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The Twitter Top 100: Education Technology Must-Follows

By | December 10, 2012

Getting “on Twitter” is just the first step. To make the most of Twitter for professional development and learning, you need to build a network of people with shared interests, unique experience and insights to network with and learn from. If you’re interested in education technology and training, we’ve got your starter kit right here.

Still not on Twitter? Check out our free Beginning Twitter for Professionals course to get started in no time.

  1. Tony Karrer ‏(@tonykarrer) – Deep technology experience, understanding of hardware and software and curator of news in the elearning sector.

  2. Connie Malamed ‏(@elearningcoach) – Connie Malamed, author of “Visual Language for Designers”, is a professional eLearning and information designer who brings an understanding of cognitive function, beautiful design and usability to her discussions on Twitter.

  3. Elliott Masie ‏(@emasie) – Elliott is a futurist, visionary and convener of a great annual conference for learning professionals.

  4. Jane Bozarth ‏(@JaneBozarth) – From technology and social media to your holiday shopping, Jane tells it like it is. She’s an elearning creator and author of many books.

  5. Tom Kuhlmann‏ (@tomkuhlmann) – Tom is the author of the “Rapid eLearning Blog” and shares practical suggestions for building eLearning courses. His blog is invaluable and his tweets are witty.

  6. Cammy Bean ‏ (@cammybean) – Cammy is an instructional designer, learning creator, hilarious commentator on all things elearning, and inventor of the timeless term “Clicky Clicky Bling Bling”.

  7. KoreenOlbrish ‏(@KoreenOlbrish) – Want to learn more about game dynamics? Koreen is an instructional designer and entrepreneur interested in social media and virtual gaming.

  8. Jane Hart (@C4LPT) – Jane is a curator at heart – and a professional writer, speaker and advisor on social technologies and collaborative learning.

  9. Aaron E. Silvers ‏ (@aaronesilvers) – Aaron is the Community Manager at Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative – pioneering new ways to support learning with technology.  

  10. Clark Quinn (@Quinnovator) – Clark shares his experience as a learning architect and strategist with a broad cognitive and technical background.

  11. Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer) – The legendary chronicler of all things tech in Silicon Valley.

  12. Clay Shirky (@cshirky) – Clay is a sociologist who studies the ways people communicate online – and the ways tech influences culture. Genius.

  13. BrandonHall Group (@BrandonHallGrp) – Brandon Hall Group is a leading research analyst firm focused on the learning – great insights on corporate learning.

  14. Judy Unrein (@jkunrein) – Judy is a delightful experimenter, a wonderful explainer of new technology and a joy to interact with.

  15. David Kelly ‏(@LnDDave) – David is a curator extraordinaire – he stays on top of chats, conferences and events in the learning sector just in case you didn’t have time to stay caught up..

  16. Nicole Fougere ‏(@Schnicker) – Nicole Fougere, eLearning and technology professional, is the co-founder and manager of marketing at Litmos. She is insightful and understands how to help companies put technology to work for them.

  17. Craig Weiss ‏(@diegoinstudio) – Craig is a leading analyst of authoring tool and LMS platforms. He gets into the details so you don’t have to.

  18. eLearning Guild ‏ (@eLearningGuild) – The Guild is the only industry group focused specifically on online training. Great events, lively community and great resources.

  19. Alicia Sanchez ‏ (@gamesczar) – Alicia has a phd in online games and works for the Department of Defense. You’re convinced, right?

  20. Rip Empson (@ripemp) – Rip covers the education sector for TechCrunch. Must-follow to stay on top of new trends.

  21. Brent Schlenker ‏ @bschlenker – Brent is a former eLearning Guild analyst and now the director of product and technology training at IO. He understands not only the day-to-day technology challenges but also how technology needs to evolve to meet the real needs of learners and companies.

  22. Julie Dirksen (@usablelearning) – Bringing a focus on usability into instructional design and elearning development.

  23. Josh Bersin ‏(@Josh_Bersin) – Josh is the founder of Bersin & Associates and an absolute expert on the corporate training and HR sectors.

