Welcome to the fourth step in our free professional learning series on building your PLN.

In our previous step, we introduced you to Twitter and explained how people use it to build their PLN.

The aim of this step is to:

  1. Explain what hashtags and Twitter chats are.
  2. Explain the benefits of participating in Twitter Chats with your PLN.
  3. Provide tips for getting the most out of Twitter Chats

What Are Hashtags?

Before we begin explaining Twitter chats, we should break down hashtags which are an important part of Twitter.

A hashtag is written with the “#” hash (pound) sign and is used to index keywords or topics on Twitter.

Putting a hashtag symbol (#) in front of a relevant keyword or phrase helps to categorize the tweet and make it easier for people to find.

Hashtags can be used anywhere in a tweet. They can replace a word as demonstrated below, or just be tacked on to the end of a tweet.

When you click on the hashtagged word or phrase (e.g. #podcasts) a new page will load with tweets from everyone who is tweeting about podcasts — whether or not you follow those people.

Note that hashtags can’t have any spaces so math chat becomes #mathchat. 

What Hashtag Should I Use?

You can use any hashtag you like, however, if it’s not being used by others then people won’t be following it or searching for it. So to get the most out of hashtags, you should usually use ones that others are using.

Note that hashtags are not created by Twitter, but by Twitter users. Often if there is an event going on, the organizers will publish the official hashtag on the conference materials and social media.

For example, when ISTE 2018 was happening, ISTE tweeted out the official hashtag:

Following Hashtags

You can type a hashtagged keyword in the search bar on Twitter to discover tweets and accounts based on your interests. There are easier ways to follow hashtags so you don’t have to keep running the same search.

TweetDeck is commonly used to follow hashtags that you want to keep track of regularly (the Twitter search bar is fine if you just want to do one-off searches).

Check out this video by Jennifer Fox to find out how to set up TweetDeck to follow hashtags.

Starting Your Own Hashtag

Hashtags are community driven and anyone can start one. Maybe you want to start your own hashtag with a group of people from your PLN who have a similar interest.

Say you’ve been talking to a group of teachers about using greenscreen technology and you thought you could use the hashtag #greenscreen101 to keep the conversations going.

To avoid using a hashtag that is already being used, it’s advisable to search for that hashtag first. Things can get confusing if your hashtag is being used by another group!

Simply search in the Twitter search box for your preferred hashtag or use a free tool like hashtagify.me.

Here I can see that #greenscreen101 hasn’t be tweeted in a number of years, so it would be fine to use.

Twitter search for #greenscreen101 Edublogs

Fun Idea: Use Your Own Hashtag To Find Your Tweets

Kathleen Sokolowski has shared a handy tip about creating your own personal hashtag in order to find tweets that you want to remember or come back to.

Read all about it in her article on creating a Twitter Digital Notebook. 

If you are like me and frequently read articles and posts that resonate, challenge you or speak to you in some way, consider creating a hashtag for yourself! When you want to find your tweet again, just search for your hashtag in the search bar and be sure to click “Latest” to see all your tweets.

Finding Popular Hashtags

Maybe you’re a teacher tweeting about the arts. You’d like to include a hashtag in your tweet to reach a larger audience but you’re not sure what the popular hashtags are in that niche.

You might have seen #arted used but you’re not sure if this is a popular choice.

A tool like hashtagify.me can be really handy (the basic features are free).

When I type in #arted I can see that the popularity is 42.7 (on a scale of 1-100). It also shows me a wordcloud of related hashtags. The bigger the hashtag, the more popular it is. #artsed (with an s) stands out.

#arted on hashtagify.me

Clicking on #artsed in the word cloud shows me that the popularity is higher (51) and I can also see some related hashtags I could explore as well.

#artsed hashtagify.me

Popular Hashtags In Education

Jerry Blumengarten (aka Cybrary Man) is well known for curating hashtags used in education. You can find the complete list on his site. 

Ryan O’Donnell has also used information from Cybrary Man’s site and the November Learning team to curate a list of popular hashtags in education.

Find the original image here. 

64 Twitter Hashtags for Teachers Edublogs

Trending Hashtags

Trending Topics on Twitter example
Examples of trending topics

When you’re on your Twitter home feed, you might have noticed “Trends for you” on the left hand side. This is located in the search tab of the Twitter mobile app.

Trending topics are a mix of hashtags and regular phrases that show what’s currently being tweeted about most. They’re tailored for you based on your geographical location and who you follow.

