ELTChat Twitter Channels: for 'ELTchat' user and 'ELTchat' search

ELTchat history and background

#ELT Chat is described as a ready-made PLN for English language and modern languages teachers with Twitter as it's main hub of activity and a related blog, a dedicated Facebook page and a wiki as supporting sites. Due to Twitter being a volatile medium and tweets expiring with time, the chat stream is constantly backed up by means of twapperkeeper (Permalink to Twapper Keeper Archive of the Chat).

There are two chats held each Wednesday, at 12 pm and 9 pm (GMT) which cover a range of topics of professional interest. The topics are suggested by the community and democratically voted for in the days preceding a chat (both suggestions and the poll are located on the ELTchat blog). The transcript of the chat and an ensuing summary of the discussion, usually written by a volunteer, are stored on the wiki although links appear in the Twitter stream and also on the blog (especially the summary). Depending on the topic, there might be a series of posts and comments inspired by the session, following up on some of the issues raised on Twitter, expanding and elaborating on them in the blogosphere, taking the conversation further and outside the main venue. Most of the followers of #ELT chat seem to be connected with each other via Twitter, blogrolls, rss and other social web tools and the same names can be seen appearing not only in the Twitter stream but also among the comments left on blogs and facebook. Apart from the frenetic activity during Wednesday chats, there is a constant stream of messages as the community members use the medium to share links, resources, ask for advice and tips, engage each others with various blog challenges and alike.

The community originated in autumn 2010 when some of the ELT professionals, inspired by #ed chat, a Twitter chat devoted to more general educational matters, simultaneously came up with the idea of establishing something similar but with the focus on language teaching. The chat proved an instant success and was announced a TEFL.net site of the month as soon as October 2010.

Since then, as the general analytics below show, more than 100,000 messages have been released into the Twitter stream, not only within the chat times but also between them, demonstrating that the tag is growing stronger and more established. 

This is further heightened by the ripple effect in the blogosphere (posts plus numerous comments) - just a small percentage of blog posts have been bookmarked in the following Delicious stack:  http://delicious.com/stacks/view/QfkINV#m=grid

Marisa Constantinides, one of the founders and moderators, recalls the beginnings of the chat as well as how it has evolved throughout a year in an interview with Tara Benwell from Tefl.net (link to the interview). On her blog, Marisa summarises the year of the chats, achievements and the growing strong presence as well talks about the possible developments and future of the chat (the moderators are planning to hold a symposium at the IATEFL conference in Glasgow 2012) as well as reminisces about the birthday party that was held in SL (link to a birthday posting).

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

The recording of the party in SL.

#ELTchat as a community

This is how Marisa is describing her own feelings about #ELTchat:

#ELTchat is a great meeting and sharing time every week for teachers with passion, generosity and motivation to be the best teacher they can be.

I think this is a thought shared by many.

And this is how she described the ease and usefulness of the platform:

I think it’s a great platform because it’s possible to talk or not talk, post an update or a comment when you have something to say or just follow. It’s an easy platform to use and hashtags (#) make it possible to see tweets from people you don’t even follow! That’s a fantastic thing and a great way to meet and follow teachers who tweet interesting comments or links and so expand your personal learning network (PLN). I think, like myself, people who participate also just love the fast interaction and energy which a rich and fast conversation can give you.

And here is what some of the #ELTchat participants said about the chat:

@aClilToClimb #ELTchat is brainstorming in a global scale with a dash of fun :)
@SimonGreenall #ELTchat 1 informs me, 2 makes me think, 3 reassures me I’m not out of touch.
@sandymillin #ELTchat is ideas, new friends, inspiration, an adrenalin rush, motivation, new things to think about, a way to share :)
@mkofab #eltchat is learning, sharing, reflecting, a great way to build a PLN, sth to look forward to on Wednesdays and FUN!
@janetbianchini #ELTchat is stimulating, worthwhile, fab CPD, engrossing, fun, fast and furious, friendly, enlightening & essential Wednesday fix!
@DinaDobrou #ELTchat is a powerful hub of passionate educators and head-spinning ideas.

This is what Marisa says about possible motivation of the chat participants (my emphasis):

I think that, apart from all the great ideas that you get just by logging into Twitter during one of the chats, there is a great feeling of community which has developed over time and this community is very open and welcoming to anyone new who jumps into a chat even if we have never met them before. It’s also a highly democratic community. No one’s tweets are considered to be of higher value than anyone else’s and this feeling of openness, acceptance and camaraderie is what draws people to #ELTchat.

Don’t forget that for many of colleagues, this contact may be the only opportunity to connect for whatever reason, distance, isolation, a hostile environment in a staff room… All those feelings are laid aside during a chat and we all come together in a fantastic way. Sure, some conversations will always be better than other conversations. Some topics inspire