Connecting teachers using technology has to be one of my goals using the various social media platforms. We all have our favorite platforms Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even educational blogs. Where do you share information about education? Where do you get your resources from? Do you think that educators can learn from each other virtually?
If so would you join a weekly chat to grow professionally as a teacher? My answer is…
Join #TeacherFriends!
Teacher Friends Twitter Chat
As a teacher, it can feel pretty isolating in a classroom all day long with young children. There’s not always a lot of time for networking with teachers at school except for team meetings and faculty meetings. I think it’s part of a teacher’s core to always want to be learning new things. Even though I’m at home now with my kids I’m always looking to connect with educators.
Although Pinterest is still my favorite for sharing resources with teachers for education, Twitter has recently become my favorite for connecting directly with other teachers. It’s become a place to discuss hot education topics with virtual colleagues.
The truth is I adore using Twitter so much that I’ve been hosting a Twitter chat every Tuesday night at 9pm with 3 other teachers.
You’re invited #TeacherFriends Tuesday nights at 9 pm EST
New to Twitter… join us at 8:30 pm to explore using it before the chat starts.
#TeacherFriends Organizers…
- Debbie Clement of Rainbows Within Reach Twitter https://twitter.com/KweezleQueen
- Maggie Huf of Maggie’s Kindercorner Twitter https://twitter.com/maggieskinder
- Kristen Poindexter of Kristen’s Kindergarten Twitter https://twitter.com/fuzzlady77
- Kim Vij of The Educators’ Spin On It (that’s me!) Twitter https://twitter.com/EducatorsSpin
Confession… I put off signing up for Twitter for quite some time. It wasn’t until I connected with the rockstar teacher and blogger Amy Mascott of teachmama did I join. And then I had that aha moment and realized how quickly you can connect and learn on twitter from other educators and experts. You can find chats that relate to very specific topics as well.
The power of a hashtag can bring you into just the topics you’re looking for more information on. How do you connect with teachers on Twitter?
Here’s a schedule of all the education chats on Twitter (Click here)
Here’s a picture of Hosts Debbie Clement and Kim Vij at an event
What makes #TeacherFriends chat so much fun is that each week we invite guests to be a part of our chat. Our guests share with us advice and resources about hot topics in education that we announce ahead of time. We even give our guests a special title…..#GuestEDUCelebrity.
From 9 to 10 pm EST both our guest and YOU the participants give responses to questions Debbie asks. We all as teachers have new tips to bring to the chat each week.
Plus our guests usually come with PRIZES to share too. I must admit it’s kind of like going to a teachers’ conference and getting to talk to a presenter directly. Pretty cool, right?
So are you ready to join #TeacherFriends? Are you now thinking HOW do I join a Twitter Chat?
Tips for Joining a Twitter Chat for #TeacherFriends
- Set up a twitter account
- Log in at 8:30pm EST to chat with others new to twitter
- Use TweetDeck to follow the hashtag #TeacherFriends {Twubs or Hootsuite work too)
- Use the hashtag #teacherFriends in all your tweets during the chat for everyone to see your tweets.
- Get ready to welcome our special EDU Guest at 9:00 pm
- Tell us a little about you (name, what you teacher, where you live etc. small talk)
- Consider welcoming others as they join the chat (just include their @name in your tweet)
- Enter the Prize form on the google form shared by a #TeacherFriends host
- Get ready to answer 5 questions from 9 to 10 pm (We share them early on facebook to help prepare, Follow TeacherFriends on Facebook )
- During a chat you will see Q1, Q2, Q3 etc. those are the questions to answer.
- Respond to questions with A1, A2, A3 etc and be sure to include the hashtag #TeacherFriends
- Don’t be afraid to share links or photos for your answers too. This is where we all can learn from each other in the chat.
- If you like a tweet you can Respond, Like and Retweet tweets from other #TeacherFriends participants and #GuestEDUCelebrity.
- We know it gets pretty busy during a chat, so at the end I’ll be sharing a recap of everyone’s tweets using a program called Storify. You can even retweet, like, respond and follow to tweets within the storify! {Click here for previous #TeacherFriends chats}
- Consider FOLLOWing the teachers that you connected with during the chat
- Come back next week Tuesday night at 9pm EST for a new TOPIC and new GUEST
There you have it, the steps to participating in a Twitter Chat or Twitter Party. I promise the more you use twitter the easier it gets. It can get pretty busy so just skim at first. Are you curious who we’ve invited as our Guests to join the chat?
