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Written by Kristen McCabe and
Whether you are an experienced Twitter user or a newbie, Twitter chats are a useful feature many users are missing out on. These chats provide benefits to both individuals and companies, yet many either forget or simply don't know about them.

Perhaps this is because they are a bit tricky to understand, especially the first time you want to participate in one. However, it doesn't take long to become a pro!

Whether you want to host your own or interact with someone else's, Twitter chats are an easy way to engage with your peers and target audience by asking targeted questions or providing answers to the community. In this article, you'll learn the best ways to use Twitter chats to network and learn.

But first, you may be wondering: What Exactly Is A Twitter chat?

In short a Tweetchat or Twitter chat is a scheduled, organized topical conversation on Twitter centralized around a specific hashtag.

It's best to think of a or panel discussion around a specific topic. Now bring that conversation into the digital world of , a platform designed for high engagement through bite-sized content in the form of tweetings containing 280 characters or less.

Put them together and presto - you have a Twitter chat!

What Are The Requirements For A Twitter chat?

A specific hashtag designed for the chat

A specific time - this is often a regularly occurring time, such as Mondays at 2 p.m.

A topic for each chat

A moderator posting questions, using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc.

Participants answering the questions, using the format A1, A2, A3, etc.

Twitter chats usually last for an hour and have six-to-12 questions. While that may not seem like many questions for 60 minutes, the time goes quickly - especially when you have a large number of participants!

The Benefits of Twitter Chats

One of the biggest advantages of Twitter chats is perhaps the most obvious - you can grow your social media following. The best way to reap this benefit is by interacting with the moderator and others involved in the chat, as we'll discuss below.

In addition to the number of followers you have, Twitter chats increase your brand awareness as a whole. Hosting a chat brings your target audience to you. You can listen to members of your audience, learn how to engage them, and get ideas for your content marketing strategy.

Chats provide an opportunity for professionals around the world to meet and share their expertise. When you participate in a chat, you display your thought leadership - especially if the moderator retweets your answer!

Twitter chats also give the ability to learn from your peers. A marketer on the other side of the country could have a tip or tool that solves that challenge you've been struggling with for the past month. Alternatively, you can also find inspiration from others and get the creative juices flowing.

How to Participate in Twitter Chats

Even seasoned content marketers may be a little foggy when it comes to participating in a Twitter chat. They're not all contained in the same thread, making them more difficult to follow.

Find a Twitter chat you would like to participate in. (You'll find several for marketers throughout this article or Huffington Post shares its for entrepreneurs or find 10 best chats 25 great twitterchats at 99signals) Then, at the designated time, log onto Twitter and type the hashtag into the Twitter search bar. You can also go to the moderator's profile page.

When you see a question you want to answer, start your tweet with the number that correlates with the question. Here you can see how Timara Nichols did so on a LinkedIn chat, tweeting her answer to the first question beginning with "A1."

Many Twitter users create a new tweet when answering a question, be sure to use the Twitter chat's hashtag, of course!

You can also directly reply to the tweet asking the question. This is similar to commenting on Facebook and posts, and it's what I, along with 30 others, did in a recent #CMWorld chat:

Now that you know the basics, let's look at some tips to make the most of your time on Twitter.

Tips For Participating in Twitter Chats:

Don't feel the need to answer every question. You will still benefit from watching the conversation, learning from your peers and industry experts. On the other hand, don't hesitate to jump in and make the most of the answers that show off your expertise. Doing this will make people notice and appreciate your participation. This is especially beneficial when you have a unique point of view.

Just like all good content marketing, the focus should be on educating and helping others. While self-promotion is a benefit, people will see right through you if you include a link to your product in every answer. When your intentions are to promote yourself, instead of engaging with a community, it shows. (And it's not a good look!)

Speaking of engaging with your community, don't just reply to the moderator's questions. Like and respond to the answers of other participants. This is how true conversations get started in the digital world. In addition, it's how other Twitter users will get to know you, increasing the likelihood they will engage with your other activities on Twitter.

If you want to increase your followers on Twitter, the best way to do it is by following those who also participate in the conversation. Given you are interested in the same topic and they've just interacted with you, there's a good chance they will follow you back.

Okay, so maybe you don't have to go , but GIFs are a huge part of Twitter chats. They give an emotional response to your comments. You can also comment quickly, without needing to craft the perfect 280 character response. Plus, they're fun! People love them, and a clever GIF is a positive reflection on your social media skills.

Gifs are regularly used by both the moderator and participants. For example, AdWeek regularly includes GIFs with each question it asks:

In case you couldn't tell, Twitter chats are meant to be fun!

To host a Twitter chat, the first thing you will need is your chat hashtag.

It can be related to your brand or the content topic, but it should be short, memorable, and unique.

Short: The longer your hashtag, the fewer characters participants have to include with their reply.

