#EdTechTeacherChallenge - January 2020: Twitter, Day 8

Explore a hashtag

I mentioned the other day that hashtags are words or phrases preceded by a # that are used on social media to identify messages on specific topics. They can be literally anything but are meant to find information and discussions on certain topics more easily. Below are some popular education hashtags. Feel free to search any and all of them or search one of your own. Share with us what you discovered and how it can help your practice. Remember to use #EdTechTeacherChallenge #January 2020 and @MrsMathMagician. We look forward to learning from and collaborating with you.

Popular Education Hashtags

General Interest Education Hashtags 1) #EdChat 2) #EdLeaders 3) #Edu 4) #Education 5) #Educhat 6) #Parents 7) #Principals 8) #Student(s) 9) #Teacher(s) 10) #Superintendents	Instructional Practices 11) #BlendedLearning 12) #CompetencyEd (#CBE) 13) #Curriculum 14) #DeeperLearning 15) #DesignThinking 16) #FormativeAssessment 17) #FormativeChat 18) #HQPBL 19) #GrowthMindset 20) #MakerEd 21) #MasteryChat 22) #MasteryBased 23) #PBL 24) #PBLChat 25) #PersonalizedLearning 26) #PlaceBasedEd 27) #PLearning 28) #ProjectBased
School Design 29) #ClassroomDesign 30) #CharterSchools 31) #CommunityEngagement 32) #LearnerExperience 33) #Makerspace 34) #Montessori 35) #PublicSchools 36) #SchoolCulture 37) #StudentCentered 38) #StudentChoice 39) #StudentEngagement 40) #StudentLed 41) #StudentVoice	21st-Century Skills 42) #21stCenturySkills 43) #21stedchat 44) #DigitalCitizenship 45) #GlobalEd 46) #GlobalEdChat 47) #GrowthMindset 48) #SEL 49) #SmartPlanet
EdTech 50) #DigLN 51) #EdApp 52) #EdData 53) #EdTech 54) #EdTechChat 55) #EduVC 56) #ELearning	Equality in Education 57) #AchievementGap 58) #EdGap 59) #EdEquity 60) #Educolor 61) #ELLs
Subject Areas 62) #ArtsEd (Art) 63) #CompSci 64) #Coding 65) #CTE 66) #engchat (English) 67) #historyteacher 68) #Langchat (Foreign Language) 69) #Literacy 70) #Math 71) #Mathchat 72) #MusEdchat (Music) 73) #PhysEd 74) #SocialStudies 75) #SSchat (Social Studies) 76) #Scichat (Science) 77) #STEM 78) #STEMchat	Networking and PD 79) #CollaborativePD 80) #LifelongLearning 81) #NTChat (New Teacher Chat) 82) #OnlineLearning 83) #PersonalizedPD 84) #PLN 85) #ProfDev 86) #PTChat (Parent/Teacher) 87) #TeacherPD 88) #TLChat
Education Policy 89) #CCChat (Common Core Chat) 90) #CCSS (Common Core State Standards) 91) #CommonCore 92) #EdPolicy 93) #EdReform 94) #ESSA	Grade Level 95) #EarlyEd 96) #ElemSchool 97) #HigherEd 98) #HighSchool 99) #K12 100) #MiddleSchool 101) #PreSchool

Other Hastags

#DigCit
#DigCitCommit
#CSforAll

I will add to this list as I find more, but I think this is a great kick off point. Happy hashtagging!!


(Top 101 taken from the following websites:
https://www.wabisabilearning.com/blog/100-education-hashtags-educators)

#EdTechTeacherChallenge - January 2020: Twitter, Day 7

Follow 5 people on Twitter

Twitter is no fun without other people. Following others and others following you is one of the big draws to Twitter. Why? Notoriety or infamy. Take your pick. But for us, it's less about how many people follow us and more about who can we connect with to improve our practice and share best practices.

