S'More From The AP
Week Ending October 3, 2014
Connected Educators Month
Right now, around the globe, educators are coming together to improve education, enhance their own practices, and share all the struggles and joys of teaching. Where is all this wonderful "connecting" taking place? On Twitter!! It's not like your kids' Facebook!
There are literally hundreds of "educhats" going on every day of the week on Twitter and the best part of this is that it is professional development that is fully driven by educators! The chats are as diverse as the people who attend them. There are chats specific to grade levels, such as #4th chat, and subject specific, such as #complitchat (literacy). There are also general educhats. Each chat features a new topic each week, and participants share their views (and resources!) on a wide variety of topics that impact our profession and our kids. I joined Twitter about a year ago, thinking it was just another Facebook type thing full of people sharing recipes and posting pics of their new dogs...boy was I wrong!! I now have over a thousand people in my Personal Learning Network (PLN) whom I have come to rely on, who offer me support and encouragement, and who make me think about things as I never have before. Getting "connected" has truly changed me as a teacher and as a person.
Recently, our principal attended her first educhat! Here is her reflection, after which I will share some Twitter and Educhat basics, along with some more resources to get you started on your way to becoming a Connected Educator!
The Principal Ponders
To Chat or not to Chat?
I am proud to say that I am no longer a Twitter “rookie!” Last week, I successfully participated in my very first EduChat – woo hoo! Thank you Traci for holding my hand (mouse?) through the process and getting me ready for the experience. As I have added followers over the last year, I have found myself spending more time on Twitter, not tweeting, but looking at what others have tweeted. I have discovered articles, ideas, videos and many other things relevant to things happening in LISD or even on our own campus, many that I have shared with you. Believe it or not, it really is a great tool for learning and collaborating!
So what exactly is an EduChat? An EduChat is an online roundtable discussion which features a moderator facilitating the chat and the topic being discussed. They are open and unscripted and usually consist of a set of questions posed by the chat moderator. During my first chat on Formative Assessment, the first question was posted and BOOM! Answers began scrolling in the sidebar so fast my head was spinning! I am sure Traci could hear my scream all the way in Haslet because right before I slipped into full panic mode, I received a text from her saying, “Don’t try to read every response – you won’t be able to keep up. Just pick and choose what you want.” Whew! I’m sure she could hear my sigh of relief as well.
Anyway, I survived and it was interesting to hear the perspective of other educators from not just our district and state, but from across the country and globe, on a topic that our campus is exploring. Another great thing about EduChats on Twitter? LISD offers professional development hours for participating! You can participate in the chat from your couch, in your jammies, eating bon-bons, all while receiving professional development credit. It’s definitely a win-win – I encourage you to try it and let me know what you think.
Go forth and chat STARS!
Twitter Basics
1. It's free.
2. After you create your account, you'll want to put a picture (Do not remain an egghead!) and a profile. People like to see who they are talking to and something about you.
3. Make your profile public. If you have a class account and want that to be private, that's different. Your personal/professional account should be public because the whole reason is to find others to connect with.
4. Follow some people, in and outside of our school. I can share some names with you of really cool teachers around the world who would love to add you to their PLN! Branching out allows us to bring back the great ideas we find. It adds value to our community!
What Are The Symbols About?
What Are The Symbols All About?
@ is a symbol that comes before someone's Twitter handle. For example, my Twitter handle is @Fearless_teach. If you search for that, you'll find my profile page and see tweets I've posted. If you search for @oldsettlerES, you'll find our school Twitter account and see what's posted by the owner of the account (Kelly).
# is a hashtag. This is totally different and serves a different purpose. I think of a hashtag as a big bulletin board. A board that anyone can post something on, as long as they include that hashtag in whatever they type. For example, let's say I put up a bulletin board that says, "Why I Love The Book Fair". Now I put a piece of paper on it with my reasons. Any of you could come along, see what I wrote, and put your own piece of paper on that bulletin board and everyone who goes to look at that board will see it. The hashtag (#) is like the bulletin board name. For example, I made up the hashtag #osestars. Sometimes I post pics or just type something that I see that is cool, and as long as I include the hashtag in that Tweet, everyone who visits that bulletin board (hashtag) will see it, even if they don't follow me and I don't follow them on Twitter. It is a common place to post things related to a certain idea. On the other hand, if I post something and instead of the #osestars hashtag, I put @oldsettlersES in my tweet, then the only person who sees that is the owner of @oldsettlersES Twitter account (and whoever follows me) because I sent that tweet to a certain person -- the owner of that Twitter handle (Kelly). If you want to share a pic, thought, or whatever with others besides the owner of @oldsettlersES, we will want to use a common hashtag. Because we didn't have one, I started using #osestars. Anyone can post something there using that hashtag. (Yes, you!!) Anyone who goes to that hashtag can see what's there. Anyone can "Make up" a hashtag and use it, like I did for #osestars, as long as it's not already being used (I searched it first to make sure!)
