Cathie: Now, don’t glaze over, but I am going to tell you about a great use for Twitter!
Elliot: Oh no, Oh no… You mean “telling your 1000 dearest friends what you ate for breakfast” is not all it can do? I can’t believe YOU got the Twitter Religion! Converts tend to become such zealots and…
Cathie: OH - HUSH!
Elliot: … <stopped in mid-stream rant; mouth WI-I-IDE open>
Cathie: … If you, I and our leadership are not open to new ideas, then we are hypocritical!
Elliot: Hmm. When you’re right, you’re right. I was just taking a cheap shot at Twitter – just like when folks take cheap shots when we say “cellphones are useful in the K-12 classroom.” I apologize…
Cathie: … accepted…
Elliot: … I am ready to listen with an open mind.
Cathie: Education professionals, such as media specialists, are linking up with fellow professionals to share new ideas, review old ideas, help with answers to questions – all via Twitter…
Elliot… and all in 140 characters or less?
Cathie: Yes! The 140 character limit is not a bug, but a feature – it helps to keep the rants down and it helps people focus on the issue, not on the hype.
Elliot: Come to think of it, I was talking with Lynne Oakvik the other day and she mentioned that she heard about mobile learning from her PLN.
Cathie: Yes, Yes… her Personal Learning Network. You got it!
Elliot: Yes, and Lynne recommended I talk with Tom Whitby…
Cathie: … He started the EDU PLN, a website that is like a “meta PLN”—it has all sorts of good information about PLNs on the site.
Elliot: Yup, here’s the URL: http://edupln.ning.com/
Cathie: That’s the point of a PLN – in the end, it actually saves you time: it rescues you when you are in need of help.
Elliot: …Just like that bicyclist in Connecticut that had an accident in the woods and sent a Tweet to her PLN and in minutes she was rescued. I read where it said that while there might not be enough signal for a voice call, an SMS can be sent even in minimal signal areas – like a forest!
Cathie: I was thinking a bit more figuratively…
Elliot: …I am male; literal thinking is my middle name…
Cathie: And now we are mixing a few metaphors … all in good fun!
Elliot: I am nervous; should WE join a PLN? I don’t usually like joining groups – it takes up too much time!
Cathie: But they are supposed to save you time. Folks out in ReaderLand -- tell us about your PLN experiences – are they a time waster or time saver?
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