I first created a Twitter account several years ago, followed two people, and never posted a word, but things have changed now.
A few days ago I blogged about mobile phones in schools. I felt quite strongly about a ban that is being enforced in my daughter's secondary school, and wanted to write about it. I emailed Steve Wheeler (@timbuckteeth - thanks Steve) a link to my blog. I follow him on Twitter, and find his ideas and comments on educational technology insightful and interesting, and I wondered what he thought about the subject.
I didn't really expect a reply - in fact, I felt a bit guilty emailing him because I don't know him, but he responded very quickly, and posted a link to my blog on Twitter. He didn't commit to whether he agreed with my views or not, but as a result I did get several comments on my post, and just under 200 visits. I found the comments made me think more deeply about my views on mobile phones, and there is no doubt that they helped clarify my thinking further.
Yesterday I followed an #edchat conversation - I even added a few tweets. It's a fast and furious affair, but full of nuggets of information, and perhaps most importantly of all it encouraged me to think, absorb ideas, and it networked me with many people that I would never otherwise have had contact with.
Twitter has brought a wealth of information to my fingertips. As my PLN grows I am learning more and more about the things I am interested in. It's stopped me being complacent about what I know as I see how much everyone else knows, and it provides me with endless resources (if only I could find more time to look at them!). I still fall under the 200 Tweet mark, but I'm getting there.
Twitter is a powerful tool which will grow as more people become brave enough to break through the denial and depression stages into the acceptance stage - it's informative, far reaching, thought provoking, and above all, it's great fun.
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