To Twitter Chat or not to Twitter Chat?

To Twitter Chat or not to Twitter Chat: is that even a question?

This summer I found my love: Twitter chats! Twitter chatting is probably my favorite part of my Personal Learning Network. I love "listening" to what other educators have to say about many different topics and helping others when they need a good resource! Sometimes I get ideas, get inspired, or even get excited about teaching!

I have begun to participate in #EdChat and #3rdchat regularly and plan to continue throughout this school year. I don't need convincing, but my fellow colleagues do! I can already hear the excuses. So here they are with my answers to them!

#1: I don't have time to do that!

You'd be surprised at how easy it can be to find time! HGTV and Food Network's shows are 30 minutes long and I know many teachers that make time for that! We all have the same 24 hour day: you just need to figure out if having reflective conversations with other teachers around the nation and world would be worth your time. (Hint: It is!!!)

First, many Twitter chats happen after 6:00pm. Hey, we're ALL teachers with lives outside of school so we try to find times that work for everyone. Next, you don't have to Twitter chat every night! Choose one chat that you'd like to participate in to start of with! For example, if you have Sunday mornings free, there is a #sunchat for educators from 8-9 am CST! Or, if you have more time in the evenings, there's a Tuesday night #EdChat from 7-8EST!

Here's a Goggle Doc that has all the current educational chats and times. They have just about everything! From high school math, gifted and talented classes, to school counselor chats: there is bound to be one for you! Look through it, choose 1, and try it! You'd be amazed how fast an hour can go by when you're Twitter Chatting!

#2: That sounds too hard/complicated!

OK. You can read, right? How about type on a computer? Would you like to learn about what other teachers are doing across the US and the world? I know the answers are yes. Then you can and should Twitter Chat! Web applications like TweetDeck and TwitterFall make it pretty easy. There are many educators who have blogs, video tutorials, and cheat sheets to help you begin as well.

The hardest part for me when I began? Remembering to add the hashtag of the chat! >_<

#3: I wouldn't know what to say/tweet!

Fair enough. Not everyone is ready to put themselves out there. My advice: lurk! No where does it say you HAVE to comment. I can admit that I lurked on my first few chats. So find about 5-10 people to follow from the chat you observed. Look for the people who shared great resources or made comments that you agreed with. Throughout the week and during the chat, see what they say.

Then, I promise, it will happen. You'll be "lurking" in a chat and someone will tweet something....and you HAVE to reply. It might just be to retweet what they said. It might be to agree with them. Maybe you've experienced it differently. Either way, you'll begin to join in and you'll never look back!

In the end, I can't force anyone to do something they just don't want to do. Yet, I truly believe that Twitter Chats help you grow as an educator and as a person. I'll leave you with one last thought. Have you ever had an awesome idea and you ran down the hall to share it with one of your colleagues? Just imagine what that would be like if you had teachers from all walks of life who are enthusiastic about teaching to share it with.

As Always,

Overly Enthusiastic Jen

What have you encountered when introducing teachers to Twitter Chats? Respond in the comments and let me know what you said!

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