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A Tech Teacher on a Mission

Turning #edchats on their heads (or trying to)

1/10/2016

3 Comments

 
Last week I wrote a post about my feelings about #edchats. With my schedule calling for me to moderate #bcedchat the following Sunday, I needed to make a change.

I talked to a lot of educators around the globe who shared my feelings. Some gave me advice. Others told me how they were changing their chats. After chatting with Andrew Thomasson from #flipclass, I knew I had to go for it. Flash blogging... this was it. Let's get more of the community sharing what it was that they were going to focus on professionally for the rest of the school year.

Christine Younghusband and I chatted to put this chat together. It was to be a blend of the old model: the Q1/A1 format, and a new one: openly planning resolutions as an inquiry project. We used this document to organize our community's thinking and to focus on a single resolution.

​After people threw their resolutions down, we got them to start planning. The next thing we'll focus on? Sharing. 

If you're curious to see the flow of the chat tonight, check out the Storify. Stay tuned to see how the #bcedchat community progresses with their New Year's goals!
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3 Comments

My diminishing love for Twitter chats and why I want to rekindle it

1/5/2016

8 Comments

 
PictureSharing stories about listening to student voice to 500+ ADEs and Apple Staff

When I stumbled upon Twitter chats back in 2013, they were like a breath of fresh air. First, they gave me new information and ways to improve my teaching practice. Next, when I began to put my own tweets out there, they gave me connections and friendships. Finally, they led me to author my own works and thoughts on education, including my blog and YouTube channel, and helped me to gain admission to the UBCMET Masters program.

I am eternally indebted to Twitter chats and the connections I made there. They brought me multiple opportunities to attend conferences, to learn and share my practice, to become a part of incredible educator communities like Apple Distinguished Educators and Google Certified Innovators/Education Trainers. Heck, I even found my future husband on a Twitter chat! (Though that’s not a typical part of the experience, I hear :)

​But... yes, you knew there was a but... here it is: I am not getting what I need out of Twitter chats anymore.

I know I’m not the first one to write about my fading love for Twitter. But as someone who has enjoyed so many positives from the service, this bothers me. A lot. Especially as a co-founder and moderator of #bcedchat. 

I want to make one thing clear: the mission for #bcedchat has always been to bring educators together. To spark conversation and get people talking to one another across the province. I think that is still happening today, after 2.5 years of existence. We have many BC educators pop in and out of the regularly scheduled Sunday night chats (it’s at 7pm PST for those who don’t know). It’s great to connect with an incredible mod team and educators from all over BC and beyond.​

Picture#bcedchat was founded in July of 2013 and brings BC educators on Twitter together every Sunday at 7pm
However, I’m puzzled as to the richness of the takeaways of these Twitter chats for folks. How are these chats impacting classroom practice? Or are they more impactful on participant morale and a feeling of belonging? 

When I first started chatting, the goal was to just sponge it all up - any and every resource I could get my hands on. I was always learning something new or something that I can take and use in my classroom, sometimes immediately, sometimes as an ongoing project. Now, I’m not really doing that, and I can’t figure out if it’s because I’m more picky about resource quality or that I’m simply focused on very specific issues. Is it that I’ve made some close connections and I turn to those instead of my PLN? Also, being out of the classroom this year hasn’t helped either.

As you have probably figured out by now, I am unsure as how to completely articulate the problem at hand. My consideration of possible solutions is about the same. I think I’m looking for a more actionable and purposeful approach to my current involvement on Twitter. This post is me fighting to find one. I feel the connections that have been forged are far too important to let fade away. I really believe in connecting educators and igniting discussions that push thinking.

So help me, PLN: how can an edchat veteran make edchats more meaningful for their communities? For themselves? Are edchats (still) worth it for you? Why or why not?

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Note: If you want more consideration of this topic, John Spencer is really thoughtful about it.

​Also, thanks to 
Kat Mulski for the push on putting this post out there after a discussion at our recent #bcedchat moderator brunch.
8 Comments

    Author

    Victoria Olson
    A curious and passionate educator in Langley, BC

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