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 looked at #edchat and I got into a wormhole because it mainly is different strategies for educators to share with their students. The strategies go from leadership lessons to ways we can better ourselves so that we may help our students. There are inspirational quotes, posters, pictures , and advice.

  2. I did a Twitter search on #VaEdChat, which included a lot of people expressing their thoughts, sharing their knowledge on new information, and sharing current things that are happening. One of the chats I saw was talking about a zoom meeting that was being held with the new State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Another chat I saw was someone sharing a very informative link about adaptable assessment strategies for teachers who are interested in it. Very few of these actually had people commenting back but had enough likes and retweets to know people are engaging in the content.

  3. I started my exploration of Twitter chats with the hashtag #ditchbook because I’m always interested in learning about innovative teaching ideas. I found a promising chat right away from last week (March 31, 2022) all about formative assessment tools. I was excited to find several ideas to further my use of some sites I already incorporate into my classroom activities, such as Gimkit, Quizlet Live, and hexagonal thinking with a Google Slides template. It’s great to see how other educators are using these technology tools! I also found some super useful Google templates to use with my lessons in a high school English class. For example, the template for taking notes on a TED Talk will come in handy when we listen to our next speaker. Another template I was excited about is one for “DBQ Annotations.” With a bit of editing, I can use this for a variety of tasks in an English classroom. I love the use of Slides since it’s so easy for students to share ideas or project on the screen for the entire class to see. The #ditchbook conversations have already proven to be a great resource for me!

  4. I think twitter chats can be very informative and very helpful. A possible downside may be that they are difficult to keep up with. I would do a general scan if you ever feel lost then try to piece together the main idea. It is important to chose words carefully when participating in twitter chats. Other than those hickups they can be pretty effective.

  5. Share a Link to an Educator’s Blog That You Enjoy Reading: http://www.mightylittlelibrarian.com/ is a blog made by Tiffany Whitehead, who is a school librarian and a speaker. This blog is one that I enjoy because posts are very informative and there are not tons of posts on this blog to cause overwhelm. There are tons of resources within each post such as interactive slides, videos, other blogs, etc. It provides other librarians with ideas for learning activities for students that can be fun and engaging, as well as tips and tools for researching and efficiently using space within your library. Because the posts are moreso quality over quantity, this blog is one that can be checked from time-to-time and email notifications would not cause your inbox to be chaotically full.

  6. Browse: I did a Twitter search using the #ditchbook hashtag, which provides information on innovative teaching ideas. While browsing through information shared within this chat, I was able to find tons of different resources for using different pedagogical approaches. There were links to websites for note taking methods, templates, and accessibility. Some people were sharing pictures from their lessons and sharing things that were shared with them that were successfully implemented in their classrooms. For example, I saw a post about a classroom Jeopardy/Family Feud game. Many people when chatting will respond to other users by name and compliment their ideas or provide alternate ideas.

  7. After searching through the kinderchat hashtag, I found a classroom doing morning affirmations. This is something that I would love to do with my future students and I think looking through this hashtag could give you some great ideas on which affirmations to use and how to use them.

  8. I added the hashtag #teacherproblems. Because I thought it would be interesting to see the daily issues that educators have in the classroom. To create a TweetDeck you have to go to http://tweetdeck.twitter.com and they also have an app for MacBooks. After you get to the website it will tell you to log in with your twitter account and once you log in it takes you to a page with all of the trending hashtags that fit your page.

  9. As I browsed the different hashtags and came across #ditchbook and loved it! It was filled with so many different ideas that geared towards not using a textbook or lessening its presence within the classroom. They had a lot of good charts and graphic organizers about dealing with classroom chaos and the overall learning evironment. It also had a useful resource for getting started with virtual classrooms. I have found this to be extremely beneficial after having felt the wrath of covid and online learning. Virtual field trips have become a new way to connect with the world and education outside of the classroom using just technology!

  10. During my browse through Twitter chats, I looked through the #ditchbook chat and found a ton of great resources. This chat had a variety of useful content from games, templates, presentations, ideas, and more. One thing I found super resourceful was a little learning/life hack on note-taking. This informational post on note-taking stood out to me because it showed helpful tips on how to properly take notes. These tips could be for students or teachers. It enlightened me on tons of ways to format notes and how to change the style of your notes to suit you best.

