PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TWITTER STYLE!

My favorite professional development the last few years has been Twitter. It’s simple, short, convenient, and personalized. I've gotten some of the most wonderful reading and writing ideas while I’m waiting in the grocery line, needing to kill a few minutes in between projects, or sitting on the toilet—well, you get my drift! It’s there for me whenever I have a few minutes.

If you don’t have a Twitter account, get one now before summer break! It’s quick and easy. The best advice I have for you is to only follow the best in ELA education. This will keep you from having to weed through a lot of information that doesn’t apply to you. This will also ensure there will be something that interests you every time you check it. To get you started, here are some of my favorites:

GENERAL: edutopia, Scholastic Teachers, WeAreTeachers, Education Week, NCTE, Blevins_Cindy  (I retweet my favorites from all of these if you want to start by following me)
LESSON PLANS: ReadWriteThink
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS/AUTHORS: Heinemann Publishing, Stenhouse Publishers, Penny Kittle, Kelly Gallagher, Carol Jago, Ralph Fletcher, Stephanie Harvey, barryLane, Cris Tovani, Ruth Culham
READING: goodreads, YALSA, Teri Lesesne, Donalyn Miller, Amy Rasmussen, SchoolLibraryJournal, Teen LibrarianToolbox, Shannon Miller
WRITING: Writing Project, The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Writer’s Relief, The Write Life, Advice to Writers
TECHNOLOGY: TCEA, Google for Education
COLLEGE PREP: The College Board