Memorable: Choose a hashtag that is easy to remember. This ensures that Twitter users can find you, and it makes it easy to participate in the conversation.

Unique: Hashtags that are easy to remember are also common. You also need a hashtag that is unique to you. Otherwise, those wanting to find your chat may get confused by the other results that appear with your hashtag.

Next, consider the time of your chat. Twitter chats get the best long-term results when they are held on a regular basis, such as weekly. Examine your audience and their location. In America, you will want a time that works for those on Eastern and Pacific time.

Some choose to hold their chats during business hours, others prefer at night. Think about your audience when choosing your time. Aside from their locations, are they more or less likely to participate during business hours?

Once you have decided to on your Twitter chat's time and hashtag, just like all types of event marketing , you need to promote the event.

Any event is meaningless without attendees, and that applies to the digital ones too. Without participants, you don't have a Twitter chat - you simply have a series of tweets.

Announce your Twitter chat across all channels, including other social media platforms, your website or blog, and within email newsletters. Knowing that Twitter is where the event takes place, to your profile that promotes your Twitter chat. If chats are a big part of your Twitter strategy, you could also make a Twitter header image that includes the chat date, time, topic, and hashtag.

Here, you can see how #BrandChat, held weekly on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. EST, has pinned a tweet with basic information about the chat:

When conducting your Twitter chat, keep a few tips in mind:

Have all of your questions written and scheduled before the chat begins.

Wait five-to-10 minutes between questions, giving participants time to respond.

Interact with your participants - comment, like, and retweet the top answers.

Stay focused! An hour-long Twitter chat will have you racing among questions and participants. Take your bathroom break and have coffee ready before it begins!

Don't forget to promote any prominent guests participating in or moderating your chat. Doing this before your chat will increase participation. Plus, you are making it easy for influencers to retweet posts that mention them!

After the Twitter chat, it's time to maximize on that benefit of creating content. Build a blog post that highlights key tweets and lessons from the chat.

Here, you can see how Content Marketing Institute summarizes its weekly #CMWorld chat:

The search function and categories Content Marketing Institute uses enable readers to stay on its site and continue engaging with its brand.

Blog posts ensure your Twitter chat has a lasting impact, even when it has fallen to the bottom of your Twitter feed.

Twitter chats provide a valuable opportunity for both companies and individuals.

Share your expertise and get to know the other chat participants. Like, comment, and retweet posts from the moderator and other attendees to maximize your exposure and engagement. Then, be sure to follow those engaged with that chat.

Those participating in Twitter chats have a sincere interest in the topics being discussed. And best of all, when you are the host of a Twitter chat, your name is associated with the source of that knowledge exchange.

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Understanding Twitter Chats - A Guide to Join the Conversation

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Written by Kristen McCabe and Whether you are an experienced Twitter user or a newbie, Twitter chats are a useful feature many users are missing out on. These chats provide benefits to both individuals and companies, yet many either forget or simply don't know about them.

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Think of a Twitter chat as a virtual meet-up for people with common interests. If you are looking to connect with more people in your industry on a wider scale, joining a Twitter chat is the perfect place to start.

Twitter chats are extremely useful for networking, learning business strategies from peers, and generally engaging in meaningful conversations about any shared topics of interest. Twitter, as the platform, serves to help us all connect with a much larger audience than usual.

That's exactly what we do here at Social Media Today during our #SMTLive Twitter chats . We host #SMTLive twice a month to get social media and digital marketing professionals from all over the world (that typically wouldn't have the chance to meet otherwise) together to talk about timely issues that affect us on a day to day basis. We then share a recap of the chats on our site so that anyone who wasn't able to attend can still learn from the information shared.

Are your ready to join the conversation but aren't totally sure how Twitter chats work? Read on for a step by step guide explaining how to participate.

The steps below are the same for #SMTLive as any other Twitter chat; so you can apply this to any chat you decide to attend.

Step 1: Pick a chat to attend

This is simple. Do your research and find chat hashtags that others in your industry participate in. Often, Twitter chats that meet regularly will have a page with a schedule so that you can see the upcoming chat topics and decide which ones you would like to attend.

Example: The #SMTLive schedule can always be found on our community page.

Step 2: Mark your calendar

Just like any other get together, each chat has a date, time and place you are expected to meet. Mark your calendar so you don't forget.

Our #SMTLive chats take place twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. If you are someone who likes a classic day-of email reminder, we suggest our participants to the chat's they're interested in and we will email you an hour before to remind you it's almost time to get tweeting.

Step 3: Find the chat on Twitter

When the time comes, jump on Twitter and search for the hashtag and follow along on the "Latest" tab.

Step 4: Alert your followers (optional)

If you plan to tweet a lot during the chat, it's not a bad idea to send out a brief message to your followers letting them know that you are attending a Twitter chat. A simple polite warning such as the one below will do.

