#Edchat: Join the Conversation

Written on August 18, 2009 – 6:14 am | by Shelly Terrell

Over 600 educators have participated in #edchat discussions. Will you collaborate with us to create educational change?

Although relatively new, #edchat has become an incredible collaborative tool for educators to debate and evaluate solutions to various problems through Twitter. Over 600 educators and administrators have contributed to the #edchat discussions from various countries around the world. In what other forum would this be possible?

Watch the video and see what #edchat is about:

Details, Details…

Some confusion remains regarding #edchat, therefore here are some helpful tips, links, and recommendations:

When does #edchat take place? Tuesday is a common Twitter day for teachers made popular by the #teachertuesday hashtag created by Aniya, @TheEngTeacher. To accommodate teachers in various time zones we have two edchat discussions which take place usually around 12pm NYT (EST) and 7pm NYT (EST).
How is #edchat different from #teachertuesday? #Edchat is the official discussion forum of #teachertuesday. However, each hashtag serves a different purpose. Here are some guidelines:
- You should use #TeacherTuesday to recommend educators to follow, educational blogs, and links. Please visit this post to find out more information about #TeacherTuesday.
- You should use #edchat for discussions between educators on thought-provoking topics. There are designated times for the larger discussions, but if you are already engaged in a lively discussion with 2 or more educators on a topic that would benefit educators, then feel free to use the hashtag.
What is a hashtag? Check out this video to discover what a hashtag is and how to use a hashtag. Every Tuesday, at the designated time, you only need to add “#edchat” to the end of your tweet to participate in the discussion!
How are Topics Chosen? Every Monday, Tom Whitby, Steven Anderson, and I (ShellTerrell) create a twtpoll of 5 topics to choose from for Tuesday’s discussion. Just follow one of us or the #edchat tag so you do not miss your opportunity to vote on a topic. You may also propose topics to any of us by sending us a Tweet or DM!
For more information on #edchat you may want to look at my previous post, What is #Edchat?

Posts Associated with #Edchat

The following bloggers have fantastic posts, which explain more details about #Edchat topics, organization, problems, and more:

View the CoolCatTeacher’s, Vicki Davis, post about what occurred when she hosted a Tweet Panel using the #edchat hashtag.
Mary Beth Hertz provides a very thorough and useful post in following the #edchat discussions through Tweetdeck and other sources. She also discusses areas of improvement for future sessions.
John McLear gives an in depth explanation of #edchat discussion topics and provides ideas for further exploration of topics.
Karlana Kulseth reviews her digital footprint, which, was the last topic we discussed on #edchat!

More #Edchat Mentions

The bloggers listed above have greatly contributed to the organization and flow of #edchat. Additional educators who continue to keep #edchat discussions thought-provoking and organized include:

Tom Whitby- His continual behind-the-scenes collaboration and proposing of topics keeps #edchat discussions thriving as does his guidance in the discussions.
Steven Anderson- A behind-the-scenes collaborator who proposes topics, creates polls, and guides the discussions.
Jerry Swiatek- Continually archives #edchat discussions with The Archivist software.
Ruth Cohenson- Provided the fantastic quote for the #edchat video.
ALL EDUCATORS who have participated in the discussions, voted for topics, or retweeted #edchat news!!!!

Other Educational Hashtag Discussions

Before #Edchat were other educational synchronous Twitter discussions, visits these posts for details:

#Lrnchat, which takes place Thursday night 8:30-10pm EST / 5:30-7pm PST
In March through May, was #educhat and #journchat here’s a great wiki to help you plan synchronous Twitter discussions!

Click on the names to add these people to your Personal Learning Network (PLN)!

Challenge:

Join us in an #edchat discussion this #teachertuesday!

Do you have a post about #edchat or want to share how #edchat has impacted you as an educator? Please contact me to share this with us!

Tags: #Edchat, collaboration, discussion, FollowFriday, hashtag, PLNs, professionaldevelopment, Teachertuesday, thoughtprovoking, Twitter

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38 Responses to “#Edchat: Join the Conversation”
By Ruth Cohenson on Aug 18, 2009 | Reply

Excellent video, simple and non-threatening- a great entry for admins. I’ll include this when I present a list of whom to follow to my principal and facilitators.

[Reply]
Shelly Terrell Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Ruth,

I think your quote has become our official motto! LOL! It is a truly inspiring thought and glad you posted it in edchat discussion!

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By monika hardy on Aug 18, 2009 | Reply

wow.

that’s it. that’s all i got.
wow.

thank you for sharing your smarts girl.

