Sneak Preview: The Must-Have Guide To Educational Hashtags

found this on http://edudemic.com/2012/06/hashtags-preview/

The following is an excerpt from a mega-post ‘The 2012 A-Z Guide To Educational Hashtags‘  

We got so many additions and updates to our 2011 list we thought it was time to bring you the most up-to-date list for 2012. So, without further ado, here’s the 2012 A-Z list of educational Twitter hashtags.

We went through all the comments on the 2011 version, wrote down all the Twitter and Facebook updates, and compiled this list over the course of several months. What follows is our best effort to bring you the biggest and baddest list of hashtags.

I’m sure we still missed some as new hashtags seemingly pop up every day. In any case, let us know what we missed in the comments or on our Facebook page!

First, some background to get you up to speed on what the heck a hashtag is. If you already know, then you can skip down a few paragraphs.

First, What’s A Hashtag?

Whether you’re a new or seasoned Twitter user, you likely come across confusing hashtags that probably look like a bunch of nonsense.

The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keyword or topic in a Tweet. Any Twitter user can categorize or follow topics with hashtags.Those hashtags (usually) mean something and are a great way to get a tweet to appear in search results or discussion monitoring.

For example, the popular #edchat hashtag is used by thousands of users every Tuesday. It makes it easy (sort of) for people to monitor what’s happening in the conversation rather than having to try and guess what topics you should search for. By having a conversation on Twitter using hashtags, you also make it easy for any other Twitter user to join in.

How To Hide Your Hashtag Chat From Followers

When having a Twitter #hashtag chat, if you want to avoid overwhelming your followers, start any tweet you want to “hide” with @HideChat or (one character shorter) @HideTag. (Do NOT follow @HideChat or @HideTag. They exist only to help you hide your Twitter chats.) NOTE: This also works when live-tweeting events or shows.

You don’t need to do this with all your chat tweets (though you could). But it’s a good idea to do it with most of them so as not to overwhelm folks. You could also use this for conversations with someone that you didn’t want others to notice in your timeline, although direct messages would work best for that.

Sources

That’s why it’s probably helpful for you to check out the following list of popular educational hashtags. They have been sourced from the comments in the 2011 post, curated by Cybraryman as well as by theCreative Education blog, tweetsmarter.com our personal usage list andhashtags.org.

The Most Popular Hashtags

• #edchat – Education, worldwide (lots of US teachers). A really useful hashtag if you are interested in tweeting with a wide range of educators worldwide.
• #schools – Massively wide ranging but used far less than #edchat or #ukedchat
• #teaching – This hashtag seems to largely be used for jobseeking, FYI
• #lrnchat – Learning chat
• #TT – Teacher Tuesday where educators suggest others to follow
• #kinderchat – hashtag for discussing kindergarten aged children
• #EdChatIE – The educational hashtag for Ireland for all three levels
• #ukedchat – UK Education
• #ClavEd – The educational hashtag for French Speakers – Wednesdays at 12h(EST) 13h(ATL) 18h(Paris)
• #GlobalEd – Education with a global dimension

Technology

• #edtech – a very wide range of tweets relating to the use of technology in education.
• #elearning – eLearning topics
• #mlearning – the use of mobile technologies in education, also #mobilelearning though this is less used
• #edapp – educational apps
• #gbl - games based learning
• #slide2learn – iDevices and learning
• #vitalcpd – effective use of technology in the classroom

Subject Specific

• #mathchat – mathematics
• #scichat – science
• #engchat – English
• #artsed – the arts in education
• #musedchat – music
• #eltchat – english language teacher
• #STEM – widely used for posts and resources in STEM education
• #SSChat – social studies chat
• #RETeacher – Religious Education
• #HistoryTeacher – History
• #GeographyTeacher – Geography
• #ASEChat – Association of science and education weekly chat Monday 8-9pm GMT
• #PhysicsEd – Physics