Gonna see an influx of tweets from #SMTLive - hello all, joining late. Argh! I'm Carmen, I lead Cisco's Talent Brand @WeAreCisco channels - all about employee voices to attract talent! ????
- Carmen S. Collins ????????‍♀️ (@CShirkeyCollins) November 13, 2018

Feel free to introduce yourself as well. It's always fun to see where people are tuning in from.

Hi #SMTLive we are Vision Advertising, a digital media marketing agency based in #Westborough, MA. We are excited to join the conversation.
- Vision Advertising (@VisionRockStars) November 27, 2018

Step 5: Follow the hashtag. Use the hashtag.

Follow the conversation watching the hashtag stream.

You're already on the hashtag stream (step 3) so all you need to do now is read along. You may have to refresh often as the conversation continues.
PRO TIP: Mute any bots that are clogging up your feed. Any account that looks spammy or is simply retweeting everything the host says, you should block or mute.
​The person hosting the chat will ask questions in order to spark conversation between you and the other participants. You get out of it as much as you put in. Read along and join in wherever you feel fit.

Join the conversation by using the hashtag.

When you're ready to join in, you can either reply directly to the tweet of the question or tweet a singular tweet referencing the which question this is the answer to. For example, if we say "Q1..." you should respond by saying "A1..." and so on.

The #1 rule to always use the hashtag in every one of you tweets. (ex: #SMTLive) If you don't nobody will see it.

Final Step: Enjoy the chat

Share your ideas, ask your own questions, make a new friend, or just sit back and watch. Whatever is best for you.

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Think of a Twitter chat as a virtual meet-up for people with common interests. If you are looking to connect with more people in your industry on a wider scale, joining a Twitter chat is the perfect place to start.

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Time zone converter

Add a hashtag to see when a chat occurs.

Type in a day of the week and view all chats on that day.

Find a chat in your State, Country, subject/content area.

Exchange tweets with the chat moderator.

Have a chat that is new to Twitter - please add it.

Update the current details in the database to keep all educators informed.

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Locate Twitter chats! Time zone converter Add a hashtag to see when a chat occurs. Type in a day of the week and view all chats on that day. Find a chat in your State, Country, subject/content area. Exchange tweets with the chat moderator. Submit Your Twitter Chat Information Have a chat that is new...

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For educators who thrive on connections, Twitter chats may be the perfect form of professional development. They're free. They focus on just the topic you need. They happen regularly. And they give you access to an instant community, complete with networking opportunities, emotional support and the chance to give back.

Participating in chats even aligns with the ISTE Standards for Educators because they allow you to improve your practice by learning from and with others to explore proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning.

"The collective intelligence of a chat can provide educators with classroom-tested lessons, a variety of perspectives on specific problems or an introduction to emerging technologies," says Daniel Krutka (@dankrutka), who uses Twitter to connect to his students and the rest of the education community. "Chats also offer leaders opportunities to expand their audiences and influence, and they give voice to teachers who might not otherwise have the chance to exercise leadership outside their classrooms or schools."

But with hundreds of ed-related chats, how do you know which ones are worth giving up an hour of your day?

First, pick your angle. Some chats, such as#edchat, tackle a broad range of education issues, while others are based on shared interests in a particular topic, content area, grade level, job type or geographical region. Next, try out a couple that fit your criteria and see which community you feel most at home in.

To get you started, check out this list of 41 education chats curated by the ISTE community, organized by chat type. If you don't find something for you on this list, check out Participate.com, which hosts an easy to use list of chats organized by topic and even highlights happening each day.

General education chats

#engchat (Monday, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET)
Where English teachers share ideas, resources and inspiration.

#nt2t (Saturdays, 6 a.m. PT/9 a.m. ET)
For educators who are new to Twitter.

#OK2Ask (every other Thursday, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET)
Friendly chat with lots of classroom resources shared.

#satchat (Saturdays, 4:30 a.m. PT/7:30 a.m. ET)
For current and emerging school leaders, #satchat became so popular it spawned two geographically specific offshoot chats:#SatchatWC for West Coasters and #SatchatOC for educators living in Oceania (Indonesia, Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, etc.).

Job role chats

#1stchat (Sunday, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET)
Chat about first grade teaching.

#kinderchat (Mondays, 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET)
For anyone interested in kindergarten and early-childhood education.

#mschat (Thursdays at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET)
For middle school teachers.

Topical chats

#AppleEDUchat (Tuesdays, noon and 6 p.m. PT/3 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET)

#AR4Learning (Thursdays, 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET)
Focused on augmented reality in the classrooms.

#ARVRinEDU (Wednesdays, 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m.ET)
Discussion about augmented and virtual reality in education.

