Jo's #TwitteratiChallenge

Thank you to @aegilopoides for nominating me for the #TwitteratiChallenge. This is a good opportunity to recommend some of my favourite tweeters, mainly for the sake of those who are new to Twitter or are yet to join. Outward affection isn't my strong point, but here goes.

In the past year, Twitter has become one of my favourite things. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I look at Twitter when I wake up in the morning and before I go to bed at night, and many times throughout the day. Why? It's partly because I don't want to miss any ideas that could make me a better maths teacher. My career is important to me and I'm eager to learn. It's also because there are some people on Twitter who I consider to be friends, even though I may have only met them once or twice. I value their opinions and I appreciate their support.

Twitter is a brilliant place for teachers. It's such a shame that there are huge numbers of teachers who have not yet discovered it. I love Twitter for the collaboration, the banter, the support, the inspiration and the camaraderie.

So who to nominate? I love everyone on Twitter. Even the people that can sometimes be a bit rude, or grumpy, or aggressive, or arrogant. Any teacher who shares teaching ideas is a superstar to me. Here's a selection of my favourites maths tweeters, in no particular order:

1. @solvemymaths

Ed is a teacher, a teacher trainer, a PhD student, a puzzle writer, a resource maker and a blogger. He is creative (have you seen his Maths Mr Men?!), innovative, techy, resourceful, clever and very funny. Maths teachers on Twitter will be forever grateful for his brilliant #mathsTLP idea. His puzzles are excellent - a challenge for maths teachers and students alike - and his blog is a must-read. 

2. @tessmaths

Julia is lovely. Twitter can be a cliquey place, sometimes unkind and confrontational, but Julia is kind and friendly to everyone. She has loads of experience in maths education and is a regular presenter at maths conferences and events. Julia has lots of creative ideas, is always up for a lively discussion and is full of enthusiasm. 

3. @srcav

Cav writes one of my favourite maths blogs. His posts cover a wide range of topics - puzzles, politics, mathematics, teaching and more. Cav is an avid reader of education blogs and regularly tweets excellent blog post recommendations. He has strong opinions and makes convincing arguments. My first online encounter with Cav was in a discussion about the value of stem and leaf diagrams, which prompted an interesting debate and an agreement to disagree (see Long Live Stem and Leaf). I love it when Cav and the brilliant Colin Beveridge disagree (see Colin's post The Mathematical Pirate and the Formula Triangle) - they both challenge my thinking, which is exactly what I need.

4. @MrReddyMaths

Bruno Reddy is full of enthusiasm and positivity. He has clear ideas about what maths education should look like and is on a crusade to convince us all of the benefits of mastery. His post about designing a mastery curriculum has been a great help to many. Bruno is a knowledgeable and insightful tweeter and blogger. He is also the creator of the fantastic Times Table Rock Stars, which my students absolutely love!  

5. @aap03102

Chris Smith is the only person listed here who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting in person. He lives in sunny Scotland, so it may be a while until we meet. Chris is a popular speaker at conferences - I'd love to attend one of his workshops. Chris produces an outstanding weekly newsletter which is always packed full of puzzles, jokes, mathematical trivia and teaching ideas. It's well worth subscribing to. Chris tweets extracts from his newsletter and also lots of interesting mathematical bits and pieces. 

So that's my five nominations, but there are many many more tweeters who I adore.


Finally, here's the stuff I've been told to stick at the end of this post. Now, a glass of wine awaits...


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#TwitteratiChallenge?

In the spirit of social-media-educator friendships, this summer it is time to recognise your most supportive colleagues in a simple blogpost shout-out. Whatever your reason, these 5 educators should be your 5 go-to people in times of challenge and critique, or for verification and support.
Rules:

There are only 3 rules.

1. You cannot knowingly include someone you work with in real life.
2. You cannot list somebody that has already been named if you are already made aware of them being listed on #TwitteratiChallenge
3. You will need to copy and paste the title of this blogpost and (the Rules and What To Do) information into your own blog post.

What To Do?
There are 5 to-dos you must use if you would like to nominate your own list of colleagues.

1. Within 7 days of being nominated by somebody else, you need to identify colleagues that you rely regularly go-to for support and challenge. They have now been challenged and must act as participants of the #TwitteratiChallenge.
2. If you’ve been nominated, you must write your own #TwitteratiChallenge blogpost within 7 days. If you do not have your own blog, try@StaffRm.
3. The educator nominated, that means you reading this must either: a) record a video of themselves (using Periscope?) in continuous footage and announce their acceptance of the challenge, followed by a pouring of your (chosen) drink over a glass of ice.
4. Then, the drink is to be lifted with a ‘cheers’ before the participant nominates their five other educators to participate in the challenge.
5. The educator that is now (newly) nominated, has 7 days to compose their own #TwitteratiChallenge blogpost and identify who their top-5 go-to educators are.