I got an oblique mention on Claire Bracher's own post on this topic pop into my notifications this morning. I'm not in her top five, but what the hell I thought I'd take the cue to share my own #Twitterati anyway. Claire, by the way, is definitely my go-to person on StaffRm. She doesn't work in the same phase at me, but she comments and interacts like crazy. To a blogger, there is no sweeter thing.
So here they are, in no particular order (if you're not on this list, please don't take offence, it's just that I have tried to stick to @teachertoolkit's rules and not mention those previously mentioned by others):
- @dajbelshaw - he and I come from different ends of the political spectrum, but share a good deal in common nonetheless. He was one of the first people I followed on Twitter when I started back in 2011. I'm not even quite sure how our paths crossed - that's the wonderful thing about Twitter it results in serendipitous connections that would likely never happen in 'real life'. Anyway, he blogs and tweets feverishly about all things to do with education and technology. He's a deep thinker and prolific connector. If anyone amongst the people I follow deserves to be described as a 'thought leader' it's him. I've subscribed to his weekly newsletter since I first became aware of it and there are not many weeks where I don't learn something new as a result. Recently he's started a podcast on EdTech ideas with Dai Barnes (cf) which has also become a weekly ritual for me. If you don't follow him yet, you should.
- @daibarnes - Dai has recently become head of digital strategy at Oundle. He's doing a job which closely mirrors mine (or at least what I hope mine will become!) He has a great blog on which he occasionally interviews heroes in the EdTech world. I never tire of reading his 'This is how I work posts'. He seems quieter on Twitter than many, but whenever I remember, his timeline is worth a scroll through.
- @bleidolf67 - Again another serendipitous connection - how else would I ever connect with someone teaching in Illinois? Beth is active plugging @teachthought challenges, a few of which I have taken up. She is a window on education in the USA for me - and a definite antidote to the echo chamber that I might otherwise surround myself with on Twitter.
- @RossCoops31 - Ross teaches primarily in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He was kind enough to give me a good half hour of his time as part of my research into educators' use of Twitter. Again, like Beth, he helps me see beyond the UK bubble. He has some great things to say about how Twitter might be used by teachers and has been active in trying to encourage more teachers to sign up.
- @paullawleyjones Paul is pretty quiet on Twitter (or at least living in S. Korea his active periods don't coincide with my own). He is something of a tech genius though with a beautiful blog on which he posts some very thought-provoking stuff. As an ESL teacher his interests coincide with my own (there are large numbers of non-native pupils at Oswestry). I've conversed quite regularly with him on Twitter or through the comment streams of our respective blogs. One day I'll get round to sorting mine out so that it looks half-way as good as his! A great bloke.
So there you have it. I've shown you mine, so now you show me yours...
The way this works, by the way, taken straight from @teachertoolkit's original post on the challenge is as follows:
Rules:
There are only 3 rules.
- You cannot knowingly include someone you work with in real life.
- You cannot list somebody that has already been named if you are already made aware of them being listed on #TwitteratiChallenge
- You will need to copy and paste the title of this blog post and (the Rules and What To Do) information into your own blog post.
What To Do?
There are 5 to-dos you must use if you would like to nominate your own list of colleagues.
- Within 7 days of being nominated by somebody else, you need to identify colleagues that you rely regularly on for support and challenge. They have now been challenged and must act as participants of the #TwitteratiChallenge.
- If you’ve been nominated, you must write your own #TwitteratiChallenge blog post within 7 days. If you do not have your own blog, try @StaffRm.
- The educator nominated, that means you reading this must either: a) record a video of themselves (using Periscope?) in continuous footage and announce their acceptance of the challenge, followed by a pouring of your (chosen) drink over a glass of ice.
- Then, the drink is to be lifted with a ‘cheers’ before the participant nominates their five other educators to participate in the challenge.
- The educator that is now (newly) nominated, has 7 days to compose their own #TwitteratiChallenge blog post and identify who their top-5 go-to educators are.