For today's challenge, find 5 people or organizations to follow. You can start with me @MrsMathMagician! 😁Who else should you follow? If you have any other teacher friends on Twitter, follow them. You might actually be surprised how many of these friends you have already enjoying the professional development and collaboration opportunities that Twitter can offer. Then follow your school, your district, your tech department, your principal, your superintendent, your Senators, your Representatives, your Governor, your Mayor, organizations like Edutopia, Common Sense Education, Code.org...the list can go on and on. Before you know it, you will be following way more than 5 people and soon you will start having plenty of your own followers.

So, don't be shy! Find your favorite people and organizations and follow them. Your feed will soon be filled with invaluable information and discussions. Happy Tweeting!!

#EdTechTeacherChallenge - January 2020: Twitter, Day 6

Explore What is Trending

Part of the fun and functionality of Twitter is seeing what other people find interesting and are doing. That's why we joined Twitter, right? To interact with our colleagues, explore best practices, find a partner in crime that makes our most tiring days worth it, endorse the products we love, encourage positive change...You get the picture.

Trending, for those that are true social media newbies, refers to topics of conversation that are the most popular at that moment. In Twitter, trending is determined by the number of times a certain hashtag is used. Hashtags are words proceeded by the # symbol. For example, right now on my trending list, Harry and Megan are the top of my list with 253K tweets.

So, how do you see what's trending?

On the mobile app

Search Twitter

If you are on the mobile app, you have to click on the search icon at the bottom of your screen (it looks like a Q, but is meant to represent a magnifying glass). Once you are in search, you will see options for 

• "For You", these are suppose to customized to your interests based on your searches and the people you follow or who follow you,
• "Trending", these are based on who many people post about a topic and use certain hashtags,
• "News", the top news stories of the moment,
• "Sports", the biggest sports stories of the moment,
• "Fun", top stories meant to make you lighten or mood and maybe even laugh, and
• "Entertainment", the top entertainment stories at the moment.

On a web browser

Twitter Navigation Menu

"Trends for you" list on Twitter Home Screen

If you are on Twitter using Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or 😱
Netscape, you will see "Trending" topics in the right hand column of your screen. You can also click on the "#Explore" link in the left hand column to get all the options mentioned for the mobile app.







All of these options are consider trending topics, but the ones listed under the "Trending" option are what everyone is talking about at the moment. What's at the top of your list? It's probably not #EdTechTeacherChallenge, but wouldn't it be awesome if it was? Post your "Trending" Top 5, with a thought about what's on your list. Remember to be professional and use #EdTechTeacherChallenge #January2020 and @MrsMathMagician.

#EdTechTeacherChallenge - January 2020: Twitter, Day 5

Check Your Accessibility Settings

Twitter's Accessibility Settings

This is the last of the Settings exploration that we will be doing for this challenge. Accessibility
Settings is usually used for people with a disability, but I find them helpful for other reasons as well.

For some people, it is less taxing on the eyes to have white lettering on a dark background when reading text on media devices. The default Display setting for Twitter is black text on a white background. I have my Display settings set to dim. This uses white text on a dark midnight blue background like you see in the image to the right. The Display settings also have a "Light's Out" option, which is white text on a true black background. Regardless of which Display setting you chose, you can make your page even easier to read by clicking on the "Increase Color Contrast" option. Here are some before and after screenshots using this option.

Twitter Display Settings without "Increase Color Contrast" 

Twitter Display Settings with "Increase Color Contrast"

The color differences are subtle, but for those that need that greater contrast, it makes a big difference in readability. With the "Dim" and "Light's Out" options, it makes the colors more of a pastel color.
















All of these options are based on your preferences. If you have motion sensitivity when looking at video on media devices, you may want to turn on the "Reduce motion" option. If you don't want video to play automatically, you may want to click "Never" under the "Autoplay" option.

I do recommend that you turn on "Compose Image Descriptions". This gives the option when you post images to add a description for people that are visually impaired. It is false to believe that people who are blind or have low vision do not use computers or cell phones. They browse websites like everyone else and there are new laws in place that institutions must include what is called "alt text" when posting images. When someone using the "Voice Over" accessibility option on their device, the "Voice Over" will "read" the "alt text" for the image so the person knows there's an image there and what the image is of.

