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We want you to leave this workshop with
 * something practical to do in your professional life
 * something you can do with your students in September

Background
0. Whenever there is "down" time this morning, please spend some time reading this short article: [|Educators Test the Limits of Twitter Microblogging Tool]

Set up
1. We already registered you, so just sign in at [|http://www.twitter.com] You can change any information in your account later.
 * //User Name//: Use your first and last name without a space.
 * //Password//: mynycwp (After you log in, go to Settings / Password and change your password.)

2. Add the following to your //Account//, and upload your avatar under //Picture//. No spaces, please. || It will look like this: http://nycwritingproject.ning.com/profile/YOURUSERNAME || Only let people whom I approve follow my updates. If this is checked, you WILL NOT be on the [|public timeline]. || 3. While you are signed in, go to http://twitter.com/nycwp
 * ~ Name: || Enter your real name, so people you know can recognize you. (e.g. Paul Allison) ||
 * ~ Username: || Your URL:
 * ~ Email: || Check to be sure this is correct, and the one you want to use. ||
 * ~ Time Zone: || Change this to Eastern Time ||
 * ~ More Info URL: || Put the link to your NYCWP Voices, My Page here.
 * ~ One Line Bio: || About yourself in fewer than 160 chars. Please don't skip this! ||
 * ~ Location: || Where in the world are you? Bronx, Queens, NY? ||
 * ~ Language: || English ||
 * ~  || Protect my updates - Please DO NOT check this box.
 * Click on //Following// to see the 50 or so teachers that NYCWP is "following." These are NYCWP teachers who use twitter, and they include everybody in our Institute.
 * Please follow each of these teachers. When you do their posts will show up on your //Recent// tab.

Post & Respond
4. Tweet - answer the question //What are you doing?// by writing a "focused sentence" from this morning's blog post. Make your sentence: 5. Respond to some of the tweets by learning to use @username or by clicking on the reply arrow (Note, this does NOT make your tweet private.) 6. Also learn how to send Direct Messages:
 * 140 characters or less
 * express a strong opinion
 * sum up your thinking about something important
 * be like copy for an advertisement (pithy, effective, strong)
 * to the NYCWP network ( D NYCWP ) Only users who are following NYCWP get this message, and it also comes in email.
 * to individuals ( D User Name ) Only the individual gets this message, and it also comes in email.

Expanding Your Network
7. Now we want you to see the power of the Twitter network on a larger scale. Go to [|Summize], and find a conversation of interest to you. Follow some people there.

8. Go to either Paul or Julie's user and look at some of the recent content they have been seeing. What looks interesting and relevant to you? When you find something, click on that user's name. If the content looks interesting, FOLLOW that person. Try this a few times and add people as you find interesting content with a goal of finding 20 more people to follow.

Discuss
9. Add one more tweet, answering this: //What value might Twitter have (or not have) for you as a teacher -- in your professional life?// 10. Let's discuss what value this might have for you as a teacher.

Youth Twitter
11. Now we want to focus on how you can bring some of this new social networking to your students. Go to [|http://www.youthtwitter.com.] 12. Let's discuss what is on the home page. 13. Where do you see research on Youth Twitter? Where do you see writing? What do you see happening here?

More about social networks and microblogging

 * Twitter page on Teach Web 2.0
 * [|Why We Twitter: Understanding Microblogging //Usage and Communities//] (PDF)
 * [|Social Networking, the "Third Place," and the Evolution of Communication]
 * [|Pew Internet: Teens and Social Media]