Our group interviewed Fred Boss of #edchatIE. We went in with a wide range of Twitter usage, varying from none at all to daily. Sandra was under the illusion that Twitter was another Facebook, however, under the guidance of Fred she is now convinced that Twitter will help her with ALL her problems! John set up his Twitter account last night, and stumbled through the process, but feels that, with Fred’s input, he is more confident and sees it as a useful tool in the classroom. Róisín and Rachel were already familiar with Twitter, edchatIE and indeed, Fred. We learned about the origins of edchat, which began in the US, spread to the UK and now has been active in Ireland for four and a half years. We learned how Google forms play a central role in the democratic selection of topics to be discussed. Hootsuite is used to remind followers that the discussion is about to begin, and Chirpstory is used to collate the tweets, which Fred then turns into a PDF for future reference for all participants. Fred told us Twitter can be a really useful tool within the classroom as a class account can be set up and used to stimulate discussion on the topic being studied. He cautioned that the schools AUP would need to be consulted before such use in the classroom. Tweetdeck which is found within Google Chrome Apps, allows the teacher to keep tabs on multiple classes and topics at the same time. Completing the interview, he directed us to the website www.cybraryman.com where we can see the many education-related hashtags that are in use internationally. Why not check out our interview with Fred for all of this and more! Thanks Fred!
Youth Media Team