bird-chat

Maybe you are new to Twitter chatting, or you just haven’t done it too often. We want you to get the most out of our PLP chats, so we have some great tips for you from PLPeep Stephanie Bader @stephpbader who recently participated in her first Twitter chat and had a great experience:

 

Stephanie Bader

PLPeep Stephanie Bader @stephpbader

I participated in my first hashtag chat tonight (#4thchat).  For all who are wary of this, I want to say that I really was, too.  I had heard that they move so fast and it is easy to get lost and feel overwhelmed.  All of this is true.  BUT, it is SO WORTH IT!

I have connected with about ten more educators tonight because of this chat and have a ton of new ideas.  There was great conversation, incredible support, and a wealth of knowledge being shared.  The best thing about Twitter is no one wants to keep their knowledge to themselves!

Yes, you’re going to miss some threads of conversation, but the four or five that you reply to and/or conduct yourself are more than enough for a first run.  It was nerve-wracking, then exhilarating.  Then, my mind was racing.  Thank goodness they archive the chats so you can review them at a later time.

I have three bits of advice if you haven’t participated in a chat, but want to:

Don’t be afraid

Find a chat that interests you and show up.  Seriously, just do it.  (This is what I had to say to myself, so I hope it works for you!  I am nothing if not a good cheerleader for my peers!)

Use something like TweetDeck or TweetChat

…on a laptop or desktop to follow to the chat and conversation.  It refreshes immediately (much faster than the Twitter website) and you won’t have to refresh your phone every 2 seconds.

Start by replying to a few Tweets

…and don’t get frustrated if you miss something or if the chat starts going too fast.

Here is a great resource for Twitter chats with a list of educational hashtag chats, how to use TweetDeck, etc.: http://www.cybraryman.com/howtochat.html  (author is @cybraryman1 by the way).

An added bonus to all this is the confidence booster that this chat was!  I was really nervous to Tweet and was worried that I wouldn’t have anything valuable to contribute.  However, tonight, I participated in many discussions with other educators who found what I had to say to be useful.  It sounds a bit silly, but in this type of environment with many, many participants all talking at once about one particular topic, you are bound to be Retweeted or @mentioned, someone latches on to what you have to say and all of a sudden you’re leading a conversation.  It is a fabulous confidence booster and may just be what you need to catapult you a bit further into the Twitterverse.  You walk away with 10 more followers and 15 more people you want to follow and 25 ideas that you want to try. Go for it!

We hope to see you at our next PLP chat!

Getting on our email list is the best way to be notified of future chat topics and dates. Don’t miss a chance to connect!

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