There鈥檚 a new app on the block, and educators are eyeing it: Threads, a text-based social media app from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Since it launched on July 5, Threads has already surpassed more than 100 million users, reaching the milestone faster than OpenAI鈥檚 ChatGPT app.
Threads is the newest competitor to Twitter, which some educators say has been on a 鈥渄own slope鈥� in recent months. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk took over Twitter in late October and promised big changes that he said would bolster free speech on the platform. Instead, critics contend that , saying it鈥檚 no longer the place everyone goes when anything big happens.
Many educators have been looking for Twitter alternatives to build professional learning networks and connect with other educators. A handful of alternatives, such as Mastodon and BlueSky, have cropped up in recent months, but none of them has completely taken over Twitter鈥檚 reign, educators said.
Seventy percent of educators say their use of Twitter remains unchanged since Musk鈥檚 takeover, according to a survey of 1,058 teachers, principals, and district leaders conducted by the EdWeek Research Center in January and February. About a quarter (23 percent) say their use of the platform has declined, while 6 percent say it has increased.
Though it might be too early to tell whether Threads will change educators鈥� use of Twitter, more than 900 educators have already signed up for the new app as of July 13, according to collecting educators鈥� usernames to share with peers.
I have had some of the best discussions in the last few days with educators that I鈥檝e never met before.
鈥淥ne of my first goals was just to figure out how to find my people, how to find other educators on the app,鈥� said Eric Curts, a technology-integration specialist for the Stark-Portage Area Computer Consortium, which serves school districts in northeast Ohio. It was difficult to search for other educators on the platform, so he created a Google Form for educators to capture their Threads鈥� usernames, and he鈥檚 been sharing those in Threads鈥� posts so educators can connect with each other.
How educators are using Threads
The platform looks a lot like Twitter, with a feed of largely text-based posts, though users can also post photos and videos. It was built by the Instagram team, so a person鈥檚 Threads account is connected to their Instagram account鈥攎eaning if someone wants to create a Threads account, they鈥檒l have to create an Instagram account first. It also means that a Threads account can only be deleted by deleting the Instagram account, too, but users are able to temporarily deactivate their Threads profile.
Because Threads is still so new, it lacks many features that educators like about Twitter, such as direct messaging, hashtags, searching by keyword, a desktop version, a chronological feed of accounts they follow, and alternative text for photos and videos so it鈥檚 accessible to people using screen readers.
But many educators who are using the app鈥攖hey call themselves 鈥溾�濃�攁re doing what they can to connect with each other even without those features.
So far, Curts said Threads has been a 鈥渧ery valuable experience. I have had some of the best discussions in the last few days with educators that I鈥檝e never met before.鈥�
For instance, one educator started about how to empower educators in the age of artificial intelligence, and Curts said he鈥檚 been 鈥渋nspired,鈥� and he feels like he鈥檚 鈥渞eally connecting and getting ideas that I wouldn鈥檛 come across normally, hearing from people that I wouldn鈥檛 connect with otherwise.鈥�
鈥淩eminds me of the golden days of Twitter,鈥� he added.
But not everyone was quick to join Meta鈥檚 newest social media app. 澳门跑狗论坛 polled its followers, and out of 73 respondents, 66 said they don鈥檛 plan to use Threads for their jobs. Most of the commenters on asking if educators are planning to use Threads also said they don鈥檛 plan to use it.
鈥淢y job is to teach and inspire kids and keep them safe and really do the same for my colleagues,鈥� said Topher Mueller, the director of academic and assistive technologies for Chartwell School in Seaside, Calif., in . 鈥淚鈥檇 be well outside the mark if I thought Threads was useful for that.鈥�
Mueller said in an email interview that he did download the app but he doesn鈥檛 see any value in it right now, with the app still in its infancy.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel compelled to connect with educators on Threads,鈥� Mueller said. 鈥淩ight now, it seems like you can only connect with people individually; there are no groups or tags to follow. For most people like me, it鈥檚 like shouting into a void.鈥�
Some are raising data-privacy concerns
Privacy experts are concerned about how much information the app collects. Threads collects user information, such as location, contacts, search history, browsing history, contact information, and more, according to the Apple App Store, which lists what data each app in the store collects.
鈥淯sers should keep in mind that, as for any Meta-created app, privacy and data-sharing concerns are high,鈥� said Laura Ordo帽ez, the head of digital content and curation for Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that promotes the development of digital and media-literacy skills. 鈥淭hreads鈥� data collection is more significant than that of Twitter, including but not limited to search history, contact information, and financial information.鈥�
There are no ads on the platform yet, which educators are enjoying, but they know that they will come eventually, and so will the related data privacy concerns that come with targeted advertising on social media. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the goal is to get Threads on a before figuring out monetization.
Educators who are using the app said they鈥檙e aware of the privacy concerns, but some said that because they already have Facebook and Instagram accounts, they don鈥檛 feel any more exposed than they already are.
There are also concerns about whether Threads will run into the same problems with spam, harassment, conspiracy theories, and misinformation that Twitter ran into. But right now, the discussions on Threads are positive, and everyone is 鈥渧ery friendly and wholesome,鈥� said Bonnie Chelette, the director of educational technology for the Louisiana education department, in an interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like the first day of school.鈥�
Will educators replace Twitter with Threads?
For many educators, social media is an invaluable way to connect with peers and build professional learning networks. They use social media to get ideas about curriculum, pedagogy, assessments, feedback, and support.
鈥淭he explosion on Threads is showing how hungry educators are for a place to connect that they feel is going to be supportive for them and is going to be something reliable and [where] they鈥檙e going to find good conversations,鈥� said Curts, the technology specialist who created the form to collect educators鈥� usernames.
Twitter used to be that space for educators, but Threads seems like a formidable competitor, according to educators. For the most part, many educators are still using their Twitter accounts even though they signed up for Threads. They鈥檙e waiting until the dust settles to figure out which one wins out.
鈥淚 think educators gravitate to other educators, and we鈥檙e gonna find a place wherever it works for us to be,鈥� said Katie Fielding, a STEM coach in the Prince William County schools in Virginia, in an interview.