At the end of 5 days, you have learned some of the more complicated aspects of Twitter. Tomorrow, we start the fun stuff with "Explore what is trending". Until then, love, peace and happiness always!

#EdTechTeacherChallenge - January 2020: Twitter, Day 4

Check Notification Settings

Welcome to Day 4 of this months challenge. Today, we will be looking at Notification Settings. You will find these in your profile menu under "Settings and privacy" like yesterday.

Notifications sends an alert to your phone whenever certain Followers post a message, like, retweet or comment on one of your posts, or when certain people or organizations you follow post. If you have a lot of Followers or people you follow, these alerts can become very distracting.

Twitter's Notification Settings

Your Notification settings are another one of those your preference options. Here are my
recommendations:

* Do turn on "Quality Filter". This works similar to the "Quality Filter" for DM from yesterday, but for the content that you see in your feed.

Twitter' Push Notifications

* Do not turn on "Push Notifications". You do not want to get alerts on your phone all day long. Especially since you have to teach all day and attend to your other life duties after work. I promise you will not miss anything that you can't get back to later.




Today's challenge was light and simple. Tomorrow, we explore one last setting's feature with "Check your accessibility settings". Then, we can start having some fun. Take care!

#EdTechTeacherChallenge - January 2020: Twitter, Day 3

Check Your Privacy and Security Settings

Since we are talking about Privacy and Security today, now is a good time to review Twitter's Rules and Policies (found here). You can also view Safety & Security guidelines here. Both links are full of great information regarding what you can and cannot do on Twitter, what to do if you have an issue such as hacking and how to maintain your privacy while using social media.

Twitter Profile Menu

For today's challenge, you will need to click on your Profile menu and then click on "Privacy &
Security". This will take you into your account settings.

First, note the location of "Password". You will want to change your password about every six (6) months. Make sure that you do not recycle passwords. A good way to create a password is to choose an adjective, choose an object, and choose a random three (3) digit number, such as PinkTiger904.

Next, click on the "Security" link that is under "Password". This gives you two additional security measures you can take to keep your account secure. The first is Two-Factor Authentication. This option forces an additional task at sign in beyond entering your password. The easiest to use if you don't want to download additional apps on your phone, is the "Text" option. The Text Two-Factor Authentication, once you enter your password, you will be prompted to send a text message to your phone with a security code. Enter that code into the popup window and you will be taken into your feed. Yes, it's an added step, but in this day and age, you want to protect yourself in as many ways as you can.

If you already use an Authentication app, you might want to choose this option. An authentication app works in a similar way to text, accept the code comes through the app not your text messages.

A third possible Two-Factor Authentication option is a Security Key. This is a physical USB type device that inserts into your computer or syncs with your mobile device when you log into Twitter using a web browser. Twitter says, however, that this option is not available at the moment when logging into the mobile app.

After you choose your Two-Factor Authentication option,  click on the "Privacy and Security" link under "Account". There is a lot of option for you to consider here. You should read through all of them and make choices based on your comfortability and how you intend on using Twitter. Here are some of my suggestions:

* Do not turn on "Receive Messages from Everyone".  If you do, you leave yourself open to receive direct messages from random people. With this option clicked OFF, only Followers can direct message (DM) you. Of course, you never have the option to respond to messages you get AND you can always report and block users that send inappropriate messages.

* Do turn on "Quality Filter". This directs low quality DM away from your requests.

* Do turn on "Show Read Receipt". This lets people know when you've seen their DM and vice versa. If you turn it off, you will not be able to see whether they've read your DM or not.

* Do not turn on "Display media with sensitive content". Whenever you see a post that has been flagged as containing sensitive content, Twitter will prompt you to click if you wish to view it. If you turn this option on, anything flagged as sensitive content will automatically display if you happen on it in your feed.

Privacy and Security are complicated but vital pieces to using social media successfully and appropriately. Taking a little time now to learn how to protect your Privacy and Security while learning how to use Twitter, can save you a lot of headache later on. Good luck. Be sure to check back tomorrow when we take a look at "Notification Settings".

