We're turning the corner into August and I know that this will be the last "quiet" week around BMS. Looking back over the past six weeks of TECHsploring, I have to say that I'm proud of us! I've seen lots of insightful tweets, read a variety of educational articles from links you've found, and enjoyed the comaraderie we've shared over the summer months. A special kudos to the Lower School teachers: you all have been doing an especially great job with your iPad explorations led by Lanette--well done!!
This week, we'd like you to explore Twitter chats. A Twitter chat is when a group of people get together at a specific date/time online and have a conversation around a pre-selected topic. For example, one of the most popular Twitter chats is #edchat--a chat for educators. #Edchat occurs every Tuesday at 7pm EST (participants could come from anywhere in the world, so noting the time zone is important!). On Tuesday at 7pm, you can search Twitter for #edchat and see the discussion unfold. Participating is easy--just add #edchat anywhere in your tweet and everyone who is following that hashtag search will see your tweets--even people you don't follow/don't follow you! It might seem a little overwhelming as the tweets just pour in from hundreds of educators, but stick with it. You don't have to read every tweet, and you can reply to anyone at any time. You could also just throw your ideas into the ring and see who replies. You can also save the hashtag search to access it more easily for future chats. It is fast-paced fun!
#Edchat is only one example. Educators make up a huge piece of the Twitter population and they have made chats for just about every group, like #apbio, #artsed, #scichat, #titletalk (for librarians), #engchat, #1stchat (1st grade), #2ndchat (2nd grade), (There is a grade level chat for every grade from Kindergarten-6th), #mathchat, #historychat, #isedchat (Independent School Educators Chat), #midleved (for MS teachers), and even #iPadchat...just to name a few!
One of the educators I follow on Twitter: @cybraryman has two wonderful Twitter chat resources:
click here to learn more about participating in a Twitter chat and click here to see the list of educational Twitter chats and when they "meet."
Twitter chats are a terrific way to connect with other educators and have meaningful discussions/share ideas. You'll notice that long after a chat, people will still tweet links or ideas using the chat hashtag so that everyone who participates in the chat can see it! So, let's try to branch out from our BMS community this week and jump into a Twitter chat.
*Disclaimer: Twitter chats are far more active during the school year, as you would imagine, so I'm not sure which ones are "meeting" this week. Also, some chat groups got started and then lost steam, so they may not be as active as they once were--but you could be the one to get them going again!
I'll be tweeting info about any chats I come across and I hope that you'll take an hour to participate in one yourself. You'll be glad you did!
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