Where LinkedIn provides corporate head office updates and Instagram acts as a virtual showroom, Twitter is a popular platform for thought leaders and industry experts. Providing a place to share views and helpful links, it has become an essential tool for any professional, including those in education.
With legislation, best practice and outlooks changing frequently, it’s a good idea to see what other school leaders and education experts are saying. We’ve pulled together some of the industry’s best, brightest and most entertaining individuals and organisations from the Twittersphere.
Mark Anderson - @ICTEvangelist
Mark is a former school leader with 20 years in the industry. As part of his goal to positively impact the future of children, he left the classroom to become an author, blogger and keynote speaker. Via Twitter and other channels he regularly shares professional updates, offering links to his latest blog posts, infographics and now, webinars. Though specialising in leadership, management and professional development, he’s a ‘must follow’ inspirational voice for anyone working in all areas of the sector.
Emma Gray - @workingsbm
With 17 years’ experience working as a School Business Manager (SBM) and as a Fellow SRMA, Emma is another long-standing educational professional using social media to support others in the role. Her blog is full of tips and first-hand experience of the ups and downs of working as an SBM, with a podcast, advice section and guest blogs from others in the industry. Continuing this authentic approach, her Twitter feed offers an uplifting and honest account of her day to day work, regularly tweeting, sharing and connecting with other SBMs to answer any queries.
Laura McInerney - @miss_mcinerney
As an education journalist, Teacher Tapp co-founder, public speaker and ex-teacher, Laura is one of the education sector’s most trusted experts. Former editor at School’s Week, she now writes a regular column in The Guardian, covering all topics relating to her specialist subject. When joining over 60,000 people who also follow her on Twitter, you can expect to see retweets from other experts, stats and infographics from data gathered by her app and other industry sources, as well as regular comments on the latest issues in education. With such a large following and interaction with professionals in her field, Laura’s feed is a great resource for discovering other authoritative voices in the industry too.
Sarah Mullin - @MrsSarahMullin
While many of our recommended education influencers no longer work in the classroom, Sarah Mullin remains as a deputy headteacher for a West Midlands school. Alongside this, she offers coaching and mentoring to others in the industry and has also authored ‘What They Didn’t Teach Me On My PGCE’. In her book she shares personal anecdotes and collates other teachers’ tales of starting their career in teaching, and you can spot many of these contributors on her Twitter feed too. A must-follow account for a funny and light hearted insight into the world of education. She’s also taken herself ‘back to school’ recently, and is currently studying for her EdD.
SBL Connect - @SBLconnect
Rather than an individual, SBL Connect is a grassroots community committed to representing school business leaders. Many in the industry regularly tag and tweet the profile, making it a fantastic way to keep up to date with others in the industry and discover new professional connections. This community continues on its website, with a platform to share resources, attend events and read blog posts from its contributors.
These are just five suggestions, but by keeping up to date with industry hashtags you’ll soon discover there is a vibrant community of education sector professionals to add to your feed. Of course, you can also follow us on Twitter @AccessGroupEdu to find out the latest education technology news from us.
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