#BookCreator chat (Last Thursday of the month, 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET)
Over the course of the chat, participants collaborate on a book and publish it online.

#EdTechChat (Mondays, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET)
Focuses on topics related to edtech.

#FlipClass (Mondays, 5 p.m. PT/8p.m. ET)
For those interested in the flipped classroom model.

#formativechat (Mondays, 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET)
Discussion of topics related to formative assessment, from giving effective feedback to giving students more ownership of their learning.

#Games4Ed (Thursdays, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET; Sundays, noon PT/3 p.m. ET)
For those interested in game-based learning and gamification.

#iteachphysics (Saturdays, 6 a.m. PT/ 9 a.m. ET)
Bi-weekly chat for physics teachers.

#kidscancode (Tuesdays, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET)
For educators interested in helping students learn to program.

#LearnLAP (Mondays, 5 p.m, PT/ 8 p.m. ET)
Focuses on strategies for creating a student-led classroom.

#pblchat (Tuesdays, 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET)
For project-based learning fans.

#PersonalizedPD (Tuesdays, 6 p.m. PT/ 9 p.m. ET)
For those interested in customizing professional development to meet the needs of each educator.

#plearnchat (Mondays, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m.ET)

Topics focus on personalized learning, learner agency, changing culture, voice and choice, and strategies to transform teaching and learning.

#Read4fun (Every other Sunday, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET)
Connects passionate educators with books, and with each other.

#Shiftthis (Tuesdays, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET)
Focuses on implementing gradual change for massive impact in the classroom.

#sschat (Mondays, 4 p.m. PT, 7 p.m. ET)
For social studies educators.

#TLAP (Mondays, 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET)
For educators who embrace David Burgess' approach of teaching like a pirate.

#WeirdEd (Wednesdays, 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET)
Focuses on positive issues, taking action and the kids.

#whatisschool (Thursdays, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET)
Educators discuss shaping the future of school.

#XPLAP (Tuesdays, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET)
Based on Explore Like a Pirate, chat focuses on gamification.

Regional chats

#CAedchat (Sundays, 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET)
California educators discuss education topics relevant to the West Coast.

#NCed (Tuesdays, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET)
For North Carolina educators.

#UrbanEdChat (Thursdays, 7 p.m. PT/ 10 p.m. ET)
For educators who want to discuss urban education.

#UTedChat (Wednesdays, 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET)
Focuses on education topics relevant to Utah and the general education landscape.
This post is an updated version of an article originally published on May 19, 2015.

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40 education Twitter chats worth your time

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For educators who thrive on connections, Twitter chats may be the perfect form of professional development. They're free. They focus on just the topic you need. They happen regularly. And they give you access to an instant community, complete with networking opportunities, emotional support and the chance to give back.

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Listen to an extended version of this post as a podcast: I hear it all the time: "I have a Twitter account, but I don't really know how to use it."
I understand this thinking completely. Before I signed up to Twitter less than three years ago, I didn't get it AT ALL. I would go to someone's Twitter page-if that's what it was even called-and none of it made sense. It was only slightly easier to read than HTML. I had a vague understanding that a "tweet" was a 140-character post, and some fuzzy memory of Ashton Kutcher doing some kind of charity thing on it a few years back, aaannnd that was pretty much it.

But I kept hearing people say things like, "Twitter is the best professional development I've ever had." In my head I was basically calling BS on that. Because that's what I tend to do when I don't understand things. (It's not my best quality.) So I went ahead and opened an account, and I pretty much did nothing with it for a while. Over time, I picked up a few tips, but it took about six months before I started using it with any regularity.

Now that I've been using Twitter for a few years, I get it. I really do. And I want you to get it now. Because I believe every educator really needs to be on Twitter and be able to use it well. All those Twitter accounts just sitting there, not getting used, are just wasted opportunity.

At the end of this post, you'll find information about my new online course, Twitter for Teachers and Students. It's a 5-module video course I created to help teachers learn how to really use Twitter to its full potential. To learn more about it, click here to jump right down and check it out.

In the meantime, here are some things you could be doing to get the most from Twitter.

6 Ways to Make Better Use of Twitter

1. Find your people.

One of the greatest things about Twitter is that it allows you to find like-minded people, no matter where they are in the world. Once you've found them, you can start talking, sharing resources and ideas, and further developing your point of view with the enrichment and support of people who see things through a similar lens. When I was full-time in the classroom, I could count on one hand the number of people I worked with who shared my views on teaching, students, parents, and overall growth as a professional. ONE HAND. I was starved for connection. If I'd had something like Twitter, it would have been so different. I hear stories all the time from people who have made these connections-they experience tremendous growth and satisfaction in their work, regardless of the environment they happen to work in.

