My Town Tutors has been using twitter to connect with parents, teachers, and educators for the last two years. Along the way, we have made some mistakes, but also have learned some valuable lessons. Hopefully our experiences might be useful to others.
This advice is for all the people new to twitter. If you follow these steps, I think you might be very happy with the results. So, if you are new to twitter, we hope we can be a great role model.
We created a twitter account (@mytowntutorsNW) to test our ideas. We think we might see some amazing results. Below are the guidelines we recommend and will follow to the best of our ability.
- Lay low for 30 days to try to figure out the twitter landscape. @mytowntutorsNW will post their first tweet on July 4th, even though the account was opened on June 4th! We did not do a thing and acquired 18 followers.
- Starting July 4th, @mytowntutorsNW will tweet for the next 30 days without following anyone. They will interact with others, analyzing twitter accounts to see who to follow first.
- At the start of the third month August 4th, @mytowntutorsN will begin to follow the First 52 twitter accounts. At that point, @mytowntutorsNW will have been on twitter for 60 days and hopefully can identify the best twitter accounts to follow as an account focused on education and parenting. @mytowntutorsNW.
- Our goal will be to create some strong relationships with these “First 52″ accounts. If we do our research well, we will make connections with the best.
We welcome feedback on our services and our unique approach to twitter. This may not be the best way, but if you follow us, I think you will see it is one way to really make connections on twitter.
Below are some of great options for our first choices:
My Town Tutors, specifically @mytowntutursNW is committing to the idea that less is more on twitter. My Town Tutors values teachers, parents, and great resources for education.
@mytowntutursNW will follow one account per week for the next year starting on August 4th, 2013. There are so many incredible accounts that we apologize if you were not selected or possibly listed higher. We hope parents and teachers find these resources useful.
We have not made our final decisions but below are some accounts that are in the running.
Twitter Accounts for Parents
@parenting – http://Parenting.com is the home of Parenting and Babytalk magazines. NYC · parenting.com
@ptotoday – Helping Parent Leaders (PTO, PTA, etc.) Make Schools Great. Tweets by Rose Cafasso. Wrentham. MA · ptotoday.com/newsletter
@parentsmagazine – We’re the editors of Parents Magazine and http://Parents.com.New York City · parents.com
@NationalPTA – “The largest volunteer child advocacy association in the nation, Parent Teacher Association (PTA). contact us, info@pta.org. RT does not = Endorsement. Nationwide · pta.org“
@Momsandthecity – Jessi – LA, Lauren – Austin/Dallas & Kat NYC/Brooklyn. We hand selected the content. We are NOT @themoms TheMomsandTheCity.com
Twitter Accounts for Teachers
@principalspage – Superintendent, Self-Proclaimed Author of #1 Read Superintendent Blog in the World, Google Certified Administrator, Speaker, micsmith@principalspage.com. Tuscola, Illinois · michaelsmithsupt.com
@askteacherzcom – Educators & Parents. Managers of #CollabEd & @Power_of_Hi – Gr.1 Tchr. w/ Counseling MA & Gr.8 U.S. History Tchr. w/ History MA – Coach & Free-Lance Writer. Grosse Pointe, Michigan · askteacherz.com
@shannonmmiller “Teacher Librarian & Tech Integrationist who loves connecting, creating, change, advocacy & NOISE. Presenter & Blogger. Connecting People Shorty Award Recipient. Van Meter, Iowa · http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/”
Guest Blog: A Day To Make A Difference: Celebrate Literacy With Everyone
@NormandinBill – Proud father of 2 wonderful children, husband to an amazing educator, proud Principal of Normandin Middle School in New Bedford, MA http://normandinprincipal.blogspot.com
Guest Blog: All Kids Can SUCCEED – Be the “1″
@PatrickMLarkin – Artist formerly known as @bhsprincipal – BPS Asst. Supt. NASSP National Digital Principal Award Winner (2012), Evangelist for Web 2.0 and Digital Tools. Burlington, MA · http://www.patrickmlarkin.com/
Guest Blog: Patrick Larkin’s Top 5 Twitter Accounts for Teachers
@feedtheteacher – EFL Teacher, E-tutor and social media and technology enthusiast! I believe in the power of sharing and collaborating! · http://feedtheteacher.blogspot.com
Guest Blog: Digital Parenting: The Digital Parent in You!
@cybraryman1 – Educator & Writer trying to catalog the internet for students, educators and parents. http://cybraryman.com ÜT: 27.179819,-80.236438 · http://www.cybraryman.com
Guest Blog: Teachers, Follow That Hashtag!