These educhats are hashtags others have created to make a common place for Twitter users to come and chat and share their thoughts and ideas.
How Do I Try It Out?
So let's say you've decided to go to one. Maybe you just want to "watch" and see what happens, without tweeting. That is okay!! There is actually a name for that because it happens so frequently with newbies; it's called "lurking". That is a great way to start!
So the day of your "try it out" chat comes. What do you do? Well, I recommend going to a website called "Tweetdeck". It's easy to find: www.tweetdeck.com. You log in with your Twitter username and password. Why this website? Well, some chats move fast, and you don't have to keep refreshing the page on Tweetdeck, all comments that people type in are auto updated. It's very easy to work with. Most chats are an hour long. You will find it easier to follow a chat using Tweetdeck than on your phone or iPad. (It is a web-based site, there is no app). In the "Worth Watching" section further down, I've included a how-to video.
In the Tweetdeck search bar, type in the name of your chosen chat. Again, chats are identified by hashtags (#), not @ symbols. For example, on Thursday nights I like to go to a chat that is about creating a Culture of Learning in classrooms and schools. There is a different topic every week, but it is always related to creating that culture of learning. The chat hashtag is #COLchat. I go to the search bar in Tweetdeck, type that, and up it comes in a column. I can now see the questions that the moderator of that chat is tweeting out to everyone, and read the responses and thoughts of others. If I want to say something to the group, I include #COLchat in my tweet and it appears in the chat. Nobody has to follow me to see it, it's just there because I included that hashtag. Sometimes, people will "favorite" or "retweet" my comment. That's always cool! If you are lurking in it, and you see something you like or that you agree with, favoriting that tweet is a good thing to do. It tells the person you liked what they said. If you retweet it, then it will appear both in the chat and on your own timeline, and the people who follow you will see your retweet. I think of it like this: Favoriting is for me (nobody sees that I did that but me and the person who I favorited) while Retweeting is for my followers (They can all see it , even if not in that particular chat). This is an easy way to "participate" in your first chat without actually saying something if you are shy!
What if I watch a while and decide I want to say something to the group or share a thought? Easy. As Kelly said, most are a Q/A format. The moderator will post a question using Q1, Q2, Q3 and so on. For example, "Q1: What are some different types of formative assessment that you use in your classroom"? People respond with A1, A2, A3 and so on. Example, "A1: I like exit tickets and holding up the whiteboard to check responses". Others will also be responding. This is where you might find you are "missing" some of the replies if it is a particularly popular (busy) chat! It's OK! Just catch what you can. Side conversations are wonderful! This is how you can make a personal connection with someone, it is ok to have these. It is how you will grow your own PLN. You will find that as you participate in chats, others there will follow you, and you can follow them back, and there you are...growing your PLN and building relationships!
Kinda Thinking About It?
Most chats are weekly on the same night (see doc below for ideas). I moderate a chat every Saturday morning for teachers who are new to using Twitter as a professional development tool. I have 4 other comoderators . The chat is found at #NT2t (it stands for New Teachers To Twitter). We started about a year and a half ago. First we were small, but we started growing. Now, hundreds of teachers join us every week and we usually are trending in that time slot. You can find a lot of really nice people there, some are brand new to Twitter, and others are veterans who come to help out the new folks and answer questions, etc. that they have. We always have teachers who say we are their very first educhat! If you want to come hang out with us-it is every Saturday at 8AM!
Lewisville offers an educhat for our district. It's every other Monday. The next one is this coming Monday at 8pm. It can be found at #lisdchat. Topics vary every week. If you go to the professional learning site on our district website, they advertise the topic for the upcoming chat in advance. We would LOVE to see some Old Settlers Stars at the district chats! You are brilliant teachers and we know you would have so much awesomeness to share! And the next one is coming up Monday night! This would make a great first chat! (You can also stop by mine on Saturday to get your feet wet first!)
Want To Know More?
That's it, a basic overview of how connected educators are using Twitter to grow, learn, and be encouraged! I hope you will join the movement, it is truly life-changing!
Worth Reading
Blog Article Below: How a Digital PLN Can Support Change