How to do it: When you first sign up for Twitter, you're likely to follow people you know, plus a few other well-known accounts that Twitter suggests for you. After that, what do you do? Using the search bar, look for topics that interest you. So if you're a middle school science teacher, you might look for "middle school science." The search results will show you accounts of people who have listed those terms right in their profile-definitely check those people out as possible people to follow. Your results will also show you specific tweets containing those terms: Click over to the profiles of the people who tweeted them, browse their past tweets, and see if they would make a good connection for you. Once you're following these people, you can start interacting with them; that's where the real tribe-building happens.

2. Communicate directly with anyone on Twitter.

As long as someone else has a Twitter account, you can communicate directly with them. That includes people you don't know, celebrities, corporations, whoever. If you place that person's Twitter handle (the thing that starts with an @ symbol), in your tweet, that person will be notified that you mentioned them. If they choose to, they can respond. Now if we're talking about celebrities who have millions of followers, the chance of hearing back from them is slim, but it definitely happens. If we're just talking about an educator who lives across the country, "tweeting at" them is far more likely to get a response, and a real conversation can begin.

How to do it: Just copy the Twitter handle of the person you want to communicate with in your tweet. For example, last week I tweeted out a link to one of my blog posts. Brad Wilson replied back to me, then I replied back to him. This is what I mean about having conversations on Twitter:

Why No One Reads Your Classroom Newsletter https://t.co/HIC32WRMFp #instruction #organization #teachers #edchat

- Jennifer Gonzalez (@cultofpedagogy) April 25, 2016

@dreambition Excellent points - never even thought of that. Was strictly looking at design. Thanks, Brad!

- Jennifer Gonzalez (@cultofpedagogy) April 26, 2016

3. Share the great stuff you find online.

Once you start making connections with people, the next step is to share stuff with each other. In the same way that you share links on Facebook or pin things on Pinterest, you can share links to fantastic content in tweets. And the best part about doing this is that other people, your tribe members, they will share stuff with you, too. This is, I believe, one of the main reasons people equate Twitter with professional development. Pretty much every time I jump on, I end up discovering something in just a few minutes that I never would have come across otherwise, and my professional knowledge is thereby enriched.

How to do it: Well, this is one of the best uses of a tweet. For some people, a tweet is all about making witty commentary about life. But most active Twitter users-especially in education-share quite a few links to online resources right in their tweets. If you're new to Twitter, you might not even recognize them as links, because they look like this: goo.gl/goeKWS. Those are just abbreviations, but they work the same way as the longer ones you're used to. By the way, if you paste a long link into a Tweet, don't worry about the 140-character limit: Twitter will automatically shorten the link for you. Here's an example of me sharing a post from Vicki Davis' site-see the shortened link in there?

2 Simple Ways Improve a Lesson Plan https://t.co/ck1pe6DOgt via @coolcatteacher

- Jennifer Gonzalez (@cultofpedagogy) April 26, 2016

4. Participate in a Twitter chat.

One of the most exciting ways to use Twitter is by participating in a Twitter chat. This is where a group of people "meet" online at a designated date and time and, using the same hashtag, have a group conversation. There are chats for just about every specialty area you can think of-take a look at this comprehensive list of education-related Twitter chats to get an idea.

How to do it: Find a chat you're interested in. Then, at the designated time, search for the chat's hashtag and on the results page you'll see what people are talking about. To add your own contribution, simply add the chat's hashtag to your own tweet and it will be included in the stream. Below is an example from an Early Childhood Educators chat (#ECEchat), held Tuesday nights at 9:30pm EST. The first tweet shown is the fifth question of the chat (marked with Q5), followed by some of the participants' responses (marked with A5). Notice how each tweet includes the #ECEchat hashtag:

RT Q5: Show us how you differentiate for your students! Please include the grade/subject #ECEchat pic.twitter.com/atakOKVm4J

- ECEchat (@ECEchat) April 27, 2016

A5. K Literacy stations are differentiated by color folder in a draw system. Ss match their folder to the folder in the drawer. #ecechat

- Danielle Brown, NBCT (@TeachDB17) April 27, 2016

A5: I'll record directions for lower groups, video myself playing the game, QR hunts for higher groups, #ECEchat

- Keri Lewis (@KinderKeri) April 27, 2016

A5 #ECECHATA5 3rd grade- Read alouds, think-pair-share, choice boards, anchor charts. #ECECHAT pic.twitter.com/4dPHx5ZhlJ

- Grace Salguero (@gracesalguero) April 27, 2016

5. Do research.

I am now in the habit of using Twitter as part of my regular routine when I'm researching a topic. First I look on Google and Google Scholar, then I check Twitter. Far more than just a communication tool, Twitter is a powerful search engine in its own right. I can search for any topic I want, then find tweets about it, which lead me to other resources and experts that can tell me more.

