In my previous school district, I was the only teacher teaching a physics course with set, district-wide learning outcomes. These same outcomes were also taught in physics classrooms at the other high school in our district. But at our school, I was one of the 2 physics teachers. The other teacher taught the AP-level physics courses. So, in many ways, I had opportunities to incorporate strategies I believed were best for learners and that I found worked best for them without being seen as out of alignment with anyone in our building. My amazing friend and one of my teaching philosophy goddesses, Katie Novak, stated the following misconception about alignment: All teachers must deliver instruction in the exact same way. True alignment, she says, is about shared goals, rigor, and outcomes. Thank you, Katie! Katie has taught me to truly believe that learner variability is the rule, not the exception. I encourage you to take 10 minutes to listen to Katie Novak explain it in the ...
I'm getting to the point where when I open up my Twitter feed and scroll for about 8 minutes, I realize I've only made it about 20 minutes into the timeline. It begs the question, "What am I missing?" I understand that sometimes when I go to Twitter, I just want to drift with the current. Other times, though, I want to be purposeful with my stream. It could be getting specific news, ideas, or connecting with a community. In the name of feeding my specific needs, I've decided to use Twitter Lists a bit more intentionally.
A Twitter list is a feed that consists solely of a specific list of user accounts. You don't need to follow these users for them to be a part of a list. You can create your own lists or subscribe to a list created by a different user.
I first realized the power of a Twitter list when I discovered my district superintendent had created a Twitter list that consisted of the accounts of our schools and staff that are using Twitter for professional purposes.
When I saw this list, I quickly subscribed to it. It's my go to list everyday. It's a great way to shrink the space between me and all the classrooms and peers in my district. I get to see creations and learning from different classrooms in addition to articles and blogs that are sparking conversation in my district. It only takes me a few minutes to find everything that is being shared rather than hunting through my main feed or using a variety of different hashtags.
Every School District and Building should have a Twitter List to help bridge gaps and build relationships that the physical constraints of space and schedules limit.
I've come to realize that Twitter is the quickest way connected educations and media outlets share out. So, I've decided to move away from trying to find the best RSS feed aggregator and move over to creating my own Twitter lists to keep on top of my personal and professional interests.
Building a List
You can build a list easily via a web browser on a desktop/laptop or via the Twitter mobile app.
The key is to click on your Avatar to get access to the menu from which you can navigate to the lists page.
From the list page you can create a new list by clicking on the "Create New List" button (in bowser) or Icon (in app).
From there, you'll be able to name your list and start adding users. I usually add users by going to their account page when I see a tweet in my stream.
Once you are on the account page you'll either click on those 3 dots (in browser) or gear (in app) and click on add to list. You can then add them to your list of choice or create a brand new list.
Subscribing to a list.
As I said earlier, I was introduced to the power of Twitter lists by subscribing to my superintendent's Twitter list of district staff and schools. This process is very easy whether using Twitter in a browser or the app.
Navigate to the user page of the account who has created the list. You could just go to any account and click on their list page (in browser) or the gear icon and then lists (in app).
Then click on the list you want to subscribe to. In this example, I've gone to my local newspaper and discovered they have a list of all the Green Bay Packer players. With preseason in full swing, this is a great way to keep track all the Packers and give them all equal airtime.
A new pop up will appear and you simply click subscribe. Now this list will be included in your list page as one you are subscribed to.
I'm still just getting started building my lists. So, my lists are not where I'd like them to be. But, I love how easy it is to find a user from my main feed and add that account to a list. It's the easy of navigation that makes lists so powerful for me. So, I'll still be floating in my main stream. But when time is short or I'm in the mood to focus my learning, I look forward to making the most of my lists.
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