Twitter Chat Basics

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Twitter 4 Teachers

T4T Topic #1:  Why Use Twitter as an Educator?

Many educators are flocking to Twitter to ask for help/ideas or sharing ideas and tips.  View this video to see a glimpse of how easy it can be.

T4T Topic #2: How Do I Start?

To begin, decide how you will use the social media tool. Consider creating a:

• PERSONAL account to keep up with friends and family
• PROFESSIONAL account to keep up with colleagues and others in your field
• TEACHER account to communicate with your students, their parents, and colleagues
• CLASS account to communicate with your class, their parents, authors, experts, and other classes
• SCHOOL account to communicate with your stakeholders

To create an account, go to https://twitter.com/signup to sign up for a new account.  Be sure to upload a photo, avatar, or logo to make it easier for your followers to recognize you.

T4T Topic #3: My First Tweet

For your first tweet, click the  button.  A COMPOSE NEW TWEET window will appear:

Using 140 characters or less, enter your thought.  Hashtags may be included with the # symbol in front of the designated phrase.  Mentions may be included with the @ symbol in front of the designated user handle.  Click TWEET to PUBLISH the tweet.

T4T Topic #4:  Who Do I Follow?

Find several fellow educators to follow at first and as you follow them, you will branch out to follow others and extend your network by keeping an eye out for who they follow or considering Twitter's suggestions to you (suggested based on who you currently follow).  Several lists of "Educators to Follow" have been published to get you started:
Keller ISD Employees - Begin by following @KellerISD
Keller ISD Employees - Start here with the Campus & PTA Social Media Accounts List
We Are Teachers 35 Twitter Accounts Teachers Should Follow
Edudemic's 15 Top Educators to Follow on Twitter in 2017
eSchool News 15 Innovative Twitter Accounts you Should Follow
Getting Smart's 125+ Education Twitter Accounts to Follow

T4T Topic #5: Joining in On a Chat

What happens when a group of Twitter users meet at a predetermined time to discuss a certain topic, using a designated hashtag (#) for each tweet contributed? A Twitter Chat! A host or moderator will pose questions (designated with Q1, Q2…) to prompt responses from participants (using A1, A2…) and encourage interaction among the group. Chats typically last an hour. A Twitter chat includes a designated hashtag so members can find the chat and follow along easily. Each tweet or response to a tweet within the chat, MUST include the chat’s hashtag to ensure the tweet is grouped around the conversation topic and is easy for other chat participants to find.

NOTE TO KELLER EDUCATORS:

The T4T chats are starting October 10, 2017 in just a few weeks. Follow #kisdpd or #kisdpdchat in your Twitter feed for more information:

T4T Topic #6: Other Twitterific Tools

Lists

A list is a collected group of Twitter accounts. Users can create private or public lists or subscribe to public lists created by others. Viewing a list timeline will display a stream of Tweets from only the members of the list.  To create a list:

1. Select the profile icon in the top, right corner of the Twitter screen
2. Select LISTS
3. Select the CREATE A NEW LIST
4. Enter a LIST NAME and DESCRIPTION
5. Select PUBLIC or PRIVATE
6. Select SAVE LIST

TweetDeck

TweetDeck allows users to view multiple timelines in one, organized window displaying multiple columns. Various advanced features are available, such as scheduling tweets, viewing and tweeting from multiple Twitter accounts, and creating collections.  Read more here.

HooteSuite

Hootsuite (iOS | Android) is a great mobile app that allows users to view multiple social media accounts, view multiple Twitter lists, schedule tweets, and more.

Find more Twitter tips and tricks on the Twitter support page