How to do it: Just use the search bar in the top right corner of the Twitter platform in the same way you'd do a Google search. When your results come up, you'll have the option to look at the top tweets about that topic, the most recent tweets ("Live"), and specific accounts that mention that topic. I did a quick search of the term "flipped learning" and found thousands of results, like this one, which links directly to an article where I can learn more:

Blended Learning vs Flipped Learning: Can You Tell The Difference? #eLearning #edutech https://t.co/KcNJAEGlgr

- Julian Davis  (@JulianDavis71) April 17, 2016

6. Communicate with students and parents.

If your students or their parents are on Twitter, you can use a classroom Twitter account to alert them to upcoming assignments, send reminders about important events or deadlines, provide links to interesting articles or other online resources, or share fascinating videos and images. You can also use a class Twitter account to show others-parents and the community, or the education world at large-the great things you're doing in your class.

How to do it: Create a Twitter account for your class that is different from the one you'd use for yourself; this requires a different email address to link to the account. Then start tweeting! You can compose the tweets yourself, or better yet, have students do it. Here's an example of a tweet from a 4th grade class Twitter account, which appears to be managed mostly by students:

Today we used skype to connect with our friend who moved back to France!!

- Ms. McElwee's Class (@msmcelweesclass) February 2, 2016

Go On, Turn the Corner

I promise you this: If you make the effort to try some of the things I've listed here and just stick with it for a while, you will turn the corner with Twitter. I never thought I would get the hang of it, but now it's as much a part of my day as checking email and Facebook. People who work in other fields can probably get away with avoiding Twitter, but for you, an educator? It's part of an essential 21st century toolkit. Make this the year you really start using it. ♦

Ready to Take the Next Step?

To help teachers learn how to make the most of Twitter, I have created an online course called Twitter for Teachers and Students on a brand-new learning platform for educators called Blend. In less than 90 minutes, you can learn everything I describe above and so much more. Through a series of self-paced video tutorials and a detailed, printable set of notes you can refer to any time, I show you step-by-step how to:

understand "Twitter language," including hashtags

find people to follow who share your interests

communicate directly with anyone on Twitter

participate in a Twitter chat

find Twitter chats you'll care about

share images and videos

organize content with Twitter lists

do research on Twitter

set up and use a classroom Twitter account

Use the code 10TWITTER to take $10 off! Click here to learn more about the course

Keep in touch.
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So you have a Twitter account. Now what?

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Listen to an extended version of this post as a podcast: I hear it all the time: "I have a Twitter account, but I don't really know how to use it." I understand this thinking completely. Before I signed up to Twitter less than three years ago, I didn't get it AT ALL.

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Joining Twitter can be a career-altering event. For many of us the connections, support, and resources we gain from being part of a professional learning network on Twitter are what give us back our passion for teaching.

The leap into the Twittersphere can be daunting. I hear even the most active Twitter users say that they joined months or even years before posting a single tweet!

So how DO you get started if you haven't yet started your own Twitter journey? And how can we get started connecting with others through Twitter chats once we have joined?

As always the #Ditchbook community comes through with some amazing resources and tips to guide you.

A Beginners Guide to Twitter for Educators free eBook

The authors of The Educator's Guide to Flipgrid and co-authors of The Educator's Guide to Wakelet have come together again to bring you A Beginners Guide to Twitter for Educator's.

As frequent moderators of the #Ditchbook Twitter chat and members of the #Ditchbook community Karly Moura and Sean Fahey wanted to create a shareable, printable guide to help you and your colleagues get the most out of this social media networking platform.

This guide will help you get started if you're brand new to Twitter. For those that are looking to jump into the world of Twitter chats, like our weekly #Ditchbook chat, it has a section on that too!
Click here to download that ebook - for FREE!
30 Top Twitter Tips from the #Ditchbook Community

Every week educators around the globe come together to connect and share through the #Ditchbook Twitter chat. Want to join us? We would LOVE to have you!

They happen every Thursday at 7 p.m. Pacific / 8 p.m. Mountain / 9 p.m. Central / 10 p.m. Eastern.

They often run for 30 minutes. Many times, moderators will offer bonus questions for those that want to continue chatting.

Check out what's happening on the #DitchBook Twitter chat by clicking here . (Even if you don't have a Twitter account!)

Recently we had a #Ditchbook Twitter chat all about Twitter chats! Educators shared some fantastic tips for getting the most out of any chat including the best tools to use when participating or moderating.

S croll down or click here for 30 top Twitter tips from the #Ditchbook community. Also, be sure to check out the entire discussion including a share out of participant's very first tweets along with their thoughts on the benefits of Twitter chats in this Wakelet collection.
Want to get in on the next #DitchBook Twitter chat? For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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A beginner's guide to Twitter for educators

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Joining Twitter can be a career-altering event. For many of us the connections, support, and resources we gain from being part of a professional learning network on Twitter are what give us back our passion for teaching. The leap into the Twittersphere can be daunting.