  11. The hashtag that I looked through was #Kinderchat. I liked the comment that @AdriannaPence made about perseverance and positive self-image. Reasons being, she posted a book that does a great job in teaching that called “Everyone Can Learn To Ride A Bicycle”.

  12. This is such a cool way to learn what other teachers are doing and thinking. I learned that there is an upcoming Twitter chat about school transparency bills under #NT2T. This has been getting a lot of news coverage and I am very interested in this topic.

  13. I looked through the #ditchbook chat. One really cool thing I found was that you can now make your Google Docs pageless, which allows you to format your documents without page breaks. This makes it easier for students to edit and collaborate without having to worry about formatting issues.

  14. Setting up a TweetDeck was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I went online to tweetdeck.twitter.com and logged in with my account. I then added a column using the column type: search and typed in the hashtag: #edchat. I suggest anyone else who is interested in setting up a TweetDeck make an account first to eliminate that extra step. That way they can log in directly and get started adding columns.

  15. I looked at #edchat on Twitter and found a lot of people and universities sharing resources. One was by @soundtrap who created an infographic on ’10-Step Process for Student Podcasting.’ The commentary was mostly about thanking @soundtrap for creating the infographic because it’s helpful in teaching their students, especially those who learn visually. Some educators thanked them because they started teaching podcasts and felt unorganized until they found this post.

  16. Instead of joining a twitter chat due to time constraints, I looked through various archives of past twitter chats. Before reading through this step, I had never heard of twitter chats and I was really interested in how it functions. I was amazed by how interactive and supportive the participants appeared to be in these chats. Not only this, many users provide alternative ideas which really spur your creativity. Overall, Twitter chats seem like a great tool for brainstorming ideas for a variety of topics that deal with education whether it be through actual classroom material or simply aiding teachers in their understanding of various aspects of their profession.

  17. I learned that edchat is an awesome place to get new ideas for classroom activities. I saw one person putting on a cooking show to demonstrate to a stem class the effects of acids and heat.

  18. I looked at the hashtag edchat. I was able to find some new tactics to use in the classroom regarding stress and mindfulness. Students are struggling with anxiety more than ever due to social media, school, and technology. Teachers need to be aware of these new struggles to form more connections with their students and for their students to feel welcomed in the classroom.

  19. The issue I have with hashtags is that they are not really monitored so a majority of hashtags have random posts attached to them. That being said I did view #sschat since I am a history major who may teach history and there were a few posts of educators giving ideas and there were some posts sharing events that happened on certain days. I also looked at #teacherproblems and I felt there was more of a community there as well it is interesting to see other teachers having issues and reaching out for advice or they were just venting. I feel I would view other hashtags on other social media platforms since I don’t use Twitter.

  20. I searched through the # kiderchat. I saw lots of educators posting with that #. I found a math grid game that can be used for math in an early education setting. I am sure if I kept scrolling, I would have found tons more.

  21. I discovered a mindfulness chart that could be great for any classroom. It could be very helpful for students who struggle to remain on task and focused throughout the day. This also allows students to learn better ways to manage and cope with their emotions in the long run.

  22. I explored numerous hashtags on Twitter. The first one I looked at was #edchat, this one was FILLED with information from different suggestions for bell ringers to inspirational quotes. I also looked at the #scichat because that will be my field and it was full of different science articles and pictures of teachers showing off their class’s work. The last one I looked at for fun was #teacherproblems. This was by far my favorite, it is filled with funny stories and memes! Definitely, one I will continue to follow.

  23. I checked out the Twitter chat #ditchbook and immediately the latest post was about hexagonal formative assessment. There was a cover photo that I didn’t really understand but piqued my interest. When I clicked on it opened a whole new sub thread with tons of YouTube videos explaining the concept and teachers who liked it and recording how it worked or didn’t in their classrooms. Essentially, I have just gained a new assessment format that I plan to use in a lesson very soon. How it works is that vocabulary words or terms from your content are printed on small cutouts in hexagonal format, so that they fit together like puzzle pieces. You then give a group of students a large sheet of paper to act as their like blank canvas and then it up to them to make like a “brainstorm honeycomb”. In between their hexagons they should be writing why they are adjacent. For example, why would Fredrick Douglas belong beside Harriet Tubman? Maybe the student rights because they both worked to bring down the institution of slavery, etc.