50+ #TeacherFriends Chats with Top Educators
Here are the guests that have been a part of our #TeacherFriends chat since July 2014. Their names link to their Twitter accounts and the Topic links to the Recap of the chat using Storify so you can read the chat after the fact too. A big thank to you each of our Guests for their time and prizes they bring each week!
Here’s a Twitter list that you can subscribe to and follow of our speakers’ tweets on Twitter (Click here) The List will continue to grow each week!
- Shaunna Evans Topic Interdisciplinary Winter Creativity
- Terry Stoufer Topic The Power of Twitter
- Debbie Clement Topic Gratitude
- Dr. Erica Warren Topic Multi-sensory Teaching & Dyslexia
- Craig Badura Topic Digital Citizenship
- Sylvia Parker Topic Google Classrooms for Young Learners
- Ryan Lynch Topic Better Planning, Better Teaching
- Dr. Debbie Silver Topic Humor and Optimism
- Connie Hamilton Topic Increasing Student Engagement
- Mary Amoson Topic Sharing Tips, Tricks and Technology
- Vicki Davis Topic Making Schools a Place of Hope
- Jennifer Kadar Topic Art Integration in Classrooms
- Becky Morales Topic Global Learning
- Jennifer Hughes Topic Sensory Processing
- Sara Well Topic Teaching with Music
- Giselle Shardlow Topic Yoga in the Classroom
- Deb Chitwood Topic Using Montessori Ideas Today
- Maria Dismondy Topic Creating Classrooms Kindness
- Randee Bergen Topic Celebrating the Writing Process
- Dr. Jan Richardson Topic Guided Reading
- Amanda Boyarshinov Topic STEM and Arts= STEAM
- Dr. Ellen Weber Topic Brain Based Learning
- Jeffrey Wilhelm Topic Boys and Literacy
- Joana McGaughy Topic Teaching with Today’s Technologies
- Michaele Summerville Topic Refresh, Renew and Re-energize
- Maggie Hufstedler Topic Planning for Next Year
- Jenna Kleine Topic Building Positive Relationships
- Cindy Price Topic Guided Math
- Rita Wirtz Topic Reading Success Stories
- Jill Clayton Topic Designing Authentic PBL Challenges
- Kim Vij Topic Pinterest for Education
- Paula Lindsay Topic End of Year Preperation
- Katie Knight Topic Teacher Think Tank
- Kayla Delzer Topic Technology in Classrooms
- Donna Boucher Topic Meaningful Math Talk
- Holly at GoNoodle Topic Brain Breaks
- Kristen Poindexter Topic Simple Science Fun
- Mia Wenjen and Valarie Budayr Topic Multicultural Books for Kids
- Melissa Taylor Topic Nonfiction Reading
- Todd Wanerman Topic Project Based Learning
- DeeDee Wills Topic Nurturing Writers
- Dr. Rebecca Klemm Topic Math
- Vanessa Levin Topic Hands on Learning
- Dr. Jean Feldman Topic Brain Breaks
- Krissy Venosdale Topic Global Connections
- Jessica Meacham Topic Organziation
- Debbie Clement Topic Creativity, Collaboration and Gratitude
- Deanna Jump Topic Rigor and DAP
- Dr. Mary Howard Topic Literacy Word that Matters
- Enrique Hank Feldman Topic Creative Problem Solving
- Anibal Pacheco Topic Technology
- Bill Corbett Topic Supporting Parents of Challenging Kids
- Steve Spangler Topic Science
- Amy Mascott Topic Work Smarter, Not Harder
- Larry Blumengarten Topic Twitter for Education
- Heidi Butkus Topic Active Strategies
- Dave Burgess Topic Talk Like a Pirate
- Jen Jones Topic Critical Thinking
- Marsha Maguire Topic Differentiated Instruction
- Dr. Danny Brassell Topic Reluctant Readers
- Deborah McNelis Topic Brain Development
- Erin Klein Topic Classroom Environments
- Angela Watson Topic Building Resilience in the Face of Stress
- Matt Gomez Topic Technology in Schools
- Brian Puerling Topic Techonolgy in the Classroom
- Greg Smedley Topic Back to School
- Barbara Gruener Topic What’s Under Your Cape
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