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Twitter Lists allow you to customize, organize and prioritize the Tweets you see in your timeline. You can choose to join Lists created by others on Twitter, or from your own account you can choose to create Lists of other accounts by group, topic or interest. Viewing a List timeline will show you a stream of Tweets from only the accounts on that List. You can also pin you favorite Lists to the top of your Home timeline so you never miss a Tweet from the accounts that are most important to you.

1. Go to the List you'd like to share.

2. Use the share icon ( on iOS, web, and Android) from the top right of the List's detail page, and choose from:

1. Go to your Lists tab.

2. Click or tap the List you'd like to view.

3. You'll see a timeline of Tweets from the accounts included in that List.

1. Go to your profile page.

2. Click or tap the Lists tab.

3. You will see Lists you've created and other people's Lists you follow under the Follow tab.

4. Click or tap on the List you'd like to edit or delete from the Lists you've created. Click or tap Edit to update your List details.

5. If you want to add or remove people from your List, tap Edit List, and then select Manage members. Add members by using the search box, and delete members to remove them from the List entirely.

6. To delete a List, click or tap Delete List.

To follow other people's Lists

1. Tap the more icon on an account's profile.

2. Tap View Lists.

3. Select which List you'd like to follow.

4. From the List page, click or tap Follow to follow to the List. You can follow Lists without following the individual accounts in that List.

To add/remove Lists to your Home timeline

1. Go to your profile icon menu.

2. You will see Lists you've created and other people's Lists you follow.

3. Tap the icon to add a List to your Home timeline.

4. Swipe right to access them from your Home timeline.

5. Add up to 5 Lists.

6. To remove a List, under Pinned, tap the icon to un-highlight the pushpin and it will be removed from your Home timeline. ( Note: This will not delete the List.)

To reorder pinned Lists

1. Go to your profile icon menu.

2. Click or tap Lists.

3. You will see Lists you've created and other people's Lists you follow.

4. Click or tap Edit.

5. Press and hold on the reorder icon on the right side of the List cell and drag the List into the desired position.

6. Click Done to submit the new order. You should see your changes reflected in your Home timeline.

To report a List

Learn how to report a List for abusive behavior.

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Twitter Lists allow you to customize, organize and prioritize the Tweets you see in your timeline. You can choose to join Lists created by others on Twitter, or from your own account you can choose to create Lists of other accounts by group, topic or interest.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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As a microblogging and social networking platform, Twitter provides endless possibilities for teachers' professional development. From attending world EdTech conferences through the use of hashtags to creating PLNs to fall back on when looking for help or crowdsourcing resources for a particular research project, Twitter-literacy is absolutely an important literacy for the 21st century connected educator. We have written a lot on the importance of Twitter in education and have also reviewed several tools and apps to use for this purpose. In today's post we are sharing with you some of the best Twitter tools and extensions we have reviewed in 2015. If you haven't had a chance to see them before check them out below. Enjoy.

I- Twitter Chrome Extensions for Teachers

Silver Bird is a Chrome extension that offers a number of interesting features for Twitter users. These include:keeping track of trending topics on Twitter, creating custom search queries, viewing all your tweets in a unified timeline, supports real time timeline updates, follow/unfollow users and many more.

As its name indicate, Notifier for Twitter is a Chrome extension that brings the power of Twitter right into your browser. Using Twitter's streaming API, Notifier for Twitter keeps you updated with the recent tweets including DMs and replies which all appear instantly on your desktop. It also ' features a full timeline view available at all times from the browser toolbar, allowing you to read and compose tweets and DMs, as well as retweet, favourite and reply to tweets.'

This is definitely one of your favourite Twitter apps. It provides some really great features that include creating columns and lists, creating collections of your favourite tweets to share with others, scheduling tweets with images, ' join Twitter conversation by tweeting, sharing photos and links to news stories, and more.'

II-Twitter Add-ons to use on Your Google Drive

Twitter Archiver is a good add-on that allows you to archive tweets related to a specific search query or a keyword. Twitter Archiver aggregates all related tweets in a Google Sheet that is automatically updated. 'You can write simple queries, use boolean search or include advanced Twitter search operators to create more complex queries.Twitter Archiver can be used for saving tweets around trending hashtags, conference tweets, your brand mentions, geo-tagged tweets, and more. It polls twitter every hour and pulls all the matching tweets into he Google Spreadsheet.'

Twitter Curator is another excellent add-on to use on your Google Docs. It allows you to conduct quick Twitter searches and save tweets right inside your Google document. This is especially helpful for students working on a research paper requiring citation from Twitter. 'To get started, sign-in with your existing Twitter account and allow the app to connect to your Twitter account. It uses the API to only fetch tweets around your search queries but it will never post tweets to your Twitter account. Next enter your search query and it will show the most recent tweets around that topic. Click a tweet to add it to the Google Document. You can search for hash tags, @mentions and all the other Twitter search operators.'

