Connecting with Educators Online: Virtual Spaces to Meet and Greet
It can be difficult to meet new people, whether it’s for networking or building friendships. Meeting people was a challenge even before the pandemic, but the usual advice — go out, join a group, do a meet-up — doesn’t apply when social distancing rules are in place. How can teachers meet with other educators online, particularly when they’ve relied on conferences or in-person groups in the past?
Social media can be a good way to connect with new people, although it’s not without its share of faults. Not all social media platforms are the same. Some have better security and privacy controls, for example. Even so, if you curate your online experience and look for supportive groups and people, it’s possible to connect, collaborate and more.
Here are some ideas to get started. They range from tried-and-true social media platforms to more fleeting social spaces. As these are but a few of hundreds of thousands of possible options, use them as a starting point rather than as an end.
Twitter is an older social media platform, and while it isn’t necessarily set up to promote groups, it’s popular with educators looking to use social media. Once you start following teachers’ accounts, you’ll begin to find more and more like-minded educators. Following accounts is the bedrock of building a professional learning network (PLN) online, as this guide from Edutopia suggests.
With Twitter, you can passively read, actively tweet or both. You may find that fully participating helps you build stronger connections. You can directly message, or DM, people, but note that they may have their messages closed. In that case, they might have an email address listed on their profile. Respect however they’d like to be contacted, even if that means not at all.
Twitter, like many social platforms, uses “hashtags” to organize tweets. If you click on a hashtag (for example, “edtech”), you’ll see all related tweets. Sometimes you might see “Twitter chats,” which are group Q&A sessions that are collected via a special hashtag. This ISTE article shares 44 Twitter chats relating to education.
To curate your experience further, once you’ve connected with folks, you can make your account private. This allows you to keep in touch with Twitter friends while still maintaining a level of control over your account. Note, however, that it goes both ways; like with having closed DMs, some folks you may want to connect with might have protected tweets.
Reddit is a social network based around sharing links and media such as images, videos and text. Users can upvote or downvote posts, highlighting things they like and banishing the rest to the bottom of the page. Each post has a comment section where people can reply to the post or to each other, and replies can be sorted (by popularity, trending or even “controversial”).
One of Reddit’s strengths is in how it allows people to gather in topic-specific “subreddits,” similar to subforums. For example, r/Teachers is a subreddit devoted to teachers and teaching, with posts about everything from grades and grading to pressing pandemic concerns. This subreddit is fairly active, but if you want something more specific, you can search to see if a subreddit exists — or create your own.
If you jibe with someone in particular, you can message them directly through a private message, or PM. There are also some subreddits where you can chat in real time. Each subreddit has its own rules and moderators. Check around to see if you can find a place that’s right for you.
Discord (and Slack)
Discord is a chat platform that can be accessed via app, browser or downloadable application. Started by gamers, it’s moved beyond gaming communities into other groups. For example, some teachers have used Discord for their classes, and there’s even a guide with a template for getting a virtual classroom set up released in the official documentation.
Discord uses “servers,” which are chat areas that can be moderated through invitations, as well as “channels,” which are topic-specific subchats. For example, a classroom Discord server might have channels dedicated to homework help, chapter discussions and cute cat pictures. Because of the flexible nature of Discord, it’s useful for both hosting classrooms and coordinating professional development groups.
You can search around for server invites or use Discord’s built-in community search, Server Discovery. Discord accounts are free, and you can use text, media and even voice on specific channels. If you can’t find a server that fits your needs, you can build your own. You can even use bots to help with moderation (or just to make things fun).
A similar platform, Slack, can also be used to connect with educators online. On a Slack workspace, you’ll find channels based around certain topics, and both text and media can be shared. Like with Discord, Slack workspaces require invitations.
Conference Backchannels
With so many conferences moving to virtual options, there are often built-in ways for attendees to connect. Conference backchannels provide a way for people to discuss panels, conference topics and more. For example, a conference might have a dedicated page that streams panel footage alongside a virtual “expo” chatroom.
Twitter hashtags have often been an option for attendees, although they can lack the real-time engagement of a live conference. With virtual conferences, organizers may invite attendees to Discord servers or Slack workspaces, with different panels having their own channels for attendees to discuss things in real time. Other times, there might be a private Facebook group or some other networking opportunity. SXSW EDU, for example, offers ways to network prior to the virtual event.
Conference backchannels aren’t as reliable as some of the other ways of connecting with people online, mostly due to the fact that conferences are fleeting. While hashtags remain, they’ll only be used during the conference itself. Even so, you can always find ways to connect afterward, be it through Twitter, email or some other social platform.
If Twitter or Reddit aren’t your scene, try looking beyond the social networks mentioned. For example, TikTok features its share of teachers, or you might be able to make more personal connections through the micro-blogging site Tumblr. There are teachers on YouTube and teachers on Instagram.
All social media platforms have their own appeal (and their own detractions). See what type of engagement works best for you. While the search might be a challenge, meeting new likeminded folks can be worth it.
About the blogger:
Jesika Brooks
Jesika Brooks is an editor and bookworm with a Master of Library and Information Science degree. She works in the field of higher education as an educational technology librarian, assisting with everything from setting up Learning Management Systems to teaching students how to use edtech tools. A lifelong learner herself, she has always been fascinated by the intersection of education and technology. She edits the Tech-Based Teaching blog (and always wants to hear from new voices!).
