Recommended Educational Twitter Chats

Twitter chats are topic centered conversations that take place on Twitter through a specific hashtag. There are generally two different types of chats. The first is referred to as a 'slow' chat, which means that a question is posed every day or week and people answer the question when they have time. The second and most popular kind is a 'live' chat, which takes place on a certain day and time and people engage in a live conversation. 

If you have never participated in a Twitter chat, I suggest you start slow as not to overwhelm yourself. Some chats move so fast that your head can start to spin. By slow, I mean don't feel you have to answer every question. Pick and choose or spend the entire time 'lurking' and not participating. It is okay to lurk during a chat until you get comfortable with the format and flow. 


https://sites.google.com/site/gafechat/tips

My list of recommended live Twitter chats:

#tosachat - Chat for Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSA) 
Description: The chat covers a wide range of topics, such as STEAM, Coding, Having Hard Conversations, Tool & Templates, and PBL. While the chat focuses on discussions for educators who support other educators, anyone can benefit from the conversation.
Websitehttp://www.tosachat.org/ (check out chat transcripts on homepage)
Date: Every Monday
Time: 10:00-11:00 pm (CST)
Founders/Moderators: Ben Cogswell, Karly Moura, Joe Young, Kelly Martin
 
#educoach - Chat for Instructional Coaches
Description: The chat covers a wide range of topics to help Instructional Coaches with their job, such as teacher isolation, helping teachers develop growth mindset, leading professional development, and crucial conversations. 
Websitehttps://educoachchat.wikispaces.com/ (check out chat transcripts on Archives page)
Date: Every Wednesday
Time: 9:00-10:00 pm (CST)

#tlap - Chat for Teachers
Description: The chat is centered around Dave Burgess, Teach Like a Pirate book. The chat covers a wide range of topics teachers can use to increase student engagement.
Website: none
Date: Every Monday
Time: 8:00-9:00 pm (CST)
Founder/ModeratorDave Burgess

#gafechat - Chat for Google (Apps) for Education Educators/Districts
Description: The chat is centered around Google (Apps) for Education topics. Some times the discussion will be centered all around a particular Google tool, such as Sites. Other times the discussion will center around using Google during a specific instructional strategy/best practice, such as Genius Hour. 
Websitehttps://sites.google.com/site/gafechat/home (check out chat transcripts on Chat Archives page)
Date: 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month
Time: 8:00-9:00 pm (CST)
Founder/Moderator: Kelly Fitzgerald (me)


There are so many Twitter chats, I couldn't possible mention them all. If you are interested in learning more about the various Twitter chats offered throughout the week, please visit the following resources:

Twitter is my favorite form of professional development, with edcamps being second. The majority of what I learn professionally comes from following certain hashtags and participating in Twitter chats. I encourage you to check out one of the chats mentioned above. I strongly believe that you will not be disappointed. 




Online Assessments with Quizizz

Quizizz is a great relatively new website that allows teachers to steal, borrow, and create online assessments for students. Quizizz has been compared to Kahoot, as it awards points for answering questions correctly, but there are a couple features that I found I like better. First, it shows the question and answers on the student devices, so no more looking back and forth from teacher's display to student device. Second, it allows the students to take the quiz at their own pace (up to 15 minutes per question). In addition, it has a homework feature. 

In the tutorial video you will learn:
  • how to duplicate an entire quiz from someone else
  • how to edit someone else's quiz to make your own
  • how to create your own quiz
  • how to borrow individual questions off of someone else's quiz
  • how to adjust time limit per question
  • how to reorder questions
  • how to push out assessment live or as homework
  • what the teacher view looks like during and after a quiz
  • what the student view looks like during and after a quiz