The Value of Twitter Chats

This chat celebrated the 1 year anniversary of #gtchat being powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented. The moderator and participants expressed their thanks to Executive Director, JJ Colburn; Past-President, Dr. Lynette Breedlove; Mrs. Deborah Mersino, Founder and First Moderator of gtchat; Assistant Executive Director, Tracy Weinberg and the fabulous staff at TAGT. Nearly 60 active participants tweeted more than 500 tweets during the hour and came from 4 countries and 20 states. The week leading up to chat included over 1,000 tweets from over 200 contributors reaching over 220,000 follows with 1.86 million timeline deliveries!

The occasion was marked by the introduction of TAGT’s #gtchat Advisory Board who provide support and advice to the moderator on a weekly basis. They are Mrs. Angie French (@teachagiftedkid), GT specialist at Tomball ISD near Houston, TX; Mrs. Stacia Taylor (@TXProfoundlyPG), founder of Texas Parents for the Profoundly Gifted, member of the Board of Directors at Rainard School, and member of the NAGC’s Parent Committee; Mrs. Nicole Shannon (@LonghornNic), coordinator of Gifted & Advanced Academic Services at Round Rock ISD; Mr. Ian Byrd (@ByrdseedGifted), gifted education writer and founder of Byrdseed Gifted; and Dr. Brian Housand (@brianbousand), Assistant Professor at East Carolina University and member of the Board of Directors at the NAGC. Special thanks also to past advisors, Mrs. Tracy Fisher, Mrs. Michelle Swain and Dr. Jan Fall.

Questions during the chat revolved around the importance of Twitter chats and how they can make a difference in the lives of both parents and educators of the gifted. Near the end, participants offered suggestions about the format and future of the chat which provided much needed insight to the moderator. A full transcript of the chat may be found here.

It was announced that #gtchat will be having a LIVE chat from the 2013 Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education’s Annual Conference on Friday, April 19th at a special time 3PM EDT. Moderator, Lisa Conrad, will be available during Thursday night sessions and during the day on Friday to assist attendees in signing up for Twitter. Lisa will also be tweeting live from the conference.

Links:

#gtchat Page on #TAGT Website

#gtchat’s Facebook Page

Cybraryman’s Educational Chats on Twitter

Using TweetChat to Follow Educational Twitter Chats

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Twitter Chats: How to Survive & Thrive in a Twitter Chat… Hockey Style Eh?

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How Does a Twitter Chat Work?

4 Simple Ways to Get Started Teaching With Twitter

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6 Best Twitter Tips Every Teacher Should Know About