III- Web-based Tools to Enhance Your Twitter Experience

This is a tool similar to Google Alert. It provides you with real-time alerts through email when tweets containing the hashtags or keywords you specified are mentioned.

This is an advanced hashtag search engine that allows you to type in the name of a hashtag and search for relevant tags, conversations and influencers related to that hashtag.

Nuzzel provides you with an easy clutter-free platform where you can keep updated about what your friends are sharing on both Twitter and Facebook.

Trends24 allows you to keep track of the trending topics and tweets in the country you specify. You can select any country you want and Trends24 will provide you with a break-down of the trending tweets in it by minutes, hours and days.

Twchat allows you to "create realtime chat rooms based on twitter hashtag. Invite users and perform the presentations online without any additional software! Add your friends or colleagues to help you with moderation.All you need is to sign in with twitter."
First appeared here

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As a microblogging and social networking platform, Twitter provides endless possibilities for teachers' professional development. From attending world EdTech conferences through the use of hashtags to creating PLNs to fall back on when looking for help or crowdsourcing resources for a particular research project, Twitter-literacy is absolutely an important literacy for the 21st century connected educator.

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Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites The internet catalogue for students, teachers, administrators & parents. Over 20,000 relevant links personally selected by an educator/author with over 30 years of experience.

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Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites The internet catalogue for students, teachers, administrators & parents. Over 20,000 relevant links personally selected by an educator/author with over 30 years of experience.

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Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites
The internet catalogue for students, teachers, administrators & parents.
Over 20,000 relevant links personally selected by an educator/author with over 30 years of experience.

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Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites The internet catalogue for students, teachers, administrators & parents. Over 20,000 relevant links personally selected by an educator/author with over 30 years of experience.

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Why you should switch from Twitter to Tweetdeck

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There are lots of great social media management application tools out there that you can use to schedule updates and posts on a variety of social networks, one of which is TweetDeck. TweetDeck is owned by Twitter and offers power users a different interface for organizing and following their interactions.

If you're not going to be available to manually post an update at a specific time, or if you want to spread your updates over the course of the day, you can schedule your posts ahead of time to be sent out automatically, whenever you want them to be seen.

To start, navigate to TweetDeck.com in your web browser and sign in using your Twitter account username and password.

You'll be welcomed to TweetDeck and briefly told about some of the different features you can use. The main components you need to know right off the bat is that TweetDeck organizes various parts of your Twitter experience into columns so you can see everything at a glance.

Click Get Started to start using TweetDeck and move on to the scheduling feature.

You can find the tweet composer button in the very top left corner of the screen, marked by the blue button with a plus sign and a feather icon. Clicking that will open up the tweet composer.

Type your tweet into the input box provided (without clicking the Tweet button), making sure it is no more than 280 characters. If it's longer, TweetDeck will automatically set it up so that readers are sent to a third party application to read the rest of the tweet.

You can add an optional image by clicking Add images beneath the composer as well as include long links in the tweet. TweetDeck will automatically shorten your links using a URL shortener.

To schedule your tweet, click the Schedule Tweet button located beneath the tweet composer. The button will expand to show you a calendar with the time at the top.

Click the date you want your tweet to be tweeted out, using the arrows at the top to change the month if necessary. Click inside the hour and minute boxes to type the time you want and remember to change the AM/PM button if you need it.

When you have the correct time and date selected, click the Tweet at [date/time] button, which was previously the Tweet button. This will schedule your tweet to be tweeted out automatically at this exact date and time.

A checkmark will appear to confirm your scheduled tweet and the tweet composer will close.

A column labeled Scheduled will appear in your TweetDeck application for you to keep track of scheduled tweets. Now you can leave your computer and wait for TweetDeck to do the tweeting for you.

If you change your mind and need to delete or edit your scheduled tweet, you can edit it and reschedule it or delete it completely.

Navigate to your Scheduled column and then either click Edit or Delete. Clicking Edit will reopen the tweet composer with that specific tweet while clicking Delete will ask you to confirm that you want to delete your tweet before it's permanently deleted.

If the scheduled tweet worked properly, you should be able to come back to your computer and see that your tweet was successfully posted on your Twitter profile while you were away.

You can schedule as many tweet as you want, using multiple Twitter accounts with TweetDeck. This is a great solution for those who only have a couple minutes a day to spend on Twitter.

Thanks for letting us know!

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The Complete Guide to Scheduling Tweets With TweetDeck

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There are lots of great social media management application tools out there that you can use to schedule updates and posts on a variety of social networks, one of which is TweetDeck. TweetDeck is owned by Twitter and offers power users a different interface for organizing and following their interactions.