Informal Professional Development in Online Communities of Practice at Scale: Mapping Nationwide Educational Twitterspheres

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Technology and Social Spaces (San Diego)

Abstract

Online communities are virtual spaces for teachers to engage in productive discussions with their colleagues. Arguably, Twitter is one of the most popular platforms for educators. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the German educational Twittersphere (N=1,487,452 tweets; N=82,763 users). We identify and describe the most important hashtag-based communities regarding participation patterns, sentiment, and geo-locations. Additionally, we exemplify how participation in the “Twitterlehrerzimmer” (German for “Twitter's teacher lounge”) community can fulfill characteristics of an online community of practice. Overall, this study indicates that participation in educational Twitter communities can provide a productive avenue for teachers’ professional development while also providing directions and methodologies for future research.

Authors

• Christian Fischer, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

• Fitore Morina, University of Tübingen

• Conrad Borchers, University of Tübingen

• Lennart Klein, University of Tübingen

• Mario Eich, University of Tübingen