Tutorial on Twitter

Specific Uses for Teachers & School Library Media Specialists

Why Would a School Library Media Specialist Want to Use Twitter?

To Ask for Help

To Be Helpful

To Promote One’s LMC

To Make Connections

Cole (2009)

20 Ways School Librarians Can Use Twitter

1. Ask other librarians for recommended books, products, or services

2. Ask other librarians for help or advice about a topic or professional interest

3. Recommend a book, product, or service to teachers or other librarians

4. Tweet a book list or link to a book list on the web

Cole (2009)

20 Ways School Librarians Can Use Twitter

5. Tweet about a useful resource, blog, video, podcast, or website

6. Provide a daily word of the day or book of the day

7. Share new ideas with other professionals8. Celebrate events such as authors birthdays or

Banned Books Week9. Tweet about your library’s website or blog

Cole (2009)

20 Ways School Librarians Can Use Twitter

10. Link to a book trailer or video booktalk11. Start a twitter book club for students12. Invite followers to online events such as

book clubs and webchats13. Link to photos of your library and events14. Retweet someone’s post that was

interesting15.Tweet with students about new books,

authors, and library services

Cole (2009)

20 Ways School Librarians Can Use Twitter

16. Participate in #FollowFriday17. Answer a student or colleagues question18. Schedule to meet up with other librarians

on or off twitter 19. Share your favorite new books and authors

with others20.Ask students, teachers, and other librarians

for their “favorites”

Cole (2009)

Why Would Teachers Want To Use Twitter?

To help students in a math class with a difficult math problem or mathematical concept

To share with students in a language arts class a blog about writing styles or a link to an author’s website

To tweet a podcast about dissection to a science class To tweet a social studies class a link to an article

about a current event that was discussed in classTo answer a student’s question about an upcoming

assignmentTo answer a parent’s question about an upcoming

field trip

First, you need to set up an account:

Go to http://twitter.com/ Go to “Sign Up” Look at the next two slides The first screen shot shows you where the

“Sign Up” is when you first enter the website

You will notice a red arrow next to the “Sign Up”

The screen shot after that shows you the blank “Sign Up” page

Once on the “Sign Up” page, type in your full name, username,

password, and email

As you type in the info, it will tell you the availability of your username and strength of your selected password

Change this as necessaryClick to agree to the “Terms of Service” when

you have it set the way you want itClick “Create Account”You are now ready to “Sign In” and create

your “Profile”

Once you set up your account, you can sign in from the “Sign In” page

The next slide shows what your home page looks like. Notice all of the information contained on your

twitter “Home” page.

Click on these to see who is following you and who you follow.

Use the tool bar to go to your profile, find people, or change settings

This is a where your tweet is displayed

This is a tweet from one of your followers.

Click here to check and send direct messages

Type yourtweet here and hit the tweet bar!

How to set up your “Profile”

1. Go to “Profile” on the home page to view your page before you make changes

2. Next, click on “Settings”3. Then, click on “Profile”4. You can add a picture, write a bio, and even

add a location to your tweets!

This is what your “Profile” looks like before you add to it

The items to the right areall of your tweets andyour replies to others. Also known as your“Timeline.”

Notice that there is no picture by the usernameand no bio under your full name.

This is the “Setting” page

Click on “Profile” from the “Setting” Page.

How to add a Picture and a BioClick on “Browse” to locate a picture from your

computerDouble click on the picture you want to use and

it will automatically put the file in the boxTo add a bio, type what you would like it to say

in the box next to “bio”You will not see a picture or the bio until after

you hit “Save”View your Profile, by clicking the “Profile” tab

next to the “Home” tab in the upper right hand corner

Before you “Save”

After you “Save”

Your new “Profile” view that others will see when they click on

your twitter page!

Now you

have a pictur

eNow you have a bio

You are now ready to learn the following:

How to TweetHow to Reply to a Followers TweetHow to Retweet and Favorite a TweetHow to Follow, Unfollow, or Block Another

UserHow to Read a Direct Message (DM)How to Send a Direct Message (DM)How to Tweet a Link to a WebsiteHow to Tweet a Photo (Twitpic)How to Tweet a Video (Twitvid)

How to TweetFrom the “Home” page under “What’s

happening?”, type what you want to tweet in the text book in 140 characters or less

Click “Tweet”The tweet will be displayed in your timeline

next to your username and picture

Type tweet here Click

“Tweet”

How to Reply to a Follower’s Tweet

Click “Reply” next to the follower’s tweetReplies use the @ symbolWhen you click “Reply”, you will notice the

following appears in the tweet box: @usernameAfter the @ symbol and the person’s username,

type your reply.Anything in the tweet box counts towards the

140 character limitThe next 2 slides give more details about

Reply, Retweet, and Favorite

Click to “favorite” a tweet. This saves it.

If you want your followers to see someone else’s tweet, Click “Retweet”.

Click “Reply” to reply to a followers tweet.

Notice that the username with the @ symbol in front of it. That is how you reply to someone.

Type the rest of your tweet in the box.

How to Follow, Unfollow, or Block Another User

Click on the username of the personClick on the arrow next to the wheel, which is under

the users name and click what you desire to doYou can choose from the following:

1. Mention2. Direct message3. Follow (Unfollow if you are already following

them)4.Block5. Report

Click on the arrow to drop down the box

Click on the option you want

How to Read and Send a DMFrom you “Home” page, click on “Direct Messages”It takes you to a page where you can send a message,

view your inbox, or view your sent messagesThe next slide shows a screenshot of that pageDirect Messages are private messages that you can

send to a followerUnlike your timeline, only you or the follower can see

a direct messageTo send a DM, in the drop down box on top, click the

name of the person you want to DM, type your message (140 characters or less), and click “Send”

How to Tweet a LinkCopy and paste the link that you want to send

in the tweet boxYou can add other text to the tweet, but the

text and the link cannot be more than 140 characters

Click “Tweet” just as you would to send any other tweet

Take notice of the link within

the tweet

How to Tweet a PhotoGo to http://twitpic.com/Login on this website using you Twitter

username and password“Allow” access to the application then Click

on “Okay! Let’s Get Started”The screenshot on the next slide shows you

what the page looks likeChoose an image, add a message, and post

optionsClick “Upload”Check you Twitter timeline to see your tweet

How to Tweet a VideoGo to http://www.twitvid.com/Login on this website using you Twitter

username and password“Allow” access to the application then Click

on “Upload Video” in the top right cornerThe screenshot on the next slide shows you

what the page looks likeChoose an video file or to record from the

webcamAdd a message and click “Upload Video”Check you Twitter timeline to see your tweet

Now You are Ready to Promote Your Classroom or School

Library Media Center Using Twitter!

ReferencesCole, S. (2009). 20 ways for librarians to use

twitter. Library Journal, 134(11), 25.Twitter tutorial Twitpic your photos [Video file].

Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu594QgehFcon August 7, 2010.

Video tweeting using Twitvid [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5XeeXHz5Okon August 7, 2010.