  24. I participated in the Twitter chat on “Putting Purpose into Practice” on March 28th. The host asked 4 questions about gratitude, empathy, resilience, and purpose. I really gravitate toward the resilience and purpose topics. Resilience is all about not giving up when life gets hard. This last month was super hard on my family. I was working late 3-4 days a week. My husband was working late the other days. My daughter only had 1 parent home at a time for a month. This really wore on us as a family. However, we didn’t give up, and we made every moment we had together as a family matter! The Purpose topic has been on my mind lately. These last few years have been a struggle, and some days it is hard to see why I stay in this profession. However, then I get hit with my purpose. It comes in the form of a hug from a student, a student telling me they are so glad they saw me today, or a student finally getting the correct answer on a problem they were struggling with. The Twitter chat tonight really helped me with some ideas and gave some great quotes that I plan to print off and keep in my classroom to help me when I need them.

  25. – I ended up adding the hashtag #YouthEmpowerment to my TweetDeck. I was looking through tweets about mental health in schools and mental health effects on young people. I came across #YouthEmpowerment which is a stream of Tweets that encourages

  26. One Twitter chat that I found in my search was a discussion by an account called “We Are Teachers” that was talking about doing the “Teacher Oscars.” Some of the awards that the chat mentioned were best read-aloud voice, best hallway neighbor, best original bulletin board, etc. I really liked this chat and all of its content because I think doing something like the “Teacher Oscars” is a great way to not only do something that students will find fun and engaging but also take a second to appreciate teachers and all they contribute to the school and its students.

  27. My initial thoughts about Twitter Chats are that they are very helpful and provide insightful information, but they have huge amounts of information in each. However, some of the information may delve deep into other topics, which could provoke ideas that are off topic to the original reason for joining the chat. However, overall I have a positive outlook on the option of twitter chats, especially since I have been using Twitter itself for several years.

  28. My initial impression of twitter chats is that while they can be very useful tools, they also (as said) can be a rabbit hole and intimidating to start. This intimidation can be a barrier to getting involved in twitter chats. Another could be not knowing where to start, but the software app mentioned above provides a good starting point to help break that barrier. Hashtags are also very beneficial for finding groups and topics, and while I’ve used them on Instagram I didn’t know twitter also used them until today. I checked out one of the chats under #edchat and was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of information and post under the hashtag. Seeing all the interesting ideas I could bring into the classroom is amazing, and is a great tool to keep for future use!

  29. I checked out #edchat, #sschat, and 4thgradechat. As I scanned all three hashtags, I found interesting bits of information and ideas that I could take into my classroom. Twitter, like many others, is an unlimited amount of information and ideas to integrate in my classroom. I feel this is something I would be attracted to when I’m caught in a rut in my teaching. Very motivational and inspiring!

  30. Although I have not had a Twitter since 2012. I was a little hesitant to recreate a new one, but I think it will be a great resource for some extra encouragement and ideas to help me in my classroom.

    1. I am also used to using hashtags, I use Instagram pretty frequently and know what hashtags are good and will help boost my posts to be seen.

  31. I found a great first twitter chat idea. They called it a slow chat and it takes place over the course of a week. I like this idea because I could participate a little everyday rather than find an hour or so to join a regular chat.

  32. I did a Twitter Chat about Family and Consumer Science, which is the subject I teach. There were a lot of different ideas and activities that I never thought of before.

  33. I found a Twitter chat about PBL. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but after reading through it, I found some great resources that I may be able to even use within my own classroom.

  34. In my twitter chat I learned about some cool items that I can include in my Makerspace in my classroom.

  35. I chose to search up #edchat and discovered a ton of information regarding education. I discovered different techniques, strategies, information regarding mindset, etc. I don’t typically use twitter and this is my first time searching and educational hashtag, and I was intrigued by the tremendous amount of information I discovered from one hashtag.

