At the 140 Characters Conference in Des Moines on Monday, three leaders from Van Meter Community Schools shared how Twitter has helped them learn with other educators and develop collaborative projects with classes across the country.

The conference brings together Twitter users from a cross-section of industries, including education, and live streams the 10- to 20-minute talks. Keep reading to find out how Twitter connections have sparked new learning opportunities in school districts.

Share ideas with fellow educators

Through Twitter, Superintendent John Carver has connected with 35 other superintendents across the United States. Now they communicate on a daily basis and share ideas.

"Because we're sharing ideas," Carver said, "thinking is going to a whole different level."

Connect with classes and experts around the world

In the small rural district of Van Meter, authors and scientists skype in to talk with students.

Through Skype conversations, fifth-graders from Van Meter and students in Sydney learn together. Because of the 17 hour time difference, the Iowa students stay late at school, and the Sydney students go to school early so they can talk.

Build a personal learning network

On Twitter, Shannon Miller built a strong personal learning network first. Then the district teacher librarian and technology specialist helped students find people to connect with in careers they were interested in pursuing.

A student named Meg started following photographers on Twitter. And another student named Zach followed people in the music business.

This year, kindergarten through twelfth-graders are connecting with people through Skype and Twitter. Every day, fourth-graders have exchanged weather updates with a class in New Hampshire with these tools.

Collaborate with schools in other states

At different conferences, Miller met two of the people in her network face to face: principal William Brannick and teacher Nicholas Provenzano. Through their conversations, they started collaborating on projects.

Miller and Brannick teach a personal learning network class with students at both of their schools in Van Meter and Philadelphia.

Miller, Provenzano and Van Meter teacher Shawn Hyer worked together to involve their students in a modern production of Romeo and Juliet. The freshmen students from Van Meter and Grosse Pointe South High School in Michigan led the project, worked on the play on their own time and promoted it.

Each school had a cast of characters that performed different acts, and they combined the acts into a video production.

Share what's happening in school

Along with making global connections and collaborating, Van Meter is branding itself with the help of Twitter. Even the library has a brand, the Van Meter Library Voice, and a blog.

Through the hashtag "vanmeter," educators and students share what's going on in class. And Secondary Principal Deron Durflinger said he hopes that will encourage parents to ask more questions and get more involved with the school. They can follow the hashtag from a module on the district website.

Three years ago, these three educators hadn't heard about Twitter. But now that they're using the social networking site, they're able to meet new people and bring more learning opportunities to students.

"Relationships are changing," Carver said, "and through social media and Twitter, we're making new connections."