10 TOOLS TO START A TWITTER CHAT

For the past six years I have moderated #Satchat, a Twitter Chat for educators from all walks of life. #Satchat was founded by Scott Rocco and I back in 2012. Soon there after, Billy Krakower joined our team, and the rest is history. It takes place every Saturday morning at 7:30 EST. #Satchat is one of the longest running educational chats and appreciates the hundreds of participants that tweet out on a weekly basis. Educators also have an opportunity to not only participate, but actually guest moderate #Satchat. They can select the topic, develop questions, and interact participants during the hour long Q&A. Once people drink the Twitter Chat juice, they often want to take a risk and start their own weekly educational chat. When this happens, people will reach out to me and ask what types tools are used to conduct a Twitter Chat. Way back in 2014 I wrote a blog post titled 10 Tools to Start a Twitter Chat to steer educators in the right direction. Here is an updated version of the list...

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1. Twitter: This will be used to hold the chat. Make sure to choose a simple hashtag name. Some research will take place in order to determine if a hashtag you are thinking about is actually available. Use the search box on Twitter and type in the hashtag to see if it's available. and use a Q1/A1 format in order for participants to follow the discussion. Promote your Twitter discussion on a daily basis leading up to the chat.

2. Buffer: This tool allows users to pre-schedule Tweets. I recommend pre-scheduling some of your tweets in advance of your chat to free up some time to interact with participants during the chat. 

3. Participate: This phenomenal and interactive website enables Twitter chats to be archived and accessed by users. A great feature of this website is that it provides users with the ability to build their own content based off of a particular educational hashtag. It also provides useful analytics and sharing features.  

4. Canva: Simple graphic design software that gives users the ability to create images that contain questions and promotional content for your chat. 

5. Voxer: Extend your half hour or hour long Twitter chat using this messaging app. Questions can be discussed in more detail throughout week. Voxer puts a voice behind the tweet. 

6. Cybraryman's Twitter Chat Page: Tremendous resource for all of your Twitter chat and hashtag needs. 

7. Facebook: Start a Facebook fan page for your Twitter chat to keep people up to date. Great way to promote content, upcoming chats, and extend the conversation. 
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8. Smore: Promote your Twitter chat with this online poster tool. It's easy to set up and edit. 
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9. Google Sheets: Create a useful spreadsheet to house questions for your Twitter chat. It allows multiple users to collaborate on the spreadsheet in real time. 

10. 140 Twitter Tips for Educators: Get Connected, Grow Your Professional Learning Network and Reinvigorate Your Career. This book was written by the founders of Evolving Educators LLC. It's a one stop shop book on everything educators need to know the impact of Twitter in their profession. 

Brad has been an educator for more than 17 years as a coach, teacher, and administrator. He currently serves as a Director of Planning, Research, and Evaluation for the Chester School District in Chester, New Jersey. Brad is the 2017 NASSP National Assistant Principal of the Year and part of the ASCD Emerging Leaders Class of 2014. He is the co-founder and co-moderator of a weekly Twitter discussion for educators called #satchat. Brad has authored four books including 140 Twitter Tips for Educators and Hacking Google for Education. He presents nationally on leadership, teaching, and learning in the digital era. Brad currently serves as an adjunct professor in Drew University's Graduate School of Education. He also is a Google Certified Trainer and supports districts in implementing Google Apps for Education. Connect with Brad by following him on Twitter @thebradcurrie or visiting his company website at www.evolvingeducators.com.