#EdTechTeacherChallenge - January 2020: Twitter, Day 2

Edit your profile to include an profile photo, header photo, short bio, location and website (if you have one)

Yesterday, you registered for your Twitter account. During the registration, you were asked to upload a profile phone, short bio and your location. If you skipped those steps because you weren't sure what to put or lacked the time, now is the time to make those updates.

To do this, you will need to go to your "Profile". On the Twitter website, look for the "Profile" link on the left side sidebar. After you click on the link, you will see and "Edit Profile" button under the box that will be your Header Photo.

On the app, click on the the circle "Person Icon" on the top left of your screen. This will open a menu of options. Click on the "Profile" link. Then click on the "Edit Profile" link.

Profile Photo

Twitter Profile Photo for
@mrsmathmagician

There are two different photos that you can upload to your account to make it more personal. The first is the Profile Photo and it is the most important. In addition to the words of your tweets, your Profile Photo is the thing most people will see. You want it to be you. And not just any you. You want this to be the best representation of you. If you ever had a professional photo of yourself taken, now is a great time to show it to the world. If not, you can choose any photo that represents you in the best light and is "mother approved". You could also use an avatar image or image that is symbolic for you and your brand (if you have started one).

To change the default "person icon", once you are in "Edit Profile", click on the camera that appears in the circle for your Profile Photo. Locate your photo from your drive (for computer or phone) and click "Open". Twitter will ask you to resize or adjust the image so that it fits in the circle. If you don't like the way it looks, you can always change it.

Header Photo

Twitter Header Photo for @mrsmathmagician

The Header Photo is the second image you get to upload. For the header, you want a photo or image that would look nice as a banner. Think landscape, wide lens, bulletin board-esqu. You change the Header Photo similar to how you changed the Profile Photo. While in "Edit Profile", click on the camera icon in the center of the Header Photo box, locate the image you wish to use and "Open". You will be able to adjust this image to get it to look just right like you did with the Profile Photo.

Short Bio

Twitter Bio for @mrsmathmagician

A Short Bio gives your Followers or anyone that happens upon your profile through your posts a snapshot of who you are, what your interest is for being on Twitter and what they have to look forward to in your posts. Your bio should be short, simple and sweet, but not too revealing. This is an opportunity to be witty and cleaver as you try to sell others on your brand.

Location and Website

Location and Website Boxes

These are the last two boxes for you to fill in. For your location, you can choose to enter your city and state, state and country, just your state, just your country, the planet Earth, the Milky Way, etc. Being obtuse with you location allows you some privacy and anonymity for those that are not ready to fully immerse into this vast chasm of information and connectivity, even if it is for seeking out the latest new thing for your classroom. Getting a little closer to home with city and state gives people a glimpse into your perspective of a topic, insight into a solution or an inkling on how your posts fit into the greater education picture.

If you do not have a website, do not fret. Creating your own website will be a future challenge. If you do have a website that you would like others to access, type in the address in the website box.

Birth date

There is one more thing you can change in your "Edit Profile" screen and that is your birth date. Even though you entered it when you registered, you have the option to choose whether or not you want it to actually display on your Profile Page and how much of the date you want people to see. As this purpose to introducing you to Twitter was for the professional development aspect of it, I feel that making your birth date public is giving your audience too much personal information that you may regret later. If you are unsure, always err on the side of caution. If you do decide to enter your Birth date, you can choose to make it visible to only you. This means you will see your birth date on your Profile page, but others will not.

Once you have made all the changes in "Edit Profile", click the "Save" button at the top right hand corner. Viola! Now your Followers are able to see who you are and have a little information about you. Come back tomorrow for Day 3: Check your Privacy and Safety Settings.

#EdTechTeacherChallenge - January 2020: Twitter, Day 1

Day 1 of the January 2020 #EdTechTeacherChallenge is to "Create a Twitter account and introduce yourself to the world". You certainly cannot participate in a Twitter EdTech Teacher Challenge if you do not have a Twitter account.

To create your account, go to twitter.com or download the Twitter app to your phone. The app is available for Android, iOS and Windows devices.

Whether on the website or through the app, click on the "Sign Up" link.

