Tweeting with Change Agents

Admittedly, not much changed in schools in 2009. We still have classrooms that look and function very much like they have for the past 100 or more years. But 2009, did in fact seem to me to be a year where more educators participated in discussions about the need for change.

I suspect that many edubloggers can relate to Will Richardson's admission in What's Changed?, that he's done less blogging and more tweeting in the past 12 months. Though microblogging may be shallow, it has proven to be very accessible to educators, with Twitter being leveraged on both mobile devices, and school computers.

As a tool, Twitter is a double-edged sword: The depth of thought I used to see in the rich blog posts of change agents, has instead become a sequence of tweets, each distilled to no more than 140 characters; but many more educators have joined in the conversation.

In the first half of 2009, Twitter for Teachers was introduced as a resource wiki for educators. With over 500 registered users, it's still a great place to introduce others to microblogging. We also succeeded in bringing synchronous discussion to educators on Twitter via 'Educhat'. We've since passed the torch to 'edchat' which has proven to be a collegial way to welcome new teachers to Twitter.

In the coming year, I'll be looking for more opportunities to meet face to face with fellow Twitterers. If you have any doubt that the relationships we're building are authentic, join in a conference experience like Educon 2.2, or arrange a tweet-up of regional peers. Even if you can't be there in person, participation at such events can be transformative.

As a vehicle for change agents, Twitter offers a great way to connect many disparate voices. In 2010, here's hoping we can engage many more teacher-learners in the conversation.

Image Credit: left-hand

Educhat Revisited

We've had a number of runs at Educhat over the past few months, and a recent email has me thinking out loud about how we might use this bi-weekly meeting to facilitate meetings along the model of professional learning communities.



If you'd like a reminder about how Educhat was originally envisioned, check out this earlier post.

The Launch of Educhat

For the past many weeks, bloggers and other journalists have been leveraging Twitter to host live synchronous chats on a variety of topics related to the field journalism. On Monday evenings in Twitter you'll notice a spike in the use of the hashtag #journchat as a wide-ranging discussion is hosted by a user with the same name.


What might happen if educators take a cue from Journchat?
Over at the Twitter for Teachers evolving e-book, there are many uses of Twitter being shared, and one event that we'd like to launch is the first formal Educhat.

When will the first Educhat take place?
The first formal Educhat is slated for next Monday, March 9th, from 8:30-9:30 Eastern Time. The first chat will last one hour, with future chats lasting from 1-2 hours in length.

What do I need in order to participate?
1] Follow Educhat on Twitter
2] The use of a tool like Tweetdeck, Monitter, or TweetGrid is recommended to follow the discussion.
3] If so inclined, suggest a question/topic.
4] Set aside time to participate.
5] Use the tag #educhat in your responses.

Who hosts the meetings?
I've created a Twitter ID called Educhat that can be shared among moderators of the discussion, any given week. To participate, you simply need to follow this user, and to respond to the prompts.

What will we talk about?
Questions and topics are now being accepted in an online survey over at the Educhat page. While we could discuss many topics in a given evening, it is currently thought that each week would see discussions focused on a single broad topic. Topics might include: Assessment & Evaluation; Boys and Reading; Media in the Classroom; Personal Learning Networks; Google Tools; Communicating with the Community; Web 2.0 Apps; Role Playing; Assessment & Evaluation

Why use Twitter?
Twitter allows anyone and everyone to respond, and offers a simple way to collect the responses of participants. As opposed to a live audio chat, the microblog interface allows you to split your attention among lesson planning; television shows; parenting and the engaging conversation via Educhat.

What if I miss it?
The entire discussion will be accessible by simply searching the tag #educhat via Twitter Search.

Will you join us?
Please feel free to leave a comment on Why? or Why not?

Photo Credit: Wordle