Rua

I feel like Wilson the beach ball floating around in the ocean after drifting from the comfort of Tom Hank’s raft while he slept. I have stepped into the world of Twitter. Trying to link my profession career with the online world makes me feel so insignificant.

I now have a twitter account @jackson_ism and have limited to no idea what I am doing. There is a plethora of people I should or could be following. How do I know which will be beneficial to me and help me in becoming a better educator. Like I mentioned in my opening blog, technology can seem so gimmicky to me. Is twitter just another gimmick? I want to get the most out of it and ensure that my time is used to enhance student learning.

I came across another PE blogger The PE Geek. The site has lots of great resources that I have used once or twice in the past. They have also recommend a number of different PE teacher to follow on Twitter. Helpful suggestions like this help in navigating the vast ocean I have ahead.

After taking control of who I followed I soon realised that this could get out of hand. Following other educators, soon led to following coaches, which led to following sports stars, which then led to following comedians. I was getting off track and losing sight of what using Twitter as a professional was all about. I needed keep this basic and follow less is more until I knew what I was doing. The goal is to make me a better educator and if the person who I follow doesn’t help me in the journey then they are out.

Secondly why I feel like a small deflated ball floating in the ocean is that, am I just using this platform to take? Do I have anything of value to share. Why would anyone find value in what I do. I mean I am just a one person in vastness of the world of education. I feel like this is the biggest reason why I have rarely use social media or hadn’t taken to Twitter before now. I don’t feel that the time I spend sharing is of any value. How do I know what to share and what to keep to myself with out looking like a “showoff”. But if I don’t share and just take then I am no help to the PE community. Whats a ball to do?

I need a goal to keep me grounded and on task with my shinny new Twitter account. To ensure that my time looking at my device is helping my students. After some digging around the net I came across the 26 tips for Twitter beginners from SproutSocial.com. Hopefully some of these will help me get the most from my account. The plan is that over coming months I focus on ensuring I tweet often (to ensure that I am giving back to the community) and gardening who I follow (keeping my feed meaningful). I want to make my Twitter account meaningful and not gimmicky. Hopefully I can find the perfect inlet for me in thrive in the great big Twitter ocean.