First, to participate you don't need a Twitter account. Chats are a great way to passively learn with lots of people. I am a big believer in the power of the network. And while eventually you will want to jump in you don't have to at first. Head over to search.twitter.com and do a search for the hashtag of the chat. (Not sure about hashtags. Not worry! Here is a post all about them.)
Of course if you want to interact and join the conversation, you are gonna need a Twitter account. (Not worry about that. I've got you covered there too. Check out my Twitter Livebinder to get started.) You can use your favorite Twitter client like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite and set up columns that will search for the hashtag for you. Or you can use some websites built specifically for chats on Twitter. Tweetchat and Tweetgrid are 2 of the most popular. They are great because to join the chat all you need to do is include the hashtag. These sites include it for you so you never forget.
So what about the chats? There are lots and lots. You can see on this spreadsheet just how many there are. You could spend just about every waking moment on Twitter engaged in a chat. But there are a couple for educators that you should definitely check out.
#Edchat-Tuesdays 7pm and 12pm EDT- Yes. I am a biased. As one of the founders its hard to leave this one off the list. The main chat is at 7pm and the other at 12pm is aimed at our friends in Europe and abroad. The topics are voted on Sunday-Tuesday mornings and encompass a wide range of topics.
#SSchat-Mondays 7pm EDT- This chat for Social Studies teachers has some of the brightest minds on Twitter that participate. Their topics, while centered around social studies, range from portfolios, to PBL to Understanding by Design. Whether you are teaching Kindergarten or AP American History, this is a chat worth your time.
#Engchat-Mondays 7pm EDT- This chat for teachers of English does some very interesting chats and often has special guests and moderators.
#PTchat-Wednesdays 9pm EDT- This is one of those chats that has seen a lot of changes. Now that my friend Joe Mazza is heading it up, it is finally doing some good. Joe is trying to bridge the gap between parents and schools and in this chat he invites parents to talk about issues with education from their perspective. It is a chat that gets bigger and bigger every week and one that I enjoy lurking in on.
#NTchat-Wednesdays 8pm EDT- Another chat I love to lurk on is this one from my friend Lisa Dabbs. They share topics and resources for New Teachers but you don't have to be new to participate. They share such great stuff I always have something I can share the next day.
#Elemchat-Saturdays 6pm EDT-For teachers in the lower grade levels, this chat is always a good time. The stories they share in addition to the resources are great for anyone that sits in here.
Not big on chats? Not a problem. Follow these hashtags anyway. People use the hashtags to extend the reach of their tweets so there are usually great things posted all week long at all times of day. So while you might not want the conversation, you can still reap the rewards by following them.
And don't forget, Jerry (Cybraryman) has curated and organized all the educational Twitter chats into a webpage that is easy to read. So you can no doubt find something for your content area or interest.
These are my favorites. What are some of yours? Leave the details below.
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