Thing 9: Twitter

I'm finding myself in a love/hate relationship with Twitter.  Here's why:

Love:

• I love being able to quickly and concisely get the word out about things.  We've used it the last two years in Adventures, and I love to tweet out what's going on throughout the day.  I feel like it gives my 20 or so followers a real insight into what happens on a daily basis.  I'm really proud of our program, and I want people to see that!  As I can be a wordy person, I really appreciate that my character count is limited.  I can't spend too much time posting (You wouldn't believe the amount of time I put into wordsmithing our weekly email blast!).  
• I love being able to post an alert really quickly.  Again, with Adventures, sometimes we have to change our plans based on the weather, and Twitter gets the word out quickly and concisely when we have to do so.  It's not the only method of alert we use, but it's a great addition to our arsenal.
• Finally, I love getting to read other people's quick posts about what they're doing in their classrooms.  I find myself longing to get into more classrooms every day, but with 40+ classes running each period, I can never get to them all.  I love when my phone buzzes and I can catch a glimpse into a classroom in the building.  I love retweeting these happenings.  It makes me feel closer to the classes, kids and teachers.

Hate:

• The time suck of it all...  When I'm using this for my professional life I find myself sucked into the linked articles and videos and websites and...  I look up and it's an hour (or more, let's be honest) later, and I still haven't accomplished the one thing I had started out to do!  I am, perhaps, just not disciplined enough for Twitter!

My Twitter manifesto:

• I will use Twitter to tweet out the happenings of Adventures and of my classroom.  This will allow others a glimpse into what happens on a daily basis, breaking down the walls of our school and making the learning environment transparent to all who care to follow.
• I will use Twitter as one of the ways to get alerts out.  Combined with email, phone calls, blog posts and notes home, Twitter will be a great alert tool.
• I will use Twitter to see into the classrooms of my colleagues.  I will continue to add colleagues from inside and outside of our district so that I can be exposed to more and more great education and thinking!
• I will limit myself to one article a day.  This will allow me to continue to grow my knowledge and feed my curiosities, but it will also help me to manage my time more wisely.