EdTech Nut - Kelly Fitzgerald: twitter chat

Twitter chats are topic centered conversations that take place on Twitter through a specific hashtag. There are generally two different types of chats. The first is referred to as a 'slow' chat, which means that a question is posed every day or week and people answer the question when they have time. The second and most popular kind is a 'live' chat, which takes place on a certain day and time and people engage in a live conversation.

If you have never participated in a Twitter chat, I suggest you start slow as not to overwhelm yourself. Some chats move so fast that your head can start to spin. By slow, I mean don't feel you have to answer every question. Pick and choose or spend the entire time 'lurking' and not participating. It is okay to lurk during a chat until you get comfortable with the format and flow.

https://sites.google.com/site/gafechat/tips

My list of recommended live Twitter chats:

#tosachat - Chat for Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSA)
Description: The chat covers a wide range of topics, such as STEAM, Coding, Having Hard Conversations, Tool & Templates, and PBL. While the chat focuses on discussions for educators who support other educators, anyone can benefit from the conversation.
Website: http://www.tosachat.org/ (check out chat transcripts on homepage)
Date: Every Monday
Time: 10:00-11:00 pm (CST)
Founders/Moderators: Ben Cogswell, Karly Moura, Joe Young, Kelly Martin

#educoach - Chat for Instructional Coaches

Description: The chat covers a wide range of topics to help Instructional Coaches with their job, such as teacher isolation, helping teachers develop growth mindset, leading professional development, and crucial conversations.

Website: https://educoachchat.wikispaces.com/ (check out chat transcripts on Archives page)

Date: Every Wednesday

Time: 9:00-10:00 pm (CST)

Moderators: Kathy Perret, Jessica Johnson, Shira Leibowitz

#tlap - Chat for Teachers

Description: The chat is centered around Dave Burgess, Teach Like a Pirate book. The chat covers a wide range of topics teachers can use to increase student engagement.

Website: none

Date: Every Monday

Time: 8:00-9:00 pm (CST)

Founder/Moderator: Dave Burgess

#gafechat - Chat for Google (Apps) for Education Educators/Districts

Description: The chat is centered around Google (Apps) for Education topics. Some times the discussion will be centered all around a particular Google tool, such as Sites. Other times the discussion will center around using Google during a specific instructional strategy/best practice, such as Genius Hour.

Website: https://sites.google.com/site/gafechat/home (check out chat transcripts on Chat Archives page)

Date: 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month

Time: 8:00-9:00 pm (CST)

Founder/Moderator: Kelly Fitzgerald (me)

There are so many Twitter chats, I couldn't possible mention them all. If you are interested in learning more about the various Twitter chats offered throughout the week, please visit the following resources:

Education Calendar Website - most comprehensive list of all available education chats
Participate Learning - participate in a chat and gather a collection of resources shared during the chat all in one location

Twitter is my favorite form of professional development, with edcamps being second. The majority of what I learn professionally comes from following certain hashtags and participating in Twitter chats. I encourage you to check out one of the chats mentioned above. I strongly believe that you will not be disappointed.

TweetDeck is the perfect tool for following along during a Twitter chat because it allows you to build columns to keep track of the chat feed, notifications, mentions, home feed, etc.

If you have ever participated in a twitter chat then you know how hard it can be to check out the resources shared and keep up with the chat. There are many different methods for 'saving' the resources shared. I personally use the collections feature in TweetDeck to gather those resources to review at a later time.