Monday, November 23, 2015

Let's #Chat

Recipe for a Successful #AmesCSDchat


Ingredients:
1 district-wide tech day
1 hour on a Tuesday night
8 questions following Q1, A1 format
Dozen teachers (even if they’re Twitter “newbies”)
5 coaches
5 TOSAs
1 administrator
1 student teacher
4 neighbors
? lurkers


Directions:
Build off the district-wide tech day around digital citizenship and use of social media. Mix with the how-to blog post and 2 videos about Twitter chats. Add in 8 pre-planned questions generated by educators working together. Share out the above ingredients via Twitter. Add in a dozen or more Ames teachers, a student teacher, some coaches, TOSAs, administrators, and a few educators from neighboring districts. Season with people who are watching but not actively tweeting (lurkers).

Bake on Twitter for one hour from 8-9 PM Central. Make sure classroom successes (#eduwin) are shared liberally. The dish is almost done when “virtual doors” begin to open. Once the hour is over, create the Storify archive as the frosting for the cake. Remember to revisit the archive so you get every last morsel of information (like licking the spoon clean).

Nutrition Facts:
Twitter chats are good for your educational health. In the words of @JamesWebb95, “Seeing everyone’s passion for doing our jobs better” is inspiring and can “recharge [you] for the week.” The ideas shared provide connections across the district (and the state) that you might not experience otherwise since teachers sometimes feel isolated. “...Collaboration is key to the teacher learning new things,” @MissWill_Sci. “Collaborate with others to help [teachers] better provide for [their] students,” @MrMathAHS. Participants share about what’s happening in their classes and what resources are working well for them as well as nuggets of advice, “Be a star finder not a fault finder!” @asullivan8.

A survey of educators on Twitter found professional development as a top outcome mentioned by teachers.
Educators prized the medium for its personalized and immediate nature, and many considered Twitter to be superior to traditional professional development. They valued the types of interactions and community afforded by the service, and many cited Twitter’s role in combatting isolation and connecting them with positive, creative colleagues and leaders.  (Carpenter & Krutka, 2014)

Even for those new to Twitter chats, there are benefits. As @MandyRoss1 tweeted, “Although I’m fumbling through this, I’m reminded tonight of the many amazing teachers we have in Ames.” And yes, @MAllmanAHS, we’re working on “ways to get more teachers on board with Twitter and educational chats.” Maybe you the reader will help us spread the word and join us on our next #AmesCSDchat on Tuesday, December 8 from 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm. We’d love to hear your voice!

Reference
Carpenter, J.P. & Krutka, D. G. (2014).  How and why educators use Twitter: A survey of the field. Journal of Research on Technology in Education 46:4, pages 414-434.

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