  24. Audrey Watters (@audreywatters) – A former teacher reporting on the education technology sector, Audrey brings a focus on what’s practical to the oohs and aahs over new tech.

  25. Learning Solutions ‏(@learningsolmag) – The Elearning Guild’s online magazine serves education and training pros with new ideas and practical tips.

  26. ASTD (@ASTD) – The world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning & development – with a large subgroup of members focused on the online learning sector.

  27. Jay Cross ‏(@jaycross) – Jay is a big thinker who helps businesses think about happiness in the workplace and encouraging informal learning and sharing.

  28. Dan Pontefract (@dpontefract) – Author and learning executive who is doing great work creating information architectures at Telus.

  29. Sarah Lacy (@sarahcuda) – Sarah is a former editor at TechCrunch and recently founded PandoDaily, a new tech blog focusing on startups. Great insights on tech for education.

  30. Michael Staton (@mpstaton) – The “grandfather” of the ed tech startup scene, Michael is a cofounder of @Inigral and active in investor networking for ed tech startups.

  31. Lisa Chamberlin ‏ (@chambo_online) – Lisa Chamberlin is an experienced learning designer and social media enthusiast. She tells it like it is.

  32. Justin Mass (@jmass) – Justin manages learning, technology and design at Adobe and shares his insights on culture, technology and learning on twitter. Insightful and creative.

  33. Cathy Moore ‏(@CatMoore) – In her own words: On a mission to save the world from boring corporate elearning.

  34. Ellen Wagner ‏(@edwsonoma) – Ellen is a principal analyst at Sage Road Solutions and has a doctorate in learning psychology. She crosses the divide between education and corporate learning with meaningful insights on new tech.

  35. George Siemens ‏(@gsiemens) – Thinking hard about the using technology to make education accessible. Convener and analyst of MOOCs.

  36. Travis Smith ‏ (@dtssmithers) – Travis Smith is a learning and development professional with creative design ideas and a willingness to share

  37. Melissa A. Venable (@Melissa_Venable) – Melissa A. Venable is an instructional designer for higher education and industry curriculum. She shares insights from the college world as well as the corporate world.

  38. Kay Lehmann ‏(@kay_lehmann) – Kay Lehmann is an author, blog writer, online educator and eLearning enthusiast.

  39. Tim Martin (@timpmartin) – One part SCORM, one part kids’ soccer games and two parts insight on the new Experience API for elearning.

  40. lrnchat (@lrnchat) – Where learning and training professionals come to meet. A weekly Twitter chat on learning and development. Great networking opportunity.

  41. Philip Hutchison ‏ (@pipwerks) –  Phillip gets into the nitty-gritty details of authoring online training and designing training environments. Astute analyst and a great sharer of his resources.

  42. Jane McGonigal ‏ (@avantgame) – Jane McGonigal is a proponent of games as a tool to make the human race happier and more successful. Also the  author of the New York Times bestselling book “Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World.”

  43. Kevin Thorn ‏(@LearnNuggets) – Kevin Thorn is a freelance elearning developer and instructional designer. A fabulous designer and occasionally available for avatar development projects.

  44. David Anderson ‏(@elearning) – David not onlyhas the best Twitter handle in the business – he’s a knowledgeable instructional designer and the community manager at Articulate.

  45. Marcia Conner (@marciamarcia) – Marcia brings understanding of how interpersonal interactions drive learning to the design and support of professional learning environments.

  46. Jason Willensky ‏(@jwillensky) – Jason Willensky is an instructional designer and “occasional provocateur,” specializing in elearning consultation.

  47. Jean Marrapodi ‏ (@jmarrapodi) – Jean Marrapodi is a learning architect and the executive director at Applestar – she focuses on religious education, bringing a unique perspective to the online education discussion.

  48. Michelle Lentz ‏ (@michellelentz) – Michelle Lentz, professional strategist and instructional designer, also tweets about wine. Needless to say, must-follow.

