Twitter as Professional Development

​I was reluctant to join Twitter when my cousin first told me about it in 2007.  I didn't "get it" and didn't think the site would take off.  By the time terms like "tweet" and "hashtag" were common place, I figured I had just missed out on it.  

​A year ago, I had to join the Twittersphere as part of the NAIS Teachers of the Future program.  Technology in the classroom was the program's main focus, and we were supposed to have a Twitter handle.  I came up with @allynnshandle, which maybe wasn't the best choice, because people think it says "Allynn Shandle" instead of "Allynn's Handle."  But oh well.

I am still learning the ins and outs of Twitter, but one of the most amazing things I have discovered is the sheer amount of information that is out there.  I've been connected to some amazing Spanish teachers, like Laura Sexton (@SraSpanglish) and Amy Leonard (@aleonard) and I've discovered the concept of "slow chat."  Just type in the correct hashtag and you can be part of a day long conversation about a given topic.  

I was looking for a list of ed chats to share with my colleagues, and came across this great calendar:

Calendar of Education Chats on Twitter

Foreign language slow chats take place on Thursday nights @ 8pm EST with the hashtag #langchat.  A separate website archives and organizes all the langchats by topic and is a great resource.
  
If I had to post a topic for a #langchat slow chat, it would be:

Q.  How do you introduce and ultimately assess vocabulary in your classroom?

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