You can click on these trends to find out more and join in the conversation by leaving a reply or tweeting something of interest.

Like a lot of aspects of Twitter and social media, clicking on trending topics can take you down a rabbit hole. So be warned! 😉

What Are Twitter Chats?

As we just saw, hashtags make it easier to search and follow the Twitter conversations on specific topics at any time. Sometimes people gather around to discuss a specific topic at a specific time. This is a Twitter chat and a hashtag is the glue that brings the Twitter chat together.

We’ll now take a look at how Twitter Chats work and break down how you can get involved.

If you’d prefer to watch a video to learn, this is a great short overview of Twitter chats by The University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Twitter chats are one of the best ways for educators to connect with other educators, exchange and debate ideas, ask for help and provide assistance, find new resources and take action.

Twitter chats are where educators meet at a set “meeting time” to engage in conversations by sending out tweets on a topic using a designated hashtag during a specific time on a certain day. Most Twitter chats last for an hour.

During the Twitter chat, you’ll see educators tweet their responses in real time. The best way to participate in a Twitter chat is to set up a search for the hashtag in TweetDeck, Hootsuite, or in the Twitter app on your mobile device.

Check out Laura Moore’s video which explains how to take part in a Twitter chat using TweetDeck. The video goes for 25 minutes because Laura has recorded herself participating in an actual chat. You can just watch the first few minutes if you just want to learn how to get set up for a chat. 

Participating In A Twitter Chat

Twitter chats normally have a moderator (or several) who guide the conversation during the chat using a Question and Answer format.

Prior to the Twitter chat, the moderators decide on the topic of the chat and organize a series of 5-10 questions to ask during the chat.

Below is an example of a Twitter chat using #moedchat (Missouri Educators Chat).

The chat normally starts by introducing the topic and asking participants to introduce themselves.

Welcome to chat

Participants respond by including the hashtag for the chat in their tweet (in this example all replies include the hashtag #moedchat).

Recipients respond

Once introductions are finished the moderators will commence guiding the conversation using their questions. Each question is normally starts with a Q and a number to indicate which question it is.

Moderator question

Participants’ replies normally start with an A and a number to indicate which question they are answering as well as the chat hashtag.

Responses

Twitter chats are a conversation — you can add your extra thoughts to anyone’s answer by replying to their tweet and including the hashtag. Provided the hashtag is included, everyone in the Twitter chat will see your reply.

Conversations

I Can’t Keep Up With A Twitter Chat

Tweets can fly fast in a Twitter chat! Don’t worry if you can’t keep up.

Here are some tips to help:

  • Archives: Moderators often archive or curate the information and resources shared during the chat session. This used to be through tools like Storify but this service has closed. Sometimes a tool like Wakelet is now used or there will be a specific website for a Twitter chat.
  • Be prepared: Moderators often publish the questions that will be asked in advance so you can think ahead. You can also get your Tweetdeck set up before a chat so you’re ready to go.
  • Be selective: You don’t need to answer every question. Twitter chats are very flexible. They often go for an hour but no one minds how long you stay or how involved you are.
  • Follow up: If you were interested in what someone had to say but you found the tweets were flying too fast, don’t worry. You can resume the conversation with people at any time.
  • Bookmark: A relatively new feature of Twitter for mobile is Bookmarks. You can bookmark Tweets you’d like to refer to later. Tap the share icon next to a tweet and select Add Tweet to Bookmarks. Tap Bookmarks from your profile icon menu to access your saved tweets.
  • Like: If you like a tweet by pressing on the heart, you can go back and look at these later. Just click on the Likes from your profile icon menu.
  • Lurk: It’s fine to just watch a few chats before you decide to contribute. The first question is generally an introduction so don’t be afraid to say it’s your first time participating either.

Popular Twitter Chats

Education chats generally occur in the evenings each week, either during school terms or throughout the whole year. Most chats focus on a particular topic, subject area, theme, or year level.

Some states or countries have their own chats, but anyone is welcome to take part in any chat.

Finding Twitter Chats

Now you know about Twitter chats it’s time to find one and take part!

There are many places to find chats that interest you and work with your schedule.

Examples Of Twitter Chats

Here are a few examples of popular Twitter Chats to help you get started:

All the times listed below are in Eastern Standard Time (USA).

