If you’re already a teacher on Twitter, you know how useful it can be to connect with other educators and get the latest news in education.
If you’re not on Twitter you may think it’s just celebrities navel gazing while everyone else tweets pictures of their latest meal. Yes, there can be some of that, but there are also plenty of innovative teachers using Twitter to engage with like-minded people on a variety of education subjects.
Whether you’re a Twitter novice or pro, here are some educators on Twitter that may be worth following.
10 Educators On Twitter You Should Follow (But Probably Don’t)
Middle school teacher Ron Clark, winner of Disney’s American Teacher Awards 2000 Outstanding Teacher of the Year, is also an author, speaker and co-founder of the Ron Clark Academy. Located in Atlanta, the RCA is dedicated to teaching in innovative, creative and inspiring ways. Clark’s Twitter feed offers frequent tweets, including lots of photos featuring daily and special events at the school. Followers can look forward to at least one tweet a day, and usually more, of Clark’s inspiring insight and updates into his dynamic and busy life.
2. @wendykopp
Recognized as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Kopp is CEO and co-founder of Teach For All and founder and chair of the board for Teach For America, both of which are dedicated to providing excellent education for children in low-income communities and in impoverished areas throughout the world. Via her Twitter feed, Kopp offers encouraging words, travel and personal updates, photos, and links to articles, films and other things of interest.
3. @PrincipalJ
Prolific Twitter user Jessica Johnson is an elementary school principal in rural Wisconsin and co-moderator of the #educoach Wednesday night chat on Twitter. As a matter of fact, she lists “Twitter Evangelist” on her Twitter bio. As of last count, she has almost 7,400 followers and she’s closing in on 23,000 tweets. Johnson’s Twitter feed is a great place to learn more about #educoach and other education initiatives and groups on Twitter. Along with practical advice and useful links, Johnson offers a nice dose of humor to her tweets and engages in lively discussions with her followers.
4. @cristama
Passionate educator and busy Twitter user Crista Anderson is a K-12 instructional coach in Montana. At almost 20,000 tweets and 4,500 followers, Anderson has a lot to say and a lot of people listening. She offers links to articles, conference information and updates, interesting studies, research, photos, reminders, advice, and valuable resources. Anderson is engaging and good at answering follower questions.
5. @nbucka
Rhode-Island based educator Nicole Bucka was formerly an English, special ed, and ELL teacher in Southern California and is currently RTI support for secondary schools in Rhode Island. She is an autism advocate and her tweets include links and resources related to autism and special ed. She also discusses student discipline, student success, and year round schooling as it impacts student learning.
Texas instructional technology guru, writer, speaker, and Google Certified Teacher Amy Mayer is passionate about edtech and a prolific Twitter user. Followers of Mayer’s are treated to a mixed bag of tweets which have included links to job openings, edtech advice, cool videos, useful links and more. Mayer seems determined to show how technology and creativity can go hand in hand where education is concerned.
7. @SNewco
Fourth-grade teacher and edtech enthusiast Scott Newcomb seems to constantly scan the net for great links and useful information on topics ranging from mobile learning technology to project-based learning, which he then tweets to his many followers. Followers will find tons of leads on great iPad education apps and savvy tips for teachers who want to engage in mobile learning in their own classrooms.
Josh Stumpenhorst is a sxith-grade language arts and social science teacher at Lincoln Junior High School in Illinois and the state’s 2012 teacher of the year. His Twitter feed offers inspiration, humor, and practical teaching tips. He is an avid Twitter user who feels Twitter has profoundly affected his life, evidenced by his over 40,000 tweets. Followers can expect at least a tweet an hour.
Fifth-grade teacher and creator of the Global Read Aloud Pernille Ripp writes that she has received no awards or accolades except for “the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day.” This is an educator who is in the trenches, every day, in her classroom in Madison, Wis., and tweets about that and other education subject on her busy Twitter feed as she engages with her followers.
10. @coolcatteacher
Vicki Davis is a busy education voice on social media. Along with her bustling Twitter feed, which has more than 54,000 followers, she is a full-time teacher and IT director at her school, and she is a writer of both a book and a blog. She tweets on personal development, teaching, leadership and more while keeping followers informed about her speaking engagements and newest podcasts.
If you’re looking for even more K-12 or higher-ed educators to follow on Twitter, want to join in on an education chat, or just want to see what people are saying about education, you can do searches of hashtags such as #edchat, #edtech, #elemchat, #education, #teaching and more.
Kristin Marino writes about education and social media. She has an English degree from the University of Nevada, Reno; image attribution flickr user hankerstein