On the first sign up screen, you will enter your name, phone number and birthdate. You will not be able to continue if any of these fields are left blank. You do not need to put your full name in to continue. You can choose to use your email address instead of your phone number. Your birthdate is important because Twitter, like all social media and others, need to be in compliance with all the laws including FERPA, COPPA, etc. I will go more into these laws and what they mean for educators in a future post.

On the second sign up screen, it will ask if you allow Twitter to track your data. This is a personal preference for you and how you intend on using Twitter. Some of the data they track is which of your posts get viewed the most and how is the biggest influencer that follows you. If you are planning on building a brand empire, this data will be important for you. Even if your only interest is getting the latest tips and tricks on how to keep your kiddos engaged in your lessons, the analytics still might be helpful to you. So, check the box or don't. The choice is yours.

On the third sign up screen, Twitter will ask you to verify the information you entered in the previous screens. If you need to change something, click on what you want to change and you will be jumped back to that screen. If everything is correct, click on the "Sign Up" button and you will get a popup window asking to send a verification text or email depending on what you chose to sign up with. Click "Ok".

On the forth sign up screen you will enter the verification code you just received, it is time sensitive to I believe 5 minutes. Once you click "Next", you will choose a password. Good passwords are ones you haven't used before, contain at least one capital letter, at least one number and at least one special character (!@#$%^&*_?) if allowed.

The next three sign up screens will ask for a profile photo, a short description, and to follow some people. You can skip these for now, if you would like, since we will be doing these over the next couple days. If you do decide to complete these screens, you will be ahead and can relax while everyone else gets caught up. And there is nothing wrong with that.

The next screen asks if you want to turn on notifications. I leave turn mine off because they become too much of a distraction especially as you follow more people and more people follow you. This is another personal preference item. Once you make your decision, you will ready to start tweeting. A "Welcome Screen" will popup. By clicking "Get Started", you will get another popup to change your display preferences. This is something else you can skip as we will come back to it a little later.

Now, you are ready for your first tweet. Click in the box that says "What's happening?" and start typing. Introduce yourself, where you're from, why you joined Twitter, or anything else you would like. Remember to include the hashtag #EdTechTeacherChallenge and tag @mrsmathmagician. I will follow all Challengers and you are free to follow me as well.

NOTE REGARDING DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP AND DISTRICT POLICIES REGARDING SOCIAL MEDIA

It is very important to make sure you are aware of your districts policies on social media use regarding things that have to do with your school, your district, your students, etc. Some welcome all the good publicity they can get while others shun social media as deplorable. Twitter is a great tool for professional development and connecting with other educators. Like all media, be mindful of what you share and use it responsibly.

The #EdTechTeacherChallenge

Every year, I post about how I am going to do big, grandiose things that I do might actually get done, but never share. This year, I'm planning another huge endeavor, but this time, with your help, I'm hoping to make it a monthly/yearly thing.

My plan this year is to help all those teachers who love the idea of using technology but are afraid, unsure or (perceived to be) ill-equipped to do so. The idea is to take those monthly challenge lists that everyone seems to love, pick one EdTech edtech topic as a monthly focus and create small, manageable daily tasks that everyone can do in their own time at their own pace. Sounds too simple. But believe me, you will be an edtech champion even if you only complete one monthly challenge.

This month's topic is Twitter. Out of all the things I could have chose, I felt Twitter is the least intimidating and easiest to jump start with. Twitter is a social media platform where you get 280 characters to say what's on your mind. You can also add images, gifs, and polls. If you are not on Twitter, here is your opportunity to get your feet wet. If you are on Twitter, but don't use it much, this is the time to delve deeper into what Twitter has to offer.

The image below breaks down the Twitter topic into daily tasks for you to explore and engage with. You can choose to do all or some. Each day I will post a quick explanation of why I chose the task given. If you would like to participate, please use the hashtag #EdTechTeacherChallenge so that we can see your progress and be your cheerleader. You can also tag me (@mrsmathmagician) and I will get notification of your posts.

Good luck! Have fun! I look forward to seeing you along this journey!