  • Use this time zone converter to help figure out what time this will be for you.
  • Double check the time by clicking on the links as things can change with daylight savings etc!
  • Please let us know if we have any of the information below incorrect.

#edchat

The “original” education chat. This one is very busy and fast paced. Takes place on Tuesdays 12 PM and 7 PM EST. Learn more here.

#edtechchat

This chat focuses on educational technology and is held every Monday at 7 PM EST. Find out more here.

#NT2T

NT2T stands for “New Teachers to Twitter”. Held Saturdays at 8 AM. For more information, click here. Tip: There is also a Twitter mentor program for newbies.

#whatisschool

Educators discuss shaping the future of school. Takes place Thursdays at 7 PM. Find out more here.

#kinderchat

A chat for those working with younger children. Held on Mondays 2:30 PM and 8 PM EST. Learn more here.

#spedchat

For special education (see more here).  Takes place on Tuesdays from 9 PM EST.

#ditchbook

Created by Ditch That Textbook author Matt Miller. The chat focuses on innovative teaching ideas. Takes place on Tuesdays from 9 PM EST. Find out more.

Conclusion

Twitter might feel overwhelming but if you give it a chance for a few weeks it will really start to make sense and you will see how it’s so popular with educators.

You’ll also notice that Twitter chat hashtags are often used outside of the designated time frame to share resources, ask questions and help each other. The hashtag becomes a community!

If you need help at any time you’re on Twitter, just tweet one of our team e.g. @edublogs, @kathleen_morris, @Edublogs_Eugene, or @suewaters.

Your Task

We’d like you to add your voice and ideas to our ongoing conversation about PLNs by undertaking one or more of these challenges:

  1. Browse: Do a Twitter search of one of the Twitter chats and check out the information shared during the chat. For example, tell us about any resources, or ideas, you discovered reading through the Twitter chat conversation.
  2. TweetDeck: Set up TweetDeck and add a column for a hashtag you want to follow. Leave a comment on this post to share how you went setting up TweetDeck and share your tips for other newbies on using TweetDeck.
  3. Join a Twitter Chat. Leave a comment on this post to share what you learned from participating in the Twitter chat. Tell us about any resources, or ideas, you discovered during the chat.
  4. Blog Post: Write a blog post about your initial impressions of Twitter Chats. You could include — what you see as obstacles to taking part in Twitter chats, what you have learned from participating in a Twitter chat, or tips for someone new to hashtags or Twitter chats. Don’t forget to leave a comment here with the link to your post.

Also feel free to leave a comment to ask any questions or share your tips.

How to leave a comment: Scroll down to find the comment box. Write your comment, then enter your name and email address (email addresses are not published). Enter the anti-spam word. Press submit and we will moderate your comment ASAP.

572 thoughts on “Step 4: All About Hashtags And Twitter Chats

  1. I chose to delve into #ditchbook and found so many interesting resources. There was links to free coding classes for your students, collaborative google apps for school activities. It’s really truly amazing, there is so much information out there and this really proved it. I only searched one hashtag and it made me want to go deeper into all the other ones they suggested. I was skeptical about twitter, just fearing that it was all another basic social media with foodies and influencers, but I love that I can specialize mine into really learning great tactics for my classroom, getting advice from other teachers and have a place to go to feel supported.

  2. I was checking out #edchat and found a thread about a teacher’s experience teaching an elective class on the history of Horror films. I found this very interesting, as I believe the best way to teach something and get students to be interested is to be very interested in the topic yourself. If I ever got the chance, I would love to teach a class on something like the history of rock, so the experiences that this teacher shared about how they set it up and assessed students could be a great help in the future.

  3. 1. Browse: Ugh. Do I have to??? Fine. I did. I learned that this political season has teachers fired up. Not at all surprising, as I do believe teachers are often fired up about politics, since the government is what pays their payroll, makes decisions about how schools are run, and in general, is just a hot topic these days anyway.

  4. I browsed the #sschat room, and I was immersed in a lot of very creative lesson plans and pedagogical ideas. Specifically, there were a ton of resources on teaching “hard” history to students and responsibly exploring the darker parts of American history. This is why I like feeds, but I am not huge on participating – the comment counts were low, but the materials were rich.

  5. I find it fascinating that hastags are created by Twitter users rather than by Twitter itself. When you click on a hastags word or phrase , a new page will open with tweets from everyone who is tweeting about that particular topic, regardless of whether or not you follow them. Trending topics are a combination of hashtags and regular phrases that show what’s being talked about the most on Twitter right now. They’re personalized for you based on your location and the people you follow or what’s trending.

