Who I Follow and Why | Twitter

In my post "When Creating a Professional Identity..." I considered who you follow on twitter as the third element of how people perceive you. Well, I've recently followed five educators. To be fair, I will admit I did not stumble upon them by accident - many of them that I've found were listed in articles* that had "educators worth following". This doesn't mean that I just picked the first five and listed them though, some have come from different sites and all of them have been thought out. Here's who they are and why I'm following them:

• Conor P. Williams (@ConorPWilliams) - When I found Williams' account I liked the fact that he seemed to post intentionally and often. The second thing I noticed was that he was posting on current issues that involved the education system. Intrigued by this, I looked at his bio and discovered that along with being an educator, he is a writer who is passionate about education reforms. 
• Alexander Russo (@alexanderrusso) -Unlike Williams, Russo seems to be an unbiased sourced of interesting content. He doesn't seem to be pushing any agenda but rather provides other educators with ideas and articles worth thinking about. Along with that, Russo posts frequently and thoughtfully. 
•  Danielle Ganley (@MrsGanley) - I actually found Ganley while looking at another account (@webenglishteach). Ganley is an English teacher who posts fairly often. What I like most about her posts is that she seems to post positive things about the importance of education and the fact that they're relevant to my focus. 
• Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1) - I found Blumengarten through my technology class but I followed him because he is the monitor for the #edchat and I was interested on keeping up with those conversations. Instead of having to search for the hashtag I can just scroll though my feed and follow conversations. Along with that, he posts links to articles and games that are useful to educators.
• Asif Wilson (@asifw)  - One of my other passions is social justice, being aware of current events and being part of the community that you're in. Asif Wilson does just that. She is part of The School Project and spoke out on the school closings in Chicago. She is an active part of her community and fights for social justice - it's inspiring. 

Article sites to look at/ consider:

• http://www.educationdive.com/news/12-education-thought-leaders-you-should-follow-on-twitter/307162/