Specific Areas / Roles

• #pgce – this is a widely used hashtag and is a great way to share ideas and support
• #gtchat – for tweets related to gifted and talented education
• #esl – English as a second language, this seemed to have more relevant tweets than #EFL
• #Bullying – especially good for finding bullying resources or help and support if bullying is an issue though it is not confined to school bullying
• #cpchat – connected principals discussion
• #ntchat - new teachers, (#nqtchat seems to have lapsed)
• #spedchat – special educational needs. Live chat every Tuesday night at 8:30 EST for special education related topics
• #homeschool – everything related to home schooling, seems to be far more widely used than #hsc
• #playoutdoors – outdoor play and learning ideas
• #TLChat – is the hashtag for Teacher Librarians’ discussions/resources
• #ESDGC – Education for sustainability and global citizenship

Want even more? This is just a small sample of the many hashtags we have coming for you in The 2012 A-Z Guide To Educational Hashtags so be sure to check out that link for the full listing (when the story is published). Have a hashtag you want to add? Share it in the comments or on our Facebook page here.

Is teacher churn undermining real education reform in D.C.?

By Mark Simon, Friday, posted in The Washington Post, June 15, 5:02 PM 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-teacher-churn-undermining-real-education-reform-in-dc/2012/06/15/gJQAigWcfV_story.html

I suppose the leaders of D.C. Public Schools want me to be happy that social studies teacher Kerry Sylvia won’t be coming back to Cardozo Senior High next year. The sound bite sounded appealing when DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced recently in her new strategic plan that one way to improve graduation rates is to focus on teacher talent — to remove bad teachers and replace them with better ones. But what if, however well intentioned, the reforms are actually leaving uninspired teachers in place and getting rid of some of the best talent?

When I heard that Sylvia had received a notice last month that she was being “excessed” from Cardozo after 13 years, it didn’t add up. I know good teaching, having taught high school for 16 years myself and helped to design the celebrated teacher evaluation system in Montgomery County. My daughter is about to graduate from DCPS, and I have been an engaged parent and a close DCPS observer for 14 years.

Sylvia is clearly a brilliant teacher, committed to her students, her school and its community. She is not only an award-winning teacher but also a leader and student advocate. I’ve talked with her students, several of whom told me that Sylvia’s class was the reason they come to school. If the District’s new plan is eliminating teachers like Sylvia, it’s on the wrong track.

DCPS has one of the highest teacher turnover rates in the nation. Richard Ingersoll of the University of Pennsylvania estimates that, “nationally, on average, about 20 percent of new public school teachers leave their district to teach in another district or leave teaching altogether within one year, one-third do so within two years, and 55 percent do so within five years.” In DCPS, by contrast, 55 percent of new teachers leave in their first two years, according to an analysis by DCPS budget watchdog Mary Levy. Eighty percent are gone by the end of their sixth year. That means that most of the teachers brought in during the past five years are no longer there. By comparison, in Montgomery County just 11.5 percent leave by the end of their second year, and 30 percent by the end of year five. DCPS has become a teacher turnover factory. It has a hard time keeping teachers who are committed to their school and the community it serves.

According to Tom Carroll, president of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, “Teaching is no different than any other profession — experience matters. Researchers have found that teachers reach peak effectiveness with about seven years of experience. But 80 percent of the teachers hired by D.C. this year will be gone before they get there.” Carroll estimates that “the District is burning about $12 million a year on teacher churn — $12 million that is spent hiring and replacing teachers with no gain in school performance.”

Three aspects of the Michelle Rhee-Kaya Henderson reforms contribute to higher rates of teacher churn: unstable school budgets from year to year; greater freedom for principals under the IMPACT evaluation system to identify teachers for dismissal or transfer; and school closings. But most of the turnover comes from teachers leaving voluntarily, not those excessed like Sylvia.

For years, researchers, such as Jane Hannaway of the Urban Institute, have advised DCPS that turnover can be a good thing because odds are that replacement teachers will be better than the ones who leave. But I’ve begun to wonder if perhaps the wrong teachers, in some cases great ones, are being pushed out.