  6. I went through the comments on #moedchat and was given a good amount of links to great information on openings for different positions within the school and different facts to read.

  7. I looked into a stock market chat. In the chat it shows some charts on certain stocks. People also tell you what stocks to watch for and weather their going up or down. I like this type of chat because people are looking out for others and their sharing their opinions rather than keeping it to themselves.

  8. I love the insight I was given on #edtechchat on cyber security, the awareness on the dangers of the internet is so informative and I feel as though from us learning the dangers we will be able to help save students from the dangers of the internet.

  9. 1. Browse

    I took a look at the #NT2T conversation on Twitter. I saw that there are conversations happening outside of the 8 am Saturday chat that were enlightening. I saw so many new teachers checking in to describe their positions, thoughts, and experiences. There were many inspiring quotes and images. I see myself checking in to the NT2T conversation in the future, and perhaps introducing myself as well.

  10. Looking through chats on education on twitter there is a large community to join. I searched #4thgrade since I am in a 4th grade class for my practicum. A lot of ideas for projects and presentations showed up and the chain of comments were fellow teachers adding comments to assist with bettering the project/presentation.

  11. Browse: Do a Twitter search of one of the Twitter chats and check out the information shared during the chat. For example, tell us about any resources, or ideas, you discovered reading through the Twitter chat conversation.

    #21stedchat: 21st Century Education Chat

    I checked out 21st Century Education Chat and learned some skills that students gain in the 21st century. A learning skill that a student gains is being able to collaborate with other students at anytime via skype. A literacy skill that students will gain is the access to media to help them understand tough concepts. The life skills that a student may gain include social interaction and flexibility of scheduling social events on their own time.

  12. I looked up the #edchat and found a really good resource on Jamboard templates. As a new twitter user and a student in an instructional technologies course, finding this post gives me hope and inspiration that I’ll be able to become a bit more technologically savvy when it comes building lessons for my students. This provides another resource that will be useful for my students and myself.

  13. Browse: Do a Twitter search of one of the Twitter chats and check out the information shared during the chat. For example, tell us about any resources, or ideas, you discovered reading through the Twitter chat conversation.
    I went through the #earlyed hashtag on Twitter and found some awesome info! They have lesson plans, activities, social justice in the classroom, informative justice, classroom management tips, and more. I read an article about how to incorporate downtime in the classroom for the most effective learning to take place in the classroom.

  14. Join a twitter chat: I chose #NT2T which stands for “new teachers to twitter” which is a chat that has all kinds of information about anything educational for teachers on twitter! The first thing I noticed was that an account called @CCSBeckyJans posted a diagram for teaching young scholars about Design Thinking which means it is designed for curious and empathetic learners drive solving problems and creating solutions through risk taking. The first step is “diverse thinkers” where educators encourage wild ideas. Next is to “collaborate” where students work together. Then “experiment” where students will need to try it out. Lastly, students will need to “solve problems” where they will fail often and take risks in order to figure out what they need to do. This is a great model that neatly breaks down another way of teaching as it promotes and embraces critical thinking.

  15. I looked into #sschat, and I found a lot of lesson or activity ideas. Some teachers were posting pictures or videos from things that they had implemented in their classrooms, and others were the ideas for lessons or activities themselves. For example, one user posted a video of her students singing the Preamble to the Constitution. In another, a user shared interactive slides she used in her classroom to teach students about the Roosevelt Administration. There were a lot of cool ideas, and I’ll follow this hashtag for future reference for any lesson ideas and inspiration.

  16. Looking through the #kinderchat and being able to find so much information on Halloween themed mini lessons was so cool! its great especially because I am a student in an education program and thrive off of mini lessons for young students. Will definitely follow this hashtag!

  17. After looking into a few twitter chats, I decided to look into the #adhd and #edchat realm. As someone with adhd, I wanted to see if there were other fellow educators who were advocating to create accessible content for students with it and if there were any other fellow educators utilizing their experiences with adhd in their own lives to grow and help their students. I ended up finding many great resources such as worksheets, adhd education about what it is and how it affects students in school and outside of school and further research into adhd as a whole and how we can best help our students.I really appreciate that these hashtags housed all positive and helpful resources for teachers.

