What’s a Twitter Chat?
The term chat in the context of Twitter
refers to synchronous events where
many users participate in a discussion
via tweets on a specific topic, usually
using a predetermined hashtag at a
designated time. Although the Twitter
environment continuously evolves, a
chat is typically a weekly one-hour live
discussion that focuses on a specific
topic. And they’re very popular: In
a recent survey we conducted of 755
educators who use Twitter, 73% of respondents reported they had participated in a chat.
Chats often encourage a more substantive and dynamic exchange of
ideas than traditional, single-tweet
activity. A new user who sends out an
individual tweet may have little sense
of the audience for that tweet and may
not make any new connections with
it. But taking part in a chat will let her
get into immediate interaction and
discussion and quickly expand her
personal learning network (PLN).
Larger chats can involve hundreds
of participants and thousands of
tweets during a single hour. If that
seems overwhelming, keep in mind
that many newbies just “lurk,” or follow chats without tweeting, while
others find smaller chats to participate in at first.
Why Chat?
Participants join chats for many
reasons, including resource sharing,
networking, emotional support, com-
munity building, and contributing
to their profession. The collective
intelligence of a chat can provide
educators with classroom-tested les-
sons, a variety of perspectives on
specific problems, or an introduction
to emerging technologies. Chats offer
leaders opportunities to expand their
audiences and influence, and they
give voice to teachers who might not
otherwise have the chance to exercise
leadership outside their classrooms
or schools. Educators also appreciate
that the medium is concise, immedi-
ate, and easily personalized to their
professional needs.
In contrast to traditional PD that
often casts teachers into passive roles,
chats can be dynamic, engaging, and
even “oddly invigorating,” as one of
our students said. Chats provide op-
portunities for teachers to interact with
a variety of educators and other stake-
holders in ways that are sometimes rare
in schools, and they provide spaces for
democratic and equitable interaction
and collaboration. Plus, participation
in chats aligns with the ISTE Standards
for Teachers because it supports profes-
sional growth and leadership and al-
lows educators to model digital citizen-
ship and responsibility.
Who Organizes Chats?
Most chats are started and facilitated
by a small group of self-nominated
leaders, and some involve a companion blog or website with chat schedules, topic polls, and archives. For
example, when several Oklahoma
educators attending an edcamp decided in February 2013 to start using
#OklaEd for a weekly moderated
chat, they created a website (oklaed.
blogspot.com), archiving account
( storify.com/OklaEd), and private
Google Doc to help organize and
sustain the chat.
Chats typically have one or two
moderators. Some chats retain the
same moderators for every session,
while others regularly rotate moderators, feature guest moderators
with expertise relevant to a particular week’s topic, or actively seek
out moderators among regular chat
participants.
Moderators generally create the
slate of questions or prompts for the
chat beforehand. At the outset, they
collectively welcome participants to
the chat and often ask them to introduce themselves. After that, they
periodically ask the predetermined
questions and interact spontaneously
As of this writing, we are aware of more than
150 education-related Twitter chats. The
most up-to-date list ( bit.ly/officialchatlist) is
maintained by tech director Thomas Murray
(@thomascmurray), learning coach Chad
Evans (@cevans5095), and writer/educator
Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1).
Some chats, such as #edchat, tackle a broad
range of education issues, while others are
based on shared interests in a particular
topic, content area, grade level, job type, or
geographical region. Here are a few of our
favorites:
General Education Chats
#edchat: This popular chat, moderated by
Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby), Steven Anderson
(@web20classroom), and Shelly Terrell
(@Shell Terrell), hosts two discussions on a
pre-arranged education topic every Tuesday
at 9 a.m. PT/noon ET and 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m.
ET. Find out more at edchat.pbworks.com.
#satchat: This chat gets its name from its
regularly scheduled time, Saturday mornings.
Billed as a “global discussion for current and
emerging school leaders,” the chat, co-founded
by Brad Currie (@bcurrie5) and Scott Rocco
(@ScottRRocco), happens every Saturday
at 7: 30 a.m. PT/10: 30 a.m. ET. It was so
popular that it’s spawned two geographically
specific offshoot chats, #Satchat WC for West
Coasters and #SatchatOC for educators living
in Oceania (Indonesia, Polynesia, Australia, New
Zealand, Singapore, etc.). Learn more at www.
bradcurrie.net/satchat.html.
Content-Area Chats
#engchat: This chat for English teachers
to connect and share ideas, resources,
and inspiration happens every Monday
at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET. Find out more at
www.engchat.org.
#mathchat: This UK-based chat is for
anyone involved in mathematics, including
students as well as teachers. It happens
twice a week, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on
most Thursday nights and 5: 30 p.m./8: 30
p.m. on Mondays. You can also follow
@mathchat and visit the wiki at mathschat.
wikispaces.com.
Give a Chat
