twitter

Put a Bird on It — Oregon Ed Twitter List #ORedu

by Rachel | Dec 9, 2012 | At Work

Melissa and Jeremy @actionhero and @mrmacnology at ITSC 2012 (now called IntegratED PDX)

Corin and I were at the Oregon School Law Conference this week. We laughed our way through Charles Leitch’s session on technology and social media in K-12. After years of yelling loudly about Internet FUD, it was nice to sit back and listen to someone else preach it and preach it well….

We backchanneled Leitch’s talk on Twitter, of course. Thanks to some creative hashtagging (poundsigning!), we connected with two new-to-us Oregon education rock stars: Adam Howell (@TheDumbJockMyth) and Sam Leach (@Mr_Leach_in_3rd).

Score. I love those moments and connections.

So, Adam, here’s my list of connected Oregon educators. Looking forward to growing our #ORedu list…

@edteck — Peter Pappas
@seansharp — Sean Sharp
@jalldrinlanghus — Jenn Alldrin Langhus
@kurtsloper — Kurt Sloper
@paulcolvin — Paul Colvin
@MsTechAble — A Able
@jroepel — Jason Roepel
@TAHMatt — Matt Karlsen
@spacegirljenn — Jennifer Kelley
@radiumray — Joe Morelock
@sdlangford — Steve Langford
@thorprichard — Thor Prichard
@suzieboss — Suzie Boss
@kicking333 — Tricia George
@JScypinski — Jennifer Scypinski
@mrskchambers — Kate Chambers
@evernotefolios — Rob van Nood
@redtailfan — Tim Welch
@TimGeoghegan – Tim Geoghegan
@MrEngstromTTSD — Mr. Engstrom
@tedrosececi — Alison Anderson
@TeachWrite34 — Charity
@Ron_Peck — Ron Peck
@davidcosand — David Cosand
@gdouglasbundy — G Bundy
@EthertonC — Cindy Etherton
@edtech2020 — Tim Chase
@vpetitt — Virginia Petitt
@hvsaunders — Rob Saunders
@JB94338303 — Johan Bloemhard
@stardiverr — Luann Christensen Lee
@MikeGwaltney — Mike Gwaltney
@dhudgins — Darren Hudgins
@jenanoell — Jennifer Arns
@ccassinelli — Colette Cassinelli
@alundstrom — Amy Lundstrom
@soffenhauser — Skip Offenhauser
@rickettskp — @rickettskp
@techbabble88 — Sarah Blattner

already added:

@timlauer — Tim Lauer
@actionhero — Melissa Lim
@MrMacnology — Jeremy Macdonald
@iwolff — Don Wolff
@seani — Sean Williams
@oneoldkid — Matt Head
@richards92 — Corin Richards
@Mr_Leach_in_3rd — Sam Leach
@TheDumbJockMyth — Adam Howell
@wyattjhs — Carol Wyatt

(Note: I have more in my list, but culled anyone who hasn’t tweeted in a few months. Let me know if I’ve missed anyone.)

The Preamble in 140 Characters

by Rachel | Sep 15, 2012 | At Home

Independence Hall with twitter birds The Committee of Style in The Time of Twitter

The National Archives Prologue Blog issued a challenge this week: tweet the Preamble. The goal was to “shorten the Preamble down to as few words (or letters) as possible while retaining the Preamble’s meaning.”

The Preamble: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Here is my final 140-character draft:

We are *many* persons trying to address complexities of flourishing and living peacefully as *one* nation. Let this be our guide. #Preamble

— Rachel Wente-Chaney (@rwentechaney) September 15, 2012

I’m embarrassed to admit it has been years since I really thought about those 52 words that shape our nation. This challenge was a joy, because it turned my adult eyes to what my adolescent brain had memorized and let sit idle. As an adult, the phrase a more perfect Union gives me goosebumps. My adolescent brain likely thought it was a snub at Britain’s monarchy. I realize now, though, it’s the critical piece of the Preamble. It is an acknowledgement, I think, that we are not trying to fool ourselves into thinking we can perfect something that involves perfectly imperfect humans. We can, however, strive for better.

We have come a long way in 225 years. Persons who were not considered people in that “We the People” of 1787 are now. We amended the heck out of the original document. We survived a civil war, world wars, assassinations, a depression, recessions, and an unceasing political divide. (I urge anyone who thinks we’re divided now to head to the library and read newspapers from the middle to late 19th century.) We struggle during times of heartbreak and disasters. We thrive during times of prosperity and calm. The US Constitution was wisely and broadly written to flex along through it all. Happy Anniversary.

*I created the photo above from a Creative Commons photo of Independence Hall via dolescum on Flickr and also one of the Constitution (page one) via The U.S. National Archives. Thank you, both!

Happy Birthday, Twitter

by Rachel | Mar 22, 2011 | At Home, At Work

Today is Twitter’s fifth birthday. As part of the celebration, Jack, Ev, and crew asked users to post their favorite tweets with the #5yrs hashtag. I did. One of my own. And one of a longtime twitter friend. As I was scanning my timeline, I realized this medium is perhaps more meaningful to me than my handwritten journals from over the years.

I struggled at first, like everyone, with what to post. And how to do it gracefully in 140 characters.

But, then I found my groove. I used Twitter as a journal of sorts, for work and home.

I also used it for information gathering. Sometimes, I would ask questions and other times, information appeared as needed (almost magically! sometimes eerily!).

The presidential election of 2008 came along and twitter grew up. The election feeds surprised me.

Real thoughts, ideas, and debate were backchanneled in a mostly responsible, thoughtful manner.

I began to use Twitter as my outlet for news, pop culture, and personal interests. And watched as it gained respect as a platform, especially during times of crisis, revolution, and important events.

I thought I was clever sometimes….

And was even able to share a complete recipe (very good bread, by the way).

I shared celebrations.

More important than the quips and thoughts I shared, though, are the ones I absorbed. The friends I discovered. The thinkers and geniuses I learned from.

My Twitter circle is local (some of our Crook County group – @queenl, @fally, @BreeseBeef, @PBHoss, @CRRPrineville), regional (some of my dear Bend tweeps – @lightcap, @vdeoguy, @fawndue, @JenFloyd08, @cassondra), and global (a handful of my favorite “others” – @RawyaRageh, @BBCTech, @sesamestreet, @jimmyfallon, @mollywood, @Flickr, @USNatArchives).

I learn something from at least one of them each day. Thanks, @Twitter.