@plnaugle – I teach 4th graders math and social studies using many Web 2.0 tools like Edmodo. Glogster, kidblog.org, Jing, Skype, Wikis and I have 35 years of experience. New Orleans, LA · http://pnaugle.blogspot.com
Guest Blog: Should You Be Using Exit Slips in Your Classroom!
@Edudemic – A dedicated community of educators and technologists looking to enhance learning. Cambridge, MA · edudemic.com
@pbsteachers – Multimedia resources & professional development for America’s preK-12 educators. Arlington, VA · http://www.pbs.org/teachers
@LAFund – We are an education non-profit in Los Angeles. Currently revitalizing arts education in LA with a group of world-renowned artists. Tweets by Leigh. #ArtsMatter Los Angeles, CA · http://www.lafund.org/#arts-matter
Guest Blog: The LA Fund & Facing History and Ourselves Combat Bullying
@USATeducation – Using USA TODAY to connect what students are learning in the classroom to events, trends and circumstances in the world around them. Listening closely. Everywhere in the USA · http://education.usatoday.com
@TeacherSabrina – Teacher-turned-advocate for kids, teachers & communities. Pro-#edreform that works for real people, not corporate interests. Tweets = mine, RTs ≠ endorsements. Washington, DC · http://www.sabrinajoystevens.com
@TeacherCast – TeacherCast.net was set up to help teachers better use technology in their classrooms. We are your Educational Community for 21st Century Learning. Philadelphia · http://www.TeacherCast.net
@smithsonianedu Resources for teachers and their classrooms from the Smithsonian Institution. Terms of use: http://www.si.edu/Termsofuse Washington, DC · http://www.SmithsonianEducation.org
@SirKenRobinson – Los Angeles · sirkenrobinson.com
@ShellTerrell – Education thought-provoker, The 30 Goals Challenge author, International Speaker, #Edchat founder, Host for AM TESOL Free Fri Webinars, SC Mgr @TheConsultantsE worldwide · http://bit.ly/ShellTerrell
@NCTM – The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a public voice of mathematics education, providing vision, leadership and professional development. Reston, Virginia · http://www.nctm.org
@NAESP – National Association of Elementary School Principals: Serving all elementary and middle-level principals. Alexandria, VA · http://www.naesp.org
@khanacademy – Working to make a free, world-class education available for anyone, anywhere. Mountain View, CA · http://www.khanacademy.org
@edmodo -The official twitter account for Edmodo. Make your classroom a community. http://bit.ly/pCk24J San Mateo, CA · http://www.edmodo.com
@AngelaMaiers – I believe these 2 words can change the world – #YouMatter – I’m an Educator, Author, Speaker passionate about literacy, learning, and power of social media. Iowa · http://www.AngelaMaiers.com
@ASCD – The international education association dedicated to providing programs, products, and services that empower educators to support the success of each learner. Alexandria, VA (D.C. area) · http://www.ascd.org
@coolcatteacher – Best teacher blog award winner, co-founder- Flat Classroom Projects, Conference, Digiteen, NetGenEd, known as the Wikinator by my students, author Camilla, Georgia · http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com
@CNNSchools – CNN’s Schools of Thought blog covers education from a variety of perspectives that include policies, practices and people. CNN, Atlanta, GA, USA · http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/
@DiscoveryEd – Supporting teachers by bringing the world of Discovery into classrooms to ignite students’ natural curiosity. Global · http://DiscoveryEducation.com
@DianeRavitch – I write about education. I blog at dianeravitch.net Brooklyn · http://dianeravitch.com
@ncte – National Council of Teachers of English: devoted to improving literacy teaching and learning at all levels of education. RTs/follows do not imply agreement. Urbana, Illinois · ncte.org
@massteacher – Massachusetts Teachers Association Boston, Mass. · massteacher.org
@NSTA – The National Science Teachers Association: promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. Arlington, Virginia · nsta.org
@educationweek – American education’s newspaper and website of record. Bethesda, MD · edweek.org
@AFTunion – We’re 1.5 million teachers, paraprofessionals/school-related personnel, higher ed faculty, gov’t employees, & healthcare workers making a difference every day. Washington, DC · aft.org
@NEAToday – The National Education Association, the nation’s largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. Washington DC · nea.org
Other Twitter Accounts
@WinterDolphin – I’m an Atlantic Bottlenose dolphin who lost my tail after getting entangled in a crab trap. I recently took up acting and played myself in Dolphin Tale. Clearwater, Florida · SeeWinter.com
@NWF – National Wildlife Federation works to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future. Staff updating: @d_tinker @starfocus @rarewildlifeguy Washington, DC · nwf.org
Educational Associations: