To tweet or not to tweet

To tweet or not to tweet... that is the question! Let's face it, you hear about twitter almost daily on the TV. Online, countless "follow me on twitter" banners, logos are seen on most sites now. Twitter has been become one more way to communicate for the world at large. So do we tweet or not tweet?

Of course, like everything else, it is a personal choice of communication. Like other technology tools, many love it... some don't get it...

The world loves cell phones. Believe it or not, I don't own one. Not yet anyway. For me and my hearing disability, I haven't found a cell phone that works well with my hearing aids, so as of now, I don't own one. My point is that not all technologies are suitable for every single person. My technology motto is find what works for you and "work it" .....

Now as for twitter.......

The twitter controversy like any other communication tool has pros and cons, but whether we like it or not, it has become embedded in our world of technology. So, I decided like countless others to give it a shot this summer... here is my story.

In mid June, I was invited to join Twitter by so opted to try it. I actually had joined twitter after NECC in 2007, but (a) I wasn't sure the purpose it could serve for me and (b) I was so busy at the time, I didn't really give it much thought or energy.

With the new invitation (and a tad more time on my hands), I opted I join again in June of 2009 (just before my NECC '09 trip and presentation).

I have to be honest now after one month of using it..... I personally find it intriguing at the very least!

Though the number of tweets can be overwhelming at times, in all honesty, I have learned a lot from worldwide tech educators in the last month or so. Between NECC 2009, Ning (sites) and Twitter, I feel I have learned the equivalent of a college course this summer!

Just a note... I need to commend the (NECC) ISTE Connects site manager (Joe Corbett) for the countless NECC tweets, updates and "shout outs" before, during and after the NECC 2009 Conference in Washington DC. That was the second reason that kept me interested! The third, fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. reasons are the tech ed activists and tweeters! I was amazed with Diana Dell (aka @dianadell), Kelly Hines (aka @kellyhines), Steven W. Anderson (aka @web20classroom), Adam Brice (aka @adambrice) to name a few. I have have also enjoyed thoughts and links shared about technology by Milton Ramirez (aka @tonnet), Deven Black (aka @spedteacher) and MANY more! (Too many to name...)

In mid July,I decided to set up a Educators Network using twitter. Not sure if it will pan out, but we figured I could at least try and reach our educators by providing a professional space with tech ed news, upcoming events, news or tweets with interactive links and/or resources for educators. The objective is to connect educators (whether it be for those who claim to be technology challenged or technology savvy). The variety offered may seem trivial for some and at times, too advanced for others, but it is our hope to offer a little for all interested.

Now ... Questions...

Is twitter a perfect system? Honestly no ..... like all technologies, it has its issues, but for me so far, I have found it definitely worth it.

Can you learn from it if you find a network with similar interests? Without a doubt, I have. Just try to locate "like minded people" or similar interest groups, while practicing safety rules to get started.

Will "you" like it? Can't say... Only you can decide that. One way to see is to look over some "unlocked" sites and see the type of responses out there or sign up and send out a shout. Note: If you create an account, you can "lock your account" for privacy. A safer option may be to bookmark sites that are open and read tweets from there if you are not sure about joining a network.

Now back to the topic... "to tweet or not to tweet... that is the question." Should you? Well from this tech ed advocate, I can say that I seriously learned a lot this summer with it. Granted I did take precautions and was careful who I let into my network. I tried to choose "people with similiar interests" when I created my network. It can serve a dual purpose if need be it. Some people use it to shout out tweets to friends and family. Others like me, use it for that and for professional learning experiences as well.

So my answer to the subject at hand "to tweet or not to tweet" lies in it being your own personal choice. Like everything else in the world, some will continue to love it, while others will not.

Signing out for now!

Stacy

BTW.... a couple of footnotes.... I absolutely LOVED the Apollo 11 tweets in July courtesy of Apolloplus40, AP_11, & AP11_CAPCOM! Brought back some wonderful summer memories of 1969 for me!

Another treat was getting actual tweets from NASA Astronaut Mark Polansky (aka Astro_127 ) from orbit!

And finally.... I really enjoyed reading the thousands of touching Walter Cronkite memorial tweets on Bing/Tweets Beta!