  18. I did a Twitter chat for the #moedchat hashtag. As I read through this chat I discovered that the governor of Missouri that school funding, from state lotteries that the governor promised to give to the school districts (and never followed through with) was finally making them available for teacher salaries, technology, etc. In response the people were directed to share memes from Schitt’s Creek. Of course, there were hilarious memes shared throughout the chat, concerning Schitt’s Creek.

  19. Blog Post: Write a blog post about your initial impressions of Twitter Chats. You could include — what you see as obstacles to taking part in Twitter chats, what you have learned from participating in a Twitter chat, or tips for someone new to hashtags or Twitter chats.: I feel like the issue with Twitter chats is that it requires a lot of time that teachers may not have. Yes you can go look at the archives of it, but then you are not really involved in it, that is no different than reading an article on pedagogy. Between prepping for the questions and actually just sitting there for an hour I do not think it works very well. What if it is at 7pm EST and you live on the West Coast and are not out of school yet? I like how it can involve thousands of people at once, but I just think it is too clunky to be generally that useful for lots of people.

  20. 1. I enjoyed searching through #edtechchat. I have a specific interest in technology and education, particularly how technology can be not just a part of learning but where learning occurs. I think this is a great way for any teacher who considers themselves “bad at technology” to get a good start at adding technology into their lessons.

  21. I browsed the #Kinderchat hashtag. It’s focus is on educators who work with younger children. It talked about things like social emotional regulation, incorporating play to enhance social emotional development, lots of helpful activities and math games, and so much more. This is a great resource for teachers because everyone who is active is also passionate about education and is seeking to help each other. By sharing books, lessons, and other helpful resources is a great way to grow as a professional.

  22. A Twitter chat that I think it greatly important and fun is #HipHopEd. They happen every Tuesday from 9:00-10:00PM EST. These chats were founded by Dr. Chris Emdin, a brilliant educator I’ve been following for a while. What I think is so important about these conversations is that they’re bringing active educators together to talk about the important intersections in education, and establishing ways to connect hip hop and education. They raise awareness of missed opportunities and gaps in current education, such as the lack of diversity in English syllabi, and bring them to the forefront of conversations in hopes to better serve our students’ needs.

  23. Being part of a Twitter chat, like mentioned in part 3, has its ups and downs. The obstacles to taking part in Twitter chats, or any social network chat for that matter, is the fact that because it’s online, it’s impersonal, and sometimes when you communicate with another person, it can sometimes come across in a negative way. Another reason is because you are in, possibly, a large community, it can get hectic to keep up with all the updates and chats that people update often. That is, it depends on the person if they like Twitter and its chat communities or not. For me, I can’t really say because I have never been a part of a Twitter chat community before.

  24. I was sifting through #edchat on Twitter and came across this one post by @GladeJeff who linked a list of tons of free Halloween-themed podcasts for Pre-K students all the way through 12th grade. It made me realize that I’d never had to listen to a podcast for a school assignment until I was in college (which might be one of the reasons I don’t really listen to podcasts today). It’s a fun, creative, and unique lesson for students and should help increase their motivation and engagement. Additionally, it’s a refreshing alternative for students to only have to listen instead of read a story (unless they’d want/need to follow along with a transcript).

  25. In setting up a TweetDeck, one of the best columns you can make is one that keeps the moderators handle (@) in its own column. This will allow you to easily check what the questions are during a Twitter Chat. This will be especially helpful in really active Chats as the original questions could get buried in new posts.

  26. I looked up the hashtag “Whatisschool”, which I found to be very interesting. In this chat I found a lot of educators and individuals around that allowed teachers a free space to share information or make connections with like-minded people.

  27. Browse: Do a Twitter search of one of the Twitter chats and check out the information shared during the chat. For example, tell us about any resources, or ideas, you discovered reading through the Twitter chat conversation.

    I browsed the #edchat on Twitter. There were a lot of inspirational quotes on there, but I really appreciated the posts about literacy and formative assessments that provided more practical and implementable ideas. Other content included how to “gamify” the classroom and also incorporate socio-emotional learning

  28. So while going through the #moedchat, I see there’s a lot of resources out there under this hashtag. I’ve seen quite a few people alerting of job openings within their school and openings for certain positions. There was even a few post about certification openings for people to complete certifications for a certain level that they might be in. There is also some people who are linking articles that they might find interesting or just might be useful for other people to read and just putting information out there. I even saw one person ask for people to kind of DM her so she can complete a dissertation on using social media to grow your PLN at the middle level. There are people on here that are just commenting on things or asking questions and asking for ideas on a certain topic which is how I will use this. I would use Twitter as a way to ask questions and just see people’s ideas under a topic.

