Does using Twitter make teachers smarter?
Surely they would not use it so avidly if it made them stupid. I believe it does make them smart, firstly, because it creates smart-sets of passionate people volunteering to join extended networks with socially understood values. Second, its smarter to be in a set – as many eyes see more of the horizon. Thirdly, its life-smart to seek constant feedback and be supportive of others in your set – because it generates more collective knowledge.
Twitter has created is an irrepressible network of smart-teachers.
But being on Twitter isn’t generative unless you actively participate and manage it. So the effect Twitter had, was to create a set of very smart-teachers because in an age of unprecedented social change and technological power – Twitter became the vanguard, essential to learn about complex semantics.
Today it’s the IV-drip of professional development – and the best example of game based learning I can think of.
We often see infographics with mind-blowing statistics about the Internet. Its ignorant to think that smart-teachers on Twitter are not also using this mass-scale effect. Teachers on Twitter spend millions of hours a week collectively solving problems.
The required amount of self-directed learning teachers have to do in NSW (if they started after 2008) is 20 hours a year. Smart-teachers do that a week.
They are learning about subtlety, ambiguity and contradictions in real time, which isn’t something that can be said for those tittering rather than Twittering.
The question to ask is– what do we want? not why we do it. The latter is a stupid question.
Playable 
Boom!
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teachers can definitely benefit from twitter. as a part time lecturer myself, twitter is an invaluable tool to not only communicate and to stay updated, but to also receive feedback and insights on certain matters real-time! it is a gem in sourcing for new ideas and insights 🙂
“”Twitter has created is an irrepressible network of smart-teachers.”
How’s that?
Because it’s impossible to have connected so many teachers with so many variables without it. But happy to hear about a better one.
WOW!!! Such knowledge for people to know and use to share..
“the IV-drip of professional development” I LOVE THIS!
This is a great post. Thanks so much for articulating the power of Twitter so well. I will be sharing this with others, for sure!
It has saved me huge amounts of time. For example just this week @claganach has directed me to excellent classroom resources to teach muisc and IWB lessons that I didn’t know existed. I have been inspired by excellent teachers I would never have met without twitter. All of whom have been generous enough to share resources and answer questions
Powerful post that shouts the potential of Twitter; loved the link you made to self-directed learning: This is it! You’re right the question is: What do we want?
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I would love to twitter with other teachers especially about classroom resources to teach primary school children using IWB lessons!