Hashtag: New Teacher to Twitter!

I recently experienced my first "Twitter Chat" - What's a Twitter Chat you say? Good Question! As I didn't know until just recently myself. According to this site a "Twitter Chat" can be defined as "a public Twitter conversation around one unique hashtag. This hashtag allows you to follow the discussion and participate in it. Twitter chats are usually recurring and on specific topics to regularly connect people with these interests."And that's exactly what it is! To say the least. Haha. 

Really it's a meeting place where professionals, fans of celebrities, and a variety of others can come together, share ideas, and build a network of like-minded-people.

I am really happy with the Twitter Chat that I chose for my first one, as it lead to a pretty meaningful exchange. It was specifically designed to help new teachers connect, build a following, and start using Twitter in creative ways that benefit our profession/potential profession, and that's exactly what it did for me! What an amazing way to build a network of people with similar interests and knowledge in their field to help guide you on your journey!

(After the chat I also gained a few followers, and our ideas and exchanges have gotten to continue long past our initial chat! So it's a really great tool for any educator or anyone really just looking to connect)  

This of course was nice to see, given the animosity often associated with Twitter.

 

I know that after being up early all week, one might be tempted to sleep in during the weekends (I know I do!) - but maybe try and make some time to check one of these out! 

As you can see at the start of this blog post I have posted the prompt that we covered that morning. Also note the presence of a hashtag....as mentioned above in our definition...here it is  #nt2t - for New Teacher to Twitter! The person running the chat posted the prompt about an hour before the chat officially began (probably to allow time to meditate on your answers) and then throughout to remind people of the questions and guide them as to when to answer them.


Feel free to check out my Twitter account to see all of my answers! 

One theme that became apparent in my answers was empathy, and taking time to build positive happy goals and relationships. Which was appropriate given the Groundhog Day theme. It's easy to get stuck in a routine that can make us burn out quickly. It's not so easy to take time for our own happiness, and allow others to take time for their own. 

Moving into a new decade, let's stop getting stuck together. Let's remind ourselves and give us permission to take time for what we need and want, and to be more understanding of when others need to take time for themselves.

The work will get done, the bills will get paid, but a life worth living is waiting for you.