Page Objectives

By the time you're finished going through the content and suggested activities found on this page, you should have:

• An understanding of how and when to use the various types of interactions available on Twitter
• The ability to utilize appropriate hashtags to get your tweets seen and engage in a larger conversation
• Identified and experienced an "edchat" that is relevant to you

Interactions On Twitter

At this point, you should understand the basic of what Twitter is, and how it works. You've starting following some people and hashtags that you feel are relevant to you. Now, it's time to start really engaging with the education community on Twitter. We've already mentioned many of the different types of interactions available on Twitter, and we have even used a few of them. We are going to take these interactions to the next level, and start communicating and opening some meaningful dialog that will help us all improve our practice.

Back To The #Hashtag

As we saw in the Finding a Community section of this site, hashtags are extremely important in locating relevant information on Twitter and other social media. Utilizing a proper hashtag when you send out a tweet is going to be key in initiating an engaging conversation. Unless you tag your tweet with the appropriate hashtag, the only people who even have a chance to see it, are the ones that are following you (which is probably not too many if you are just starting out). Read an interesting article lately? Post a link to it, and add an appropriate hashtag, that way other educators can find it. Have a question about a lesson or activity? Post it up, and hashtag it so others can find your tweet and respond. Have an insightful revelation after looking through assessments? Tweet it and tag it, so other educators can benefit.

Here are some examples of hashtags being utilized for education:

*Remember to use bit.ly, tinyurl.com, goo.gl, or some other url shortener when you post links--that way you can devote more of your 140 characters to thoughtful insights as opposed to we addresses.

Mentions

Mentions are similar to hashtags, except with mentions, you are tagging a person instead of a topic. For example, back in lesson one, I asked you to mention me in a tweet to let me know what your goals were for using Twitter. If you tag a tweet with @drewayrit, I get a notification that I was mentioned in a tweet. If you tag a message with #GetStartedTwitterEdu, I have to actively check that hashtag to see if something was posted. Mentions can be used when you want to acknowledge someone, or ask a specific person a question.

Here are a few examples of how mentions can be used:

This isn't an educational use, but I thought I would throw in that I often use mentions to praise or criticize companies that I have had interactions with. You'd be surprised how responsive a customer service department can be if you make your troubles with the organization known publicly on Twitter. I recently had an issue with my ISP. After hours on the phone with customer service on multiple occasions with no results, I started tweeting about the horrible customer service experiences, and tagging the company. They reached out almost immediately, and through Twitter, it was arranged to get my internet fixed.

Retweets

Retweets are very similar to sharing on Facebook. Someone else tweets something that you think is worth sharing, so you click the retweet button, and send it out to your followers as well. It's worth noting that you can add your own comments, hashtags, and mentions on to the things that your retweet. I like to retweet resources, and add relevant hashtags so other people can find them easier.

Replies

Replies are more or less just what they sound like--a response to someone's tweet. This can be a great way to initiative a conversation with someone. Say someone posts an interesting article, and comments on it. After reading the article, you would like to pose a question to the initial poster about their thoughts on one of the topics mentioned. Simply hit the reply button at the bottom of the tweet, and then write a response. A reply will automatically tag the owner of the initial tweet, and you can still add relevant hashtags, or mention other people. The difference between a reply and mention is that replies are only semi-public. That means that only people that follow the users involved in the conversation will be able to see the replies.

You can read more about replies and mentions directly from Twitter:

Direct Messages

Finally, if you want to have an absolutely private message on Twitter, you'll use the direct message feature. Direct messages can only be seen by the party that sends them, and the party that receives them; you can think of a direct message like Twitter's built in SMS system. You can't just direct message anyone. You can direct message people who do not follow you, unless they have selected that feature in their privacy settings. I typically keep direct messages to people I know, and usually then only when I want to contact them about something specific to them that would not be relevant to others.

Try It Out!

Now, we have covered all the basic interactions available on Twitter. To recap:

• Tweets with hashtags are publicly visible, will be seen by your followers, and anyone who searches for that hashtag
• Mentions are publicly visible, will be seen by your followers, and a notification will be sent to the user you tag
• Retweets are for sharing other people's tweets that you think your followers would find valuable. Remember, you can add hashtags and mentions to retweets as well
• Replies can only be seen by your followers or the followers of the user you are replying to
• Direct messages are private, and will only be seen by you and the other party

I would encourage you to try each one. See how they work, and when you feel it is most beneficial to use each type of interaction.

Edchat

Lastly, but certainly not least, we come to the "Edchat".

In a nutshell, edchats are when a bunch of educators get together on Twitter at the same time, and have a synchronous conversation. Everything they tweet, they tag with whatever the relevant hashtag is to their specific edchat. Edchats meet at specified intervals and times; such as the #edtechchat that happens every Monday from 8:00PM to 9:00PM Eastern Time. These digital gatherings are usually focused around a specific topic that is decided through polls earlier in the week. Many of the hashtags are also active at other times with people having additional conversations, and sharing resources.

The introduction I just gave to edchats is barely the tip of the iceberg. I'd recommend you spend a little more time learning about edchats and how best to participate in them. Linked below are a couple of resources I think you'll find beneficial. The first is a brief post by Steven Anderson of Teach.com, one of the founders of the original #edchat. It explains the history and basics of the #edchat.

What is #edchat - Teach.com

The second is a very in-depth resources that was created by USC Rossier. It is a very in depth guide, and has just about any information you could want to know about #edchat.

The Essential #Edchat Resource Guide - USC Rossier

Where the last two resources have been centered around the general idea behind the original #edchat, it is important for you to know that there are a plethora of edchats available for you to participate in. Whether you are looking for something location specific, content specific, on pedagogy specific, I'm guessing that there is probably an edchat out there for just about every educational niche. The next few sites listed are all dedicated to helping you locate an edchat that is relevant to you and your practice. Please take a look, and see if you can't find something that looks interesting to you.

Education Chat Calendar

The Complete Guide To Twitter Hashtags For Education - Teachthought

19 Education Twitter Chats Worth Your Time - ISTE

13 Great Twitter Chats Every Educator Should Check Out - The Journal

Ed-Chat It Up

You've learned about using hashtags and how to interact on Twitter. Now, it's time to put your skills to the test by participating in an edchat:

• Choose one of the Twitter chats listed in the resources above, and find out when it is taking place
• Tweet out that you will be participating in the edchat, and include the hashtag for the chat, and #GetStartedTwitterEdu
• If at all possible, I'll also make myself available for the edchat, and we can learn and discuss together with the larger community

Reflect

Take some time to reflect on the learning that took place while progressing through the information and activities offered on this page. Tweet utilizing #GetStartedTwitterEdu:

• One insight or piece of learning you found particularly valuable.
• One question you still have related to the information / activities on this page.