I have succumbed to the Twitterverse.  I’ve had a personal Twitter account for years which I basically used to enter sweepstakes and didn’t have any real interest in otherwise.  However, with one of my classes this semester requiring us to tweet (#unietd), I made myself a professional account and have attempted to embrace this new world.

What’s the Word?

Mostly, it’s been information related to my Educational Technology Class, after all, that’s why I started it in the first place.  I’ve also used it to promote National Burn Awareness Week (a cause important to me), and to retweet some things I’ve found interesting.  I’m off to a slow start, but in a month, having 37 new followers isn’t bad.

Who to Follow?

I’ve found some really great people to follow. I started with all of my classmates and added some of the teachers I work with. In addition, I follow @edublogs and @kathleen_morris from Edublogs.  I’ve started adding some people I’ve been “introduced to” through other blogs like: @shannonmiller, @townsleyaj from #IAEdChat, and some various school districts.  There are companies like @GoogleForEdu and @Eduporium that tweet out good information as well.  My favorites may be some authors who I’ve connected with like @johngreen and @CGrabenstein.  There are tons of options, depending on what you want to learn about.

But how does this grow my PLN?

The best thing about Twitter for my PLN has just been connecting with other people who are interested in the same things as me. I’ve discovered new blogs and podcasts to listen to. I’ve learned a lot of new ideas for how to use tech in the classroom. I’ve met new people and gotten my name out there to increase my “social media footprint”.

So, who do you follow on Twitter that has made a big difference for you?