Journal 2: Join the Flock

 (NETS-T 5)

Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2011.aspx

Hadley Ferguson, in her article Join the Flock, strongly suggests that educators get a twitter account, as it can be a very useful tool for teachers. She wrote step-by-step instructions to creating a PLN.  Starting a PLN gives you access to learn what other educators around the world are learning about technology, specifically. A PLN, she explains, is a network of people through the internet who share a common interest and who learn from each other. Most people think of twitter as a purely social network for friends to discuss their daily lives and the media but Ferguson points out the great usefulness of the network. She suggests having multiple accounts for the above reason; one personal account to follow friends and one educational account; to create your PLN. Ferguson emphasizes the importance of retweeting. When you retweet you are essentially re-posting what someone before you has posted so that everyone who is following you has access to that information. Ferguson also encourages people to get into the conversation rather than be a bystander watching what others are posting. Lastly, tagging your posts places your post into a specific stream of information, so people interested in that topic can find the information easily. Hadley Ferguson’s article made it simple to see the usefulness and simplicity of creating a PLN through twitter.

Question 1: If a social network like Twitter can be such a great educational tool, could other such as Facebook or Myspace have the same benefits?

I think what makes Twitter such a great educational and professional tool is simply the hashtags. Through hashtags users are able to create specific streams in which only information on that particular topic are shown. Through hashtags one is able to sift out silly posts by people who post irrelevant or unimportant topics. Facebook does not provide the ability to create streams of information (yet) and neither does Myspace. So, for now, it seems that Facebook and Myspace are simply useful as a social tool rather than educational ones. This is why, as Hadley Ferguson said, it would be beneficial to have more than one twitter account: one professional/education account and one personal account.

Question 2: Is it really necessary to create multiple accounts when using Twitter as a PLN?

I do not think it is necessary to create two twitter accounts. I think it is very important to monitor the kinds of things you post on any network, whether it is professional or personal. Even on your personal account everyone would have access to it, and be able to read what you are saying. I can see having multiple accounts as being beneficial simply to organize groups. But for the “professionalism” aspect, I do not think that should be a reason to have separate accounts, to monitor the things you say. Because if you are posting something that you would not want your grandmother or your boss to see, you should not be posting it at all.