  29. I looked into #edtechchat and got new insight on cyber security. There was lots of raising awareness to how unsafe the internet can be and practicing cyber safety.

  30. I decided to browse the #Kinderchat tag and one of the first things I discovered was a math lesson shared by Deanna McLennan PhD. The lesson asked students to use tweezers to remove “spiders” from a basket. There was a “web” (created using yarn), that covered the top so that students were also practicing their fine motor skills. After they have retrieved all the spiders, students will then use a 100’s board to see how many spiders they have. I thought this lesson would be amazing for young kids as it tests their math skills in conjunction with their fine motor skills. It is also fun for Fall/Halloween to get students excited about the season!

  31. I used one of the Twitter chat resources to check out a previous twitter chat that has been archived. The hashtag I used was #TeachWriting, and many different people added resources using this hashtag and had consistent conversations. One thing I appreciated was educators sharing their favorite quotes, and authors. They did this in a short tweet, but teachers could create full lessons just off these chats. One reply I noticed said, “I’m Axxxx–I work with K-12 writers at @WNYYWS + their teachers in #WNY #Buffalo area schools.Favorite poet is Billy Collins! #teachwriting” This introduction to a new poet allowed me to do further research, and also allowed me to dig deeper into other quotes. I also did more research on the area and school to have a better understanding of their content and curriculum. This will help me understand what could work for my own students and what wouldn’t. Not only do these chats give me the opportunity to learn new information, but I am able to network and expand my platform.

  32. I looked at the thread #3rdgrade and found many interesting activities posted from other teachers in different states. As I was reading the threads, I found a great resource on how to teach environmental adaptations and ecosystems. The students go on a nature walk around the school to find examples of different ways the environment around them adapts to weather and climate. This is an authentic learning task that I had not thought about before, and is one that I am eager to incorporate into my lesson planning in the future.

  33. I am writing a blog post response about my initial impression of Twitter Chats. I used to believe that Twitter Chats could only pose biased, unprofessionally stated comments, and evidenceless opinions about a subject matter. However, now I have learned that Twitter Chats offer many spaces where people can share their research findings and evidence-based commentary in one shared location. The convenience of the hashtag offers users to locate similar ideas in one unified location. I think this conveniently keeps the information available for future reference.

  34. I think that it is important to keep in mind respecting others opinions and points of view. As you comment on another personals chat, be mindful that these are their thoughts and you can share back your opinion in a respectful format. As well, you can share additional resources in these chats and create a space to encourage other educators to share and work together to create more powerful lessons!

  35. I checked out a Twitter Chat by @ajpodchaski from 10.25.21. One interesting thing that I learned was from his first question about data privacy — not only should we be mindful of what students and administration can find when they locate our online accounts, but we also have to be careful of hackers exploiting our accounts and disrupting our PLNs. Aside from protecting our own data, we must ensure that our digital space also protects the privacy of student data and that we put any necessary checks in place to not accidentally share confidential information in the public sphere.

  36. I did a Twitter search of #kinderchat as I am currently in a Kindergarten class for Practicum and wanted to learn more about what other teachers have to say. Most of the teachers online were talking about different books they were reading, games they were playing, videos they were watching to sing/dance to learn letters and numbers from.

  37. Browse: Do a Twitter search of one of the Twitter chats and check out the information shared during the chat. For example, tell us about any resources, or ideas, you discovered reading through the Twitter chat conversation.
    – I looked up #4thgradescience and a bunch of really cool videos of different experiments came up that I thought were really cool. There was one on dissecting a cow eye which I never knew could be used as a fourth-grade experiment. Another was using snap circuits which I completely forgot about so it brought back some cool memories.

  38. I looked at the thread #grade7math and found many interesting activities posted from other teachers in different states. As I was reading the threads and chats I then came across scavenger hunts, escape the rooms and pixel art which is used as another way to take a test. Since I give weekly math quizzes I think I will start making them more engaging where students need to solve using google sheets and as they work through the problems, they create Pixel Art. I feel like this will make students more inclined to check over their work and self correct.