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By Andy Hockley on Aug 18, 2009 | Reply

Thanks for this, it helps see what is going on a little. (I actually think it’s an excellently informative blogpost) I followed (as a lurker) the edchat this evening, and found it slightly …aggressive, I think. (that’s not exactly the right word, but it’s the closest one I can find at this time of night). Partly because I’m uncomfortable with the word “admins” which suggests some shadowy Orwellian character who manipulate and control, while not allowing change, and partly because it seemed like there was an awful lot of generalisations about these “admins” who are seen as the problem. In 90% or more of cases I’ve encountered, “admins” are educators themselves, and I think demonising them as the tone of edchat seemed to do, is, I feel unhelpful, and not likely to effect any meaningful change.

It may just be my dislike of the word that causes half of this, and I realise there is a slight US/UK divided-by-common-language thing here.

[Reply]
Shelly Terrell Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Andy,

Feel free to post these concerns in edchat! People often disagree and stick up for administrators. The goal is to infect change through discussion. Please feel free to add suggestions or note your observations, because this will only improve the edchat discussions. Thanks for dropping by and noting it here! We will be talking about other topics either than admin for future discussions.

[Reply]
By Karenne Sylvester on Aug 22, 2009 | Reply

Hi ya Shelly,

Just dropped by again to say WOW, this video is really cool and you’re an amazing organizer of peeps!

xxKarenne

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By ozge on Sep 1, 2009 | Reply

Shelly,
This is sooooo 21st century of yOU!! I understood #edchat better and sure to join the conversation next time and sad about the days that I missed!!

I loved your animoto video and inspired to use it on my workshop tomorrow with teachers =)

and thank you a million times for blogging great resource all the time!!

[Reply]
By Jim Vanides on Dec 1, 2009 | Reply

Great Animoto video, Shelly! – and I love the #edchat movement. Can you put the video on YouTube? I think it would be a great way for more people to see it…!

- Jim

[Reply]
By Jim Vanides on Dec 1, 2009 | Reply

(scratch that last comment – I just found it in YouTube!) – Jim

[Reply]
Shelly Terrell Reply:
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:57 am
Jim,

It was a great idea, though! I put it in the ning as well!

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By Sarah Bakersfield on Dec 9, 2009 | Reply

Hi,

I tried following the edchat this past week and honestly found it to be counterproductive to any meaningful dialog. It felt like I was in a room with hundreds of other people who were all talking at the same time via fortune cookie platitudes. Maybe it is just me, but I’m having a hard time finding any constructive value in this. Maybe you can help me out with the point / purpose of the chat?

Thanks,
Sarah B.

[Reply]
Shelly Terrell Reply:
December 9th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Hello Sarah,

The purpose for edchat is to discuss, debate, and challenge various issues in education. Around the globe, educators gather from around the world to find ways to tackle these problems in their local schools. The educational systems around the world have tremendous problems, such as enormous achievement gaps that have lasted for decades and a lack of equal access to education for all. Educators are inspired by the weekly discussions to initiate change. Many of the educators have created nings, performed parent workshops, performed training, created group wikis, participated in interviews in their community, and other exciting projects which were inspired by Edchat. Edchat promotes the idea that through the collective collaboration of educators we do have the ability to establish real change!

[Reply]
To Whitby Reply:
December 9th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
@Shelly Terrell, The depth and pace of edchat is not for everyone, but it is anything but counterproductive. It affords educators the ability to voice their take on whatever topic was selected by the group. The pace and seemingly confusing number of chats can be mind boggling to a first time attendee.The fortune cookie flavor is a result of the Twitter format. It does force chatters to think out their point in order to get people to consider it in 140 characters. I personally find it a challenge.
I always thought the impact of Edchat was not in the chat itself at the time, but rather the next day or two after it was done. The edchat is used by many educational Bloggers to take the pulse of educators on a given topic. The result is that there are many references to edchat in more expanded examination of the topic on educational blogs throughout the internet.They use edchat comments as a guide to question and explore the topic. Many educators with large numbers of twitterers in their PLN’s get responses about and from edchat almost up until the next edchat topic is posted.People even use the edchat hashtag to post educational topics all week long.
I am always surprised at how many people contact me if the Topic poll is a little late, or if we haven’t entered a topic that some educators requested.
Since I have been with Edchat from the beginning I will admit that it has become not only bigger than I ever imagined, but it has also become very relevant in voicing and forming educators’ opinions and creating discussions on levels never before attainable without the scope of social media. Edchat’s importance and relevance may be fleeting as other social media tools replace Twitter, but the idea behind it should continue. Since it does promote the exchange of ideas and gives direction to those topics that concern educators it should to retain support. That is not counterproductive.

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