signed up -- I mean why wouldn't I? -- but I didn't get it. I couldn't see what the big deal was about. I found a few people to follow, but moved on, back to Facebook.

Now, I couldn't imagine getting on the computer without spending the bulk of that time on Twitter. What started as a fascination has warped into a ritual. I love everything about Twitter. The brevity, the freedom, and the conversations. What still troubles me is the Twitter site itself. It's still one column. There are settings to personalize the service, but it's still this single column of tweets. There are more dimensions to Twitter.

Tweetdeck Dashboard

I really fell in love with Twitter when I discovered Tweetdeck (www.tweetdeck.com). As Prof. Hartman says, it's a great tool. I set up my columns and tailor the experience to fit my needs and wants. I set up one column that combines my Twitter and Facebook feeds (Tweetdeck is no substitute for the Facebook site, by the way); one column with all of my notifications; and two or three columns with search terms. Using hashtags (the pound sign in front of the search term) is a great way to get in on pertinent conversations. Sometimes it takes a while to discover the best hashtag, but I like to use #edchat and #edtech as search columns. Anyone that includes that hashtag in their tweet shows up in the search. This keeps me up to date with what my peers are saying about education and technology. I have recently added a column #metc13 so I can follow happenings at the Midwestern Education Technology Conference in St. Charles next month. During the conference, presenters will use this hashtag to elicit responses and strike up conversations during and after their presentations. And once you've found like-minded tweeters, then you can really begin to add follows and followers. Cool, cool, cool.

There is also a 'list' feature to Twitter, which I'm just getting into. You can group those you follow into lists that make it easier to find who you want to read. Personally, it hasn't been that important, since I could sort my tweets into searches.

Facebook has its place, especially when it comes to family and friends. But for colleagues or peers, nothing beats Twitter.

When I'm on my android phone, I also use Tweetdeck. It's fabulous; and my favorite mobile app. I've also discovered Scope. I like it too, because it also incorporates Instagram (another service I really like) into the feed. Scope is not quite as reliable, however. I can use other apps like Engadget, which features edtech news, and easily share what I like with Twitter. Along with new Web 2.0 sites like Facebook and Twitter, the exciting element of the web for me is the ability to share between sites and apps so easily. It makes it easy to find information and share it with your peers quickly.

It's amazing how far this technology has come in just a few years. I heard somebody mention the other day that the first iPad is only about four years old. Now our society is completely addicted to tablets. It's all moving so fast, it can be hard to keep up. That's why collaboration between educators and tech experts is so important.

P.S. I'm sorry everyone, I can't believe I forgot to include my twitter name: @lategrad