  39. This is actually neat and could be vary useful for teachers to connect with students and parents. I personally don’t feel like I could use it that much because I’m more into early childhood so it’s not needed as much in my opinion but this is awesome to have a school wide thing such as this. The school that I currently teach at does participate in this.

  40. I searched Twitter Chat, #mschat, and found a great community with a wealth of knowledge for middle school education. It was eye-opening to see how many other educators struggle with the same things that I do in my classroom. There were many practical tips for increasing engagement like brain breaks, chunking, and gamification. Through this chat, I also learned about a new technological tool called Blooket. It sounds similar to Kahoot or Quizlet Live, but many educators were raving about the way it can be ​​ tailored to each group’s needs and teamwork abilities. This is definitely a Twitter Chat that I will reference again in the future.

  41. Looking at the thread for #NT2T gave me a ton of new ideas on how to build an effective network at my current school. The moderators posted a series of questions to respond to so people could focus on one thing at a time, a common theme that seems to show up is the importance of creating and respecting boundaries while trying to build something up. They also brought up the importance of having a goal to focus the network in a positive direction and that having a network is a great way to fight back burn out.

  42. I chose to search the hashtag #ellchat as I am trying to find additional ways to help my ELL kids in general education classrooms. Some tips from this course recommended looking at the archives to read everything discussed. One of the topics I enjoyed reading about the most was how to engage every teacher at schools to be qualified and excited about teaching ELL students. I really liked how the host created the questions then followed up with their opinion and acknowledged those who participated in the chat. While I was reading responses, I liked some of the tweets to go back to later.

  43. I looked up the hashtag “kinderchat.” I was able to find a lot of useful information for certain content areas. There was one tweet that showed Kindergarten students using BookCreatorApp as they started to create their “Life Lessons” books. It was great to see students as young as Kindergarten use technology in the classroom. It is something I will consider using in my classroom, when students have to create their books. Rather than draw their cover on white paper with crayons and write their title with pencil and marker, they can do it all on their iPad. I also liked that their were math resources shared such as games. One game I’d like to use focuses on number sense, which is important in Kindergarten. Games make learning fun, especially at a young age. “Kinderchat” is definitely a hashtag I will look at again, especially working with early childhood students.

  44. I searched #civicsed and found some interesting activities that people from across the state were doing with their students. It mostly involved the voting process. Some schools asked state representatives and community members to come to the classrooms to teach a lesson. I also discovered a website called iCivics. I had heard of it before and knew they were a good place to start for resources, but now I think I will definitely start to use it more regularly.

  45. Twitter Chats seem very useful for asking questions and gaining your knowledge about resources for teaching. However, I don’t tend to post much on Twitter so I would most likely read everyone else’s questions and answers rather than post my own. The only obstacle that I could see is if a chat is very full and heavy with questions, and then your question doesn’t get answered.

  46. I did a Twitter search on #spedchat as this relates to the class I am currently taking. Under this hashtag there were so many information materials. I really liked that there were inspirational quotes among the feed. There were also lessons on inclusion, links to virtual events, a list of AAC apps, and lots of informational videos. I only scrolled through a very small amount of what all was under the hashtag. I feel as if that just shows what all resources are out there and people are willing to share. I will definitely be revisiting that hashtag and related ones in the future.

  47. Twitter chats can be extremely useful. These chats are a great way to listen to other people, they can give you instant feedback, and they can create a loyal community. Educators can use these chats to learn from one another.

  48. Today I did a Twitter search on #edtechchat because this post indicated it takes place on Monday nights. I know from prior experience with Twitter that sometimes it’s easier to read through a chat after it’s over, rather than in real time. Last night’s #edtechchat was largely focused on classroom management, with the discussion facilitators posting questions and different educators tweeting answers in response. Alex Podchaski (@ajpodchaski) asked, “What would the idea classroom management tool look like, or is there even one that is necessary from a tech perspective?” The responses mostly agreed that an engaging activity that offered a good challenge was the best management tool. Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman) shared examples of choice boards from his website.

  49. Twitter is still fairly new to me. I do not mind trying new or different things, but I am nervous about using Twitter. However, I think the more I use it, the more comfortable I will get. I think using Twitter will help me improve my PLN.

  50. #ditchbook
    Created by Ditch That Textbook author Matt Miller. The chat focuses on innovative teaching ideas.

    I have been following @ditchthattextbook on Twitter and via the blog for several months. I love the ideas Matt Miller gives for engaging students in the classroom using technology.

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