Use Blogger to Create a Searchable Database of Your Twitter Favorites

When I first became a technology coach, I wanted to be able to share the interesting ideas I found on Twitter.

I used several different services that allowed me to save Tweets or Posts, but they all lacked the ability to tag posts. Searching for posts is great if you know what you are looking for, but I wanted to find a service that would also allow me to tag posts.

In my research to find the right tool, I stumbled on an applet on ifttt.com that saves Twitter posts that you favorite on Twitter, to a Blogger blog. ifttt.com stands for if this then that and is a site that allows you to create workflows between apps.

This was great because, with a blog, you can search the entire site as well as tag posts. (I suppose there is one for Wordpress too, but I prefer Blogger.)

Two ways to search

1. Head over to ifttt.com to get started

Sign up for an account if you don't have one. You will also need to connect your Blogger account and your Twitter account so ifttt can access and modify them.

2. Create a new applet

Find your username in the upper right-hand corner and click on it. Then select New Applet.

3. Select actions

You will need an if and a that. For this example, the if is a like on Twitter, and the that will be new Blogger post.



Click on +this and select Twitter.

Then choose your that

4. Customize the action fields
Since this is a new Blogger post, there are several ways to customize it: post title, body, labels. Select which ingredients you want to add. 

Here is how I customized my applet.

Be careful to add text to the Title ingredient, otherwise, your posts will look like mine did below.

WHAT MY POSTS LOOKED LIKE BEFORE CUSTOMIZING THE TITLES FIELD

In the end, you will have an applet that looks like this.

This is not the perfect tool for me yet, I still have to go in to adjust labels, but this is much easier than what I was doing before.

Book Creator Chat

Since I discovered it, I have spread the news about Book Creator to whoever will listen. So when I saw that Book Creator was looking for ambassadors, I thought I might as well have a title for what I am doing anyway.

Then late this spring the Book Creator team sent out an email asking for help with the chat series they were going to have over the summer. Thinking I would have nothing to do, I signed up for the chat on June 29th. But as the chat drew closer, things my schedule started getting tighter. I am staying with my in-laws this summer and in addition to the work to do around the house, I am volunteering at a local school and looking for a place to live for next year across the country.

I am glad I went through with it but there are a few things to watch out for when hosting a Twitter Chat.

• time differences - do you know the exact time the chat will happen?
• international collaboration - how engaged are you? do you have a plan?
• chat timing - what else is going on?
• questioning - do you have questions that will engage everyone joining?

See below for the full chat. Or click here if it is not showing up.

A Guide to Using Twitter and Other Social Media

The Grade 7's are currently doing an IDU (Interdisciplinary Unit) with Science and English. Part of the requirements has them using Twitter to share information and connect with experts or Tweeple who are interested in the same topic.

This is the start of a presentation I made to help them understand how to use social media for this project and in general as well.

What do you think about it?
Am I missing anything?
What would you add?

Leverage Your PLN

I joined Twitter professionally in 2010 or 2011. I was on before that, but I was only using it socially.

For a while, I had two accounts running, one personal and one professional. This worked until I realized I was wasting a lot of time switching between the accounts. Whenever I flip between accounts, I am bound to accidently post to the wrong one.

And that's what happened.

How to Cultivate a Personal Learning Network

I reflected on why I had two accounts and decided I didn't need two. So I deleted one.

I have spent a lot of time building relationships. This is work - it involves helping other teachers when I can, answering questions, and sharing. Most of all, it takes time.

I was reminded of this when a teacher asked me to search for some resources for her. I knew of a Twitter contact who had the answer for her, and a little while later I had a starting point for her.

She was then interested in joining Twitter, which is great and I encouraged her to do it, but I cautioned her that it is a long process. Mine is several years in the making and I feel I still have a lot of room to grow.

*One tip I give teachers when they join Twitter is to find hashtags, then follow people from within the hashtags. 

ISEdCoach Chat March 22

What a great chat.