Social media has been a great tool in today’s world. We can connect with relatives across the globe, scroll down our timelines to catch up with the news, and have conversations with people who we might never have spoken to in real life.
Teaching is not a ‘one size fits all’ profession…networking, conversing and learning from others is a key part of the job. Twitter can be an excellent resource as it opens up a network of peers to reach out to and engage with, without having to leave the comfort of your sofa.
Twitter is great when used properly, but a lot of people don’t know where to start…so, if you’re a novice to the social media landscape then here are some of our top tips for you to get started!
1. Pick a unique username that doesn’t feature your full name. If you are tweeting under a professional capacity and want to keep your account open (meaning anyone can read your tweets) then its best to pick a name that isn’t your own…it means no nosey students can stumble across your profile! If you want to use your full name it might be better to make your account private — that means only approved followers can see your tweets.
2. Have a clear bio. Your bio gives everyone a taste of what your account is about, what your areas of expertise are, your interests and it also helps people identify you in searches. For example, if you are newly qualified perhaps put NQT in your bio, or if you are super interested in EdTech, add that in too.
3. Keep your private life private. If you want to use your account to focus on education and networking then make sure you have a seperate account for your private tweets. It’s fine to tweet about your weekend or how you feel about the latest episode of Game of Thrones, but for more personal information and photos of your latest beach holiday, it’s better to set up a seperate account.
4. The internet lasts forever, be careful what you tweet. Yes you can delete a tweet after you’ve posted it, but remember screenshots exist! It is always best to double check what you’ve written before you post it, just think how you would feel if your parents, partner or boss read it, if they’d approve then go ahead and tweet away.
5. Find and follow. Once you’ve set up your account it’s time to follow interesting and relevant accounts and start engaging. Use the search bar to find your peers, your favourite blogs and products etc and then start chatting. You can type in their usernames if you know them (it will be the @ symbol followed by their name) or if you don’t know who to follow just search general things you are interested in and relevant accounts will pop up! Once you start following more people your own followers will increase, the teaching community on twitter is vast so you’re guaranteed to find a great network of people.
6. Engage. Twitter is all about communication and you can reply to anyone should you have an opinion or question about someone’s tweet. Don’t be scared to reach out to people, they may be strangers, but social media is all about connecting, and most people are friendly and want to help. Remember, there is the occasional troll online so don’t hesitate about blocking them.
7. Have fun, engage and learn…..and don’t forget to follow @teamteacherly
