Social Media tools have made it easier for parents and teachers to connect. Many teachers and administrators have been using Twitter to increase parent and community involvement. Geniene Delahunty, an ESL teacher In Northern Kentucky, and her colleagues have been implementing TwitterChats in the Boone County School District. Geniene is one of the moderators of Parent Teacher Chat (#PTchat) that occur every Wednesday night. She recognized that Twitter could be an alternative way for parents and teachers to collaborate and share resources. It helps all involved to better assist in educating children.
TwitterChats for education are occurring every day and can be extremely beneficial and informative. But how do you take part in a TwitterChat? First, you have to find a chat that you’re interested in and the hashtag (#) it is associated with. According to The Journal in 2013 some popular chats that every educator should check out are #edchat, #edtechchat, #tlap, #ptchat, #flipclass, and more. In Kentucky, you can get involved by following the #kyedchat. It is held on Thursdays from 8-9pm. Next, determine the time the chat takes place. For example, the #PTchat conversation is on Wednesday nights at 9PM. Third, type the hashtag into the Twitter search bar. And last, join in!
The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky’s Innovative Teacher Leader Cohort defined a teacher leader as lifelong learners leading the way to student and teacher achievement through diverse strategies, innovation, collaboration, and advocacy. Innovation was defined as an ongoing process of implementing positive change to creatively engage all stakeholders. Boone County teacher Geniene Delahunty exemplifies our definition of innovation in teacher leadership. She uses diverse strategies in the form of social media for parent communication to increase her learning and to implement positive change creatively. She has also inspired me to begin to use Twitter professionally to increase my learning and collaboration with colleagues in a new way.
This is a guest blog written by one of the teachers in our Innovative Teacher Leader cohort to share about an innovative teacher or practice from their area of the state. To learn more about the work happening in the Commonwealth from these Innovative Teacher Leaders, who are working to redefine teacher leadership in Kentucky, check back throughout the month of March. We’ll be sharing guest blogs all month long.
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