If you’re a history teacher and you haven’t yet joined Twitter, I really would urge you do so. Go to Twitter.com and create an account. It’s free and you can use the site online, on a mobile device of via a range of applications. There are loads of posts and presentations out there with reasons to join, go and google them if you’re not willing to take my word for it!
The advantage of using applications (for me at least) is that I’m now following so many people that I either have to stay glued to the service 24-7, or I miss something that might be useful. So I create ‘lists’ of specific people to allow me to tailor the service to my needs an interests even more. You can do this directly on the Twitter site, but an app such as Tweetdeck allows you to view and manage those list more easily. I wouldn’t worry about this straight away, but once you hit a point where you’re struggling to keep up with everything, it’s probably one to come back to.
Here’s a few other ideas to get you started.
Tom Barrett’s ten tips for getting started – the one about having a bio is important. Without it, many people won’t follow you back. That said, I would beware of the many ‘This is how you use Twitter’ lists and posts that floating about. The great thing is that you can use it in a way that suits you – no two Twitter users use the service in the same way for the same thing.
Some history teachers worth following can be found on my list here. It may well need updating, but it’s as good a place as any to start.
Chats
Using ‘hashtags’ (the #sign followed by a unique identifier) is a way people use to group linked content together. A spin of from this is livechats which take place over the course of an hour on a specific subject, with everyone using the relevant hash tag to keep the discussion organised.
Three worth looking at are:
#historychat
#addcym
#ukedchat
Say hello!