For several years, growing numbers of teachers have been taking to Twitter to network and learn from other educators, often through education-related chat groups.
There are now dozens of Twitter communities for teachers, featuring weekly scheduled chats as well as continuous, ongoing discussions. Most every kind of K-12 niche is represented, often many times over: Science, English, leadership, professional associations, and state-based educator connections are all represented.
But even as so many online Twitter communities flourish鈥攁s old ones get bigger, new ones sprout up, and even school PD coordinators start to jump on the bandwagon鈥攖he value of Twitter as a source for professional learning remains anecdotal.
鈥淲e have recent converts who have tons of enthusiasm for what they鈥檙e doing [on Twitter], then they turn to their peers, and their peers say, 鈥極K that鈥檚 great, show me the results, show me the difference it makes,鈥� 鈥� said , an author and ed-tech researcher who helps moderate the ubiquitous #edchat. 鈥淎nd we as a profession don鈥檛 have an answer.鈥�
Still, many teachers maintain the professional development they get from Twitter is better than 鈥攊n part, they argue, because it offers opportunities for dialogue and continuous feedback from fellow educators that much school-provided PD does not.
鈥淭witter has afforded teachers that opportunity of engaging with each other in a professional way that doesn鈥檛 really occur in their school or district,鈥� said Weston.
Professional Discourse
There鈥檚 no foolproof way to gauge how many practicing educators participate in Twitter chats, or even how many are on Twitter to begin with. is the granddaddy of education Twitter chats, having grown so big that "#edchat鈥� is now the de facto hashtag for thousands of education-related tweets each week; a casual observer might forget that there is still a scheduled weekly chat associated with the brand. (Two, actually, .)
How is it that a continuous stream of 140-character snippets is inviting or helpful to teachers?
For the uninitiated educator, it might not appear to be helpful at all.
The kinds of instructional changes that come about because of Twitter chats tend to be 鈥渟mall and incremental,鈥� said , a high school English teacher in Long Island, N.Y., who founded about a year ago, geared toward Advanced Placement English teachers. But Sztabnik noted that the conversations can also expand teachers鈥� understanding of a topic or issue in their field.
On a Monday evening late this past summer, members of #APlitchat debated the merits of teaching excerpts of literature, as opposed to whole novels. The Common Core State Standards, with their emphasis on close reading, have pushed many educators and instead use selected portions, a move detested by some English teachers.
On one side of the chat was a vocal component of teachers uninterested in excerpted text, while others argued for its usefulness.
Sztabnik finds that kind of discourse fulfilling: 鈥淚 thought you shouldn鈥檛 really excerpt text because it doesn鈥檛 do justice to [the book]. But then you see other people articulate reasons why you should. And I don鈥檛 know if I would necessarily change completely, but [the chat] allows you to be more, perhaps, empathetic, more understanding that there鈥檚 more than one way to skin a cat.鈥�
High school English teacher of Baltimore County public schools is a follower of #APlitchat, where she first heard of the a strategy for literacy instruction proposed by Wisconsin teacher Brian Durst to meet common-core expectations.
鈥淚n some ways, the #APlitchat is revolutionizing what I鈥檓 willing to do this year in terms of more direct instruction,鈥� Nielsen said. 鈥淟ooking at how I can teach analysis in a more discrete and concrete way to a bunch of different types of thinkers.鈥�
Nielsen says she doesn鈥檛 鈥渄o Facebook, and I don鈥檛 really like social media much.鈥� But she started playing with Twitter after hearing about a chat being conducted by the National Council of Teachers of English, which had invited novelist Laurie Halse Anderson to be a special guest.
Nielsen finds such chats to be more stimulating than the in-school PD she is often prescribed. 鈥淪o often, it鈥檚 bought by the county, people are paid that don鈥檛 have any real knowledge of students or what is needed; instead, they鈥檙e just selling their product,鈥� she said.
But many school leaders are beginning to see Twitter鈥檚 value as a professional learning tool. , the principal of Montair Elementary School, in Danville, Calif., said he works to establish a school culture in which teachers are encouraged, though not required, to experiment with social media for professional development.
鈥淭eaching isn鈥檛 that collaborative,鈥� Welcome said. 鈥淭witter opens up your classroom all the time, every day, all day.鈥�
It also gives teachers opportunities to share content on an ongoing basis and establish lasting dialogues with other educators.
鈥淚f you go to a one-day Saturday seminar, you can鈥檛 get that,鈥� Welcome said. "[But] this is happening right now, in the classroom, and it鈥檚 free, and you can do it from your phone. If your principal says, 鈥楶ut your phones away'鈥攖hey鈥檙e wrong, because it鈥檚 a teaching tool.鈥�
Seeking Community
Teachers might turn to Twitter because of a PD vacuum at the local level, but it may also take some time to get what they鈥檙e looking for.
, a former college educator in Canada who鈥檚 now an education consultant and writer, joined Twitter a year ago, and for a while, was unable to find good discussions reflecting her interest: social justice in a school context.
鈥淣ot seeing it on Twitter felt like, well, I guess educators are not allowed to talk about that kind of stuff because they don鈥檛 have to go through that, they don鈥檛 have to deal with issues of race because Twitter is all white,鈥� Alrubail said.
Alrubail then found the group, a community focused on intersectional issues in K-12 education.
鈥淭here was a hashtag for it, there鈥檚 a chat that鈥檚 going on [where] we鈥檙e going to talk about this issue,鈥� Alrubail said. 鈥淪o I said, 鈥業 have to join.鈥� 鈥�
She is now a full-fledged #educolor member.
Founder said that #educolor occupies a unique space between advocacy and professional development鈥攏ot quite an #edchat derivative, but still a 鈥渟afe space鈥� where teachers of any color can delve into cultural issues.
鈥淐ultural competence is professional competence,鈥� said Vilson, a middle school math teacher in New York City. 鈥淗ow do you actually treat your students if you don鈥檛 know who they are?鈥�
Vilson added that there鈥檚 been a demand for PD materials focused on cultural competency, which the #educolor movement provides as well as within its robust Twitter community.
鈥淲hen the Trayvon Martin situation happened, I got a lot of emails and comments from teachers鈥攚hite teachers as well as teachers of color鈥攕aying, 鈥榃e need resources,鈥� 鈥� he said, referring to the young black man fatally shot by a neighborhood-watch volunteer in Florida in 2012.
And other groups, like and the organization , have also been working to draw diverse conversations to Twitter鈥檚 K-12 practitioners.
Teachers Engaging Teachers
Despite the resources and connections to be found on Twitter, not all teachers want social media shoved down their throats. Sztabnik, who also runs the Talks With Teachers podcast and co-founded another Twitter group, , said he used to push colleagues toward Twitter, but has backed off in recent months.
鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like you feel you鈥檙e a proselytizer, and that just has a bad vibe,鈥� he said.
Putting aside concerns about spending precious time adapting to Twitter鈥檚 frenetic pace, there鈥檚 also the fact that some teachers鈥攁nd, best to sit down for this, it may come as a shock鈥攄o enjoy having a personal life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to tell someone after spending a full day of school teaching, to go home for an hour and hop on a Twitter chat and talk more about teaching,鈥� Sztabnik said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something to be said for being a teacher and then being an individual person outside of school and having your own identity.鈥�
To Weston, the #edchat moderator, it doesn鈥檛 matter where professional conversations take place, so long as they do.
鈥淕ood things happen when teachers engage with other teachers about teaching,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 true whether it鈥檚 in the hall in their school, on Twitter, on Facebook, or church.鈥�
