This week in CEP 810, we had to partake in a Twitter chat. Prior to CEP 810, I’d never used Twitter. I mean I literally had to look up “How to Tweet”, and sent friends texts asking how to use Twitter. I am a true novice and was able to empathize with my students; learning new concepts can be difficult. After figuring out that chats can work in different formats, I tried three different chats using three different platforms: a google doc, Tweet deck and Tweeting on Twitter. In my first, what was supposed to be fast chat, I joined a google doc discussing ways to use technology with virtual students. This sounded like it would be a beneficial chat, however, only one other person joined and it turned into a list of technology they currently use.
My next experience was a #Read4Fun chat on TweetDeck. This was the most frustrating chat because I couldn’t figure out how to join the chat and had to learn how to use TweetDeck prior to chatting. Once I semi-learned how to use it, I enjoyed chatting because I was able to link up with like-minded colleagues and was given instant gratification when I tweeted and someone responded. I’d like to join this chat group again. My final experience was a slow chat, in which my CEP 810 instructors posed three questions over three days. We were asked to respond to the question and also respond to two peers. I enjoyed having a purpose on Twitter and seeing how others responded but I’m not sure I saw everyone’s Tweets or if there is a way to do that... I still have a lot to learn but now I can see some of the benefits of Twitter.
