Working out the kinks

Alright, so, I thought I would try to participate tonight in my first Twitter chat. I had seen a few, I knew how they went, and I was ready.

Or, rather, I thought I was.

Every experience is a learning experience, I kept telling myself as I watched the #gueri11aEd Twitter chat commence. As it turns out, there was a large teaching convention today, and that was the topic of the chat. I thought I could get behind that - I would learn something about an experience I hadn't even imagined.

However, as the chat went on, it seemed to be really inclusive, with questions like "Where was your favorite place to eat?" and "How much did you wanna play with the 3D printer?" I wanted to participate - I tried to - but every question was inclusive and not welcome to newcomers.

So the question arises: does the lack of active participation mean I didn't participate at all? I don't think so. I still learned a lot, like what the TCEA is, and what to expect from it. I learned that PBL is on the rise.

I will participate in Twitter chats in the future, but I'll stick to the ones that are more well-known and better moderated.

Twitter adventures: who to follow?

One of the aspects of this professional Twitter is that I'll have to, y'know, actually use it. So I followed a large spectrum of people. Let me tell you about the five (groups of) people I followed...

1. My fellow classmates. I could type out each and every member of Monk's 2030 class here, but you'll just have to take my word that I went through the list of others' Twitter handles in the class and mass followed them. We're educators growing together, and it's important to see what my colleagues are doing so I can learn and grow.

2. My instructor. In this same vein, I wanted to follow my own instructor. She's the one teaching me, so she's bound to have some valuable insight - especially since she's teaching about teaching with technology.

3. GTChat. One of three Twitter chat moderation blogs. This one focuses on gifted and talented students.

4. Cybraryman1. The second of three Twitter chat moderation blogs. This one focuses on general education.

5. Thrasymachus. The third of three Twitter chat moderation blogs. This one focuses on alternate teaching methods and moderates the Twitter chat #gueri11aEd.

More on that last Twitter chat in a second!

#edchat

Twitter chats are an entirely new realm for me. I never would have thought Twitter to be a place to hold a large discussion: it seems to lend itself more to one-on-one discussion instead of crowd-based discussion. However, through the use of skilled moderators, the process is a lot easier than I thought it would be.
As a little experiment to myself before diving into one myself, I simply observed Jerry Blumengarten's #edchat at noon and seven pm on Tuesday. I liked the fact that there were two in one day that had different topics: those in Europe after the schoolday is over can join in the chat at noon, and other educators, especially those in the Western United States, can join in the evening. Different topics leads to different discussions, so the same things aren't rehashed later in the day.
Still, I'm sticking to my guns that Twitter is not the best outlet for a large group discussion. So, where is?
The only platform I can think of is Reddit. There, multiple people can respond to a central question or others' replies. the audience themselves can decide what's a worthwhile contribution and upvote it. That being said, Reddit isn't a friendly platform like Twitter - there's a lot of more mature content just a click away.
I'll check back in once I actually participate in a Twitter chat.

A Secret Identity

Recently, I had to create a new Twitter page for myself. I've had Twitter for about a year now, but was assigned to create a new one - a professional one.
More than anything, it was tedious. When creating a personal social media page, it's easy to choose a bio, a picture, and a style that reflects you. However, when trying to create a professional one, it becomes another part of the job. Am I creating a valuable page? Is it appropriate and professional? What do I choose to update it with?
Personally, I opted for avatars that don't have my face in them. I don't have any recent pictures with plain backgrounds, and thought it was a little ridiculous to take a whole new set of pictures for a whole new Twitter.
It's also important to consider what I post on it. Will I be able to give new information out? What will I post about?
As the Twitter page grows, I'll grow as an educator. I just know that it's a long way off.