  36. I decided to do a Twitter search at #readingacrossamerica. This brought up a wealth of information, including numerous additional sites to follow. My emphasis is on children, so, naturally I gravitated towards sites about Dr. Seuss and so forth. As I previously mentioned, I do not actively utilize my Twitter account and I had no idea you could do a hashtag search and so much information would be brought to your attention. I will undoubtedly be checking out my Twitter account more frequently now and making use of the hashtag search feature for quick accurate resources.

  37. Blog Post: As a “newbie” to this whole Twitter/Blog world, what I found was the overwhelming expertise and knowledge that diverse people possess. In terms of overwhelming, the obstacles are: 1 keeping up with the Tweets, 2. responding with some substance to post RSVP and 3. continuing to be relevant.

  38. Being that it is the start of a new year, I selected #health. I was surprised to see the variety of tweets that were posted. There were 250 posts within the last hour and some of them were not at all related to the concept of heath. There were posts for crypto-currency, birthday wishes, and the World Economic Forum. I will need to be more selective and detailed with my hashtag searches. When I refined my search to #nutrition I had much better results. There were still promotional ads that were unrelated though.

  39. 1. Browse
    I chose to follow #Kinderchat because I hope to one day teach Kindergarten. I saw a really cool post about age appropriate play and how people need to understand that for children at that age, play is productive.

  40. I was able to easily access the twitter chats using hashtags. I searched #physedchat and was able to find multiple chats between educators posting what they were doing in their classroom that they felt were “gamechangers.”

  41. I found that Twitter chats are easily accessible with a simple search or even through a hashtag. Through the hashtag #edchat I was connected with different educators as well as resources. Participating in these chats seems to be more about asking questions or posting relatable content. This chat is broader because it consists of educators all the way from Pre-K to higher Ed. It is important to find your type of people and communicate with them.

  42. Browse: After searching #engchat, I found many English teachers tweeting inspirational posts, memes, and advice. One tweet that I found particularly useful was about a vocabulary activity meant to engage the students better than traditional methods. I have never really bothered to look up hashtags in a way that could improve my understanding of teaching, but it looks like it could be a valuable resource.

  43. Browse. I was able to check out the #edtechchat and was able to learn a lot about data privacy issues, which is something that I admittedly had never thought about even in the new age of virtual teaching.

  44. Join a Twitter Chat– I joined a twitter chat about mindfulness for kids. The first thing I did was just watched for a few minutes, I started to like other people’s comments if I agreed with what they said. I then chose to respond to a few comments. It was very interesting to be able to read whatever everyone else was thinking in real time.

  45. As I searched through the #kinderchat on twitter, I found tons of great information and ideas! I loved seeing the different Halloween themed activities that build upon a variety of skills such as math, fine motor, literacy, etc. that were all games that taught important skills. I also liked reading all of the articles about the connection between recess and important social-emotional learning and how it’s being overlooked and underappreciated in schools. There are a lot of interesting articles and links that I can’t wait to further explore and learn from, but a quick stand out is https://theplayfulclassroom.teachable.com/ with their interesting and detailed activities that encourage constant play and growth in the classroom.

  46. I looked at #educatorchat and found it very interesting reading people’s ideas and questions. One person said how it is important to focus on the student’s experience and not so much on the assignments. I took that to heart because we are there for the students to have the best time learning and growing with one another. People also linked a lot of cool resources for the classroom.

  47. I did a deep dive into the #NT2T. I love how it was all a supporting community with resources for teachers about coaching for online teachers and also resources for ways to teach students like through Project Based Learning. It was all really great stuff that teachers can explore and use to help them grow as teachers.

  48. I looked through the #ditchbook chat and saw lots of great tips and resources for creating an online classroom. They share lots of resources such as templates for infographics and slides, but also information on how to use platform like gsuite or tools such as peardeck and padlet.

  49. I decided to do my twitter search on #kinderchat. A lot of material on useful information for certain content areas have been shared and discussed. For example, there was one tweet that showed Kindergarten students using BookCreatorApp as they started to create books holding their ‘life lessons’. It was intriguing to observe students this young using technology in the classroom. It is definitely something I will consider using in my classroom, if given the choice, when creating a lesson such as this one with my future students. 

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