Now, a significant new study by researchers Susanna Loeb of Stanford University, Matthew Ronfeldt of the University of Michigan and Jim Wyckoff of the University of Virginia upends Hannaway’s assumption. The study, “How Teacher Turnover Hurts Student Achievement,” concludes that, separate from the relative quality of teachers who may be brought in to replace those who leave, teacher turnover itself harms a school. Turnover affects morale and the professional culture at a school. It weakens the knowledge base of the staff about students and the community. It weakens collegiality, professional support and trust that teachers depend on in their efforts to improve achievement.

In March, Post reporter Bill Turque penned an insightful profile of another demonstrably terrific teacher, Sarah Wysocki from MacFarland Middle School, who was fired from DCPS after getting low scores in her IMPACT evaluation. The mechanical process of IMPACT insults good teachers and doesn’t do justice to the complexities of good teaching.

If the reform strategies in place in DCPS were working, then perhaps a resolute and unsympathetic response to so-called “soft issues” of staff morale and workforce culture would be understandable. But gains in student achievement in DCPS have stalled. The dropout crisis continues. It’s not that reform isn’t a good idea, but these modest results call for some humility. They might even call for listening to the wisdom of accomplished teachers we can’t afford to lose.

The writer is a DCPS parent, the former president of the Montgomery County teachers union and an education policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute. He blogs at realeducationreformdc.blogspot.com

10 ways to oppose high-stakes standardized tests

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 06/14/2012 The Answer Sheet in The Washington Post

By Valerie Strauss

I’ve written several times in recent months about a growing movementby parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, students and others to protest the use of standardized tests for high-stakes purposes.

Here’s a list of 10 things that people can do to counter the damaging effects of high-stakes standardized testing. It was written by Ruth Silverberg, an associate professor in the Education Department of the College of Staten Island CUNY.

The list of 10:

1. Don’t brag if you or your children got high scores on any high stakes tests, including the SAT or ACT. This can help dispel the faulty idea that standardized tests are a valid measure of learning.

2. Ask for evidence that learning is occurring in your neighborhood school such as student work products, presentations, community service. Don’t use the “School Report Card” to assess learning in the school.

3. If you have a student in your home or extended family, reinforce the student’s collaboration with peers on schoolwork, and share this with his/her teacher. This will help dispel the idea that competition fosters learning better than collaboration. .

4. If you are a teacher, share with families and community your collaboration with colleagues that led to your great teaching.

5. If you are a parent or a teacher, take note of all of the people and forces affecting the student’s life, including other teachers, social workers, doctors, etc. This will help dispel the idea that a child’s success depends on one teacher.

6. If you have a student in your home or extended family, provide and access every support available to help him/her be successful in REAL ways, not test performance.

7. If you know a student, support him or her with a friendly smile, an offer of help, a job for her or her family.

8. Contact and support an organization that opposes high-stakes testing, including FairTest, United Opt Out, Change the Stakes, andGrassroots Education Movement. This will help dispel the idea that you are alone in your opposition to high stakes testing.

9. If you are a parent or guardian of a student, ask your school administration about the possible consequences for “opting out” of the standardized tests. This will help dispel the idea that you don’t have the right to make decisions about your student.

10. Just say ‘no.’ Write/call your legislators, New York State Education Department, U.S. Department of Education.

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State of DCPS Schools.....times, dates, locations

Ward 1 Thurs., June 21 5-8 p.m.	Ward 2 Wed., June 6 5-8 p.m.		Ward 3 Tues., June 12 5-8 p.m.
Columbia Heights EC3101 16th St NW	Francis Stevens EC2425 N St NW		Wilson HS3950 Chesapeake St NW
		Ward 6 Wed., June 13 5-8 p.m.		Ward 7 Thurs., June 14 5-8 p.m.
		Tyler ES1001 G St. SE		Sousa MS3650 Ely Pl SE