  49. Harold Jarche ‏ (@hjarche) – Harold is another member of the Internet Time Alliance – thinking big about the infrastructures that support growth and learning.

  50. Kay Chappell Wood ‏ (@kasey428) – Kay Chappell Wood is a learning strategist and workplace performance consultant.

  51. Steve Nguyen ‏(@espnguyen) – Interested in social learning? Steve and other Yammer employees share experiences and insights from working with their customers to implement internal social networks.

  52. Joe Deegan ‏ (@joe_deegan) – Joe Deegan is an eLearning developer who tweets about using key tools like Articulate, Moodle, and Adobe Captivate.

  53. Steve Wheeler ‏(@timbuckteeth) – Steve is the author of “The Digital Classroom” and a researcher and professor of learning technology.

  54. Tricia Ransom ‏ (@TriciaRansom) – Tricia is a learning & development professional and a senior instructional designer at LifeScan.

  55. Gina Schreck ‏(@Ginaschreck) – Gina Schreck is a technology geek and the head of Synapse, where she provides social media management for businesses – she provides great advice on using new tech tools to engage your peers.

  56. David ‏Wetzel (@drwetzel) – David R. Wetzel is a math and science educator focusing on technology and education integration.

  57. Simon Fowler ‏(@sifowler) – Simon Fowler is a research and development associate in the workplace learning industry.

  58. Rick Zanotti ‏ (@rickzanotti) – Rick Zanotti, president and founder of Relate, is an information technology and eLearning professional – and the host of #elearnchat, a great videocast discussion of elearning technology.

  59. Trina Rimmer ‏(@trinarimmer) – Trina Rimmer is a freelance writer and designer, who designs and blogs with a keen eye and a fabulous sense of humor.

  60. Bill Cushard ‏(@billcush) – Bill Cushard is a learning leader, author, researcher, and blogger.

  61. Donna Wells (@donnawells) – Donna is the CEO of Mindflash.com and the former CMO of Mint.com. At both companies, she’s creating easy-to-use tools that make complex topics straightforward.

  62. Skillshare (@Skillshare) – This is a marketplace for both in person and online classes, ranging from professional to hobby skills.

  63. Coursera (@Coursera) – Bringing higher ed to everyone with online classes from leading universities. Tweeting about the growth in higher ed online, new tech for learning

  64. Leo Widrich (@leowid) – Leo is the cofounder of @Buffer, and a great blogger and educator. Wonderful insights on using technology to build a network.

  65. Kasper Spiro ‏(@KasperSpiro) – Kasper is the manager and CEO at easygenerator, where he focuses on creating content and tools for clients to improve online training. He has an international team and clientele and insights into the challenges of localizing content.

  66. Expertus (@ExpertusONE) – A leading technology provider and an excellent participant in the elearning community.

  67. Harvard Biz Review ‏(@HarvardBiz) – Stay on top of trends in management, operations and business leadership – and learn from great case studies they share.

  68. eLearning Learning ‏ (@elearningPosts) – This account curates the trending articles and posts in the online training sector. A great email newsletter as well.

  69. Frank Bonsal ‏(@FrankBonsal) – Frank is an investor focusing on education technology startups. He has a finger on the pulse of what’s new and what’s next.  

  70. CLO Magazine ‏(@CLOmedia) – Chief Learning Officer magazine is a leading publication for executives in the learning and development sector.

  71. Donald H Taylor ‏ @DonaldHTaylor – Donals is an expert in learning technologies who convenes the annual Learning Technologies Conference.

  72. Guy Wallace ‏(@guywwallace) – Great analysis of research into human performance from an expert who has implemented hundreds of performance improvement projects.

  73. Lieve Weymeis (@Lilybiri) – No one knows Captivate like Lieve does. She is a whiz with authoring tools and always willing to help others.

  74. Meg Bertapelle ‏ @megbertapelle – Meg is a designer and developer who blends practical advice with creative vision.

  75. Dawn Mahoney (@dawnjmahoney) – Dawn brings a warm sense of humor and great advice from years of experience creating training solutions – and she’s also the cohost of #elearnchat.

  76. Coline Son Lee (@pmtrainer) – An expert performance consultant and tech lover .

  77. Kris Rockwell ‏(@krisrockwell) – This is your guy for games. Kris is the founder of Hybrid Learning Systems, where he designs learning games and experiences for a variety of clients.

  78. MITSloan Mgmt Review (@mitsmr) – The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Management Review tweets their latest articles, blogs and news.

  79. David Glow (@criticallearner) – David creates training technology architectures for big companies. He knows the ins and outs of both the technical stuff and the content.

  80. Learning Hacks ‏(@learninghack) – Diving into innovative solutions for training challenges. Founder J. Anthony Miguez thinks big and doesn’t let anything slow him down.

  81. Mark Britz ‏(@britz) – Mark is an elearning designer and a master connector. Knows everyone and has rich experience in learning.

  82. Justin Brusino (@ASTDlearntech) – Justin is the community manager at the American Society for Training and Development, focused on connecting professionals who use technology to support learning. Knows everyone and everything!

  83. Adam Weisblatt (@Weisblatt) – Both an artist and an architect – interested in cognition, learning and technology.

  84. Allison Rossett ‏(@arossett) – A professor of educational technology at San Diego State. A wonderful author, expert and consultant.

  85. Mike Rustici ‏(@mike_rustici) – Mike is the co-founder at Rustici Software and one of the original visionaries behind the SCORM standard – and its new evolution into Tin Can and the Experience API.

  86. David Sacks (@DavidSacks) – The cofounder of Yammer (recently acquired by Microsoft) and an expert in enterprise technology. Tweeting about making tech usable.

  87. Stevie Rocco ‏(@stevier) – Stevie is a walking encyclopedia of tools. Have a challenge? She’ll know how to solve it. She’s the resident Instructional Design and Technology Geek at Penn State University.

  88. Brian Dusablon ‏(@briandusablon) – Talk to Brian about usability and accessibility for learning. He’s a tech guy who doesn’t leave design behind.

  89. Reuben Tozman ‏(@reubentozman) – Interested in the semantic web? Want to streamline your technology tools? Reuben is the guy to learn from.

  90. Mike Cooke (@MikeCCooke) – The CEO of Brandon Hall Group, an industry analyst and expert in human resources, management, training and associated technologies.

  91. Beth Kanter ‏(@kanter) – Beth is an expert in training and capacity building in the nonprofit sector. She knows how to stretch resources and build networks.

  92. Charles Jennings (@charlesjennings) – Another member of the Internet Time Alliance, tweeting about working smarter and the learning workplace.

  93. Patti Shank (@PattiShank) – The director of research at the eLearning Guild. Always on top of new tools and new trends.

  94. Denise Doig (@eLearnMag) – Denise is the editor of eLearn Magazine – and shares great articles and opinions about online education and training.

  95. Allison Michels (@anicole87) – Allison works for Yammer, helping companies implement social learning networks. She knows how to connect people. She has a lot of frequent flier miles.

  96. Shannon Tipton ‏(@stipton) – Shannon is the director of L&D at Ambius – tweeting her quest to make her organization more nimble, communicative and productive with online tools.

  97. Bill Kutik (@billkutik) – Bill is an astute analyst of the human resources technology sector – from both a business and usability perspective.

  98. LINGOs ‏(@LINGOsOrg) – Learning in NGOs is an organization helping global non-profit organizations seek training resources to do their good work better. Interesting discussions of training for the nonprofit sector.

  99. Mark Oehlert ‏ (@moehlert) – Mark is an anthropologist and historian who blends technology with an understanding of how the human mind works.

  100. OpenSesame ‏(@OpenSesame) – We would be remiss if we didn’t include ourselves. OpenSesame is the world’s marketplace for buying and selling training courses. We tweet about creating training solutions, developing online training and exploring new technology.

We’ve got all of these industry leaders (and a few more) in one simple list for you to follow on Twitter.

Did we forget someone? Let us know in the comments.

Updating this post with some more great suggestions from the comments: