Twitter doesn't like me !

Comments on Sue Waters' article
PLN (Personal Learning Networking) as presented by Sue Waters in her blog is attractive. It seems that "reflecting on ideas, sharing ideas and providing advice" are pertinent goals, whatever the professional group someone is joining. It must be a nice feeling to be part of a worldwide community of competent colleagues. I agree on some of Waters' objectives, but I haven't made up my mind about networking with the students -outside class- 24h/7days a week.

I checked out the 5 top tools recommended by Mrs. Waters and realised that I was acquainted with blogging, and twitter, but not at all with Facebook, and Ning.

I have been following some educational bloggers for the past 4 years and have been very interested by some of their topics. I have followed great exchanges of ideas, such as cyber intimidation in schools, use of cellular in schools, collaborative learning versus traditional teaching, pro and cons about the Réforme pédagogique, the use of homeworks or not, etc... I rarely participated on those blogs and , if I did comment, it was to share a parent's point of view. The interaction between commenters is of undeniable interest at times. ( Mrs. Waters gives Tips for better blogging!). I am willing to belong to a professional Learning community but I think that it is not the most important characteristic to be a good teacher.

My experience with Twitter was far less convincing, however. I just couldn't see the point of reading a scroll of short sentences, various heteroclite comments, with an occasional good link. My twitter account has been frequently blocked, marked as "suspicious". At the moment, I'm not allowed to search for new friends. I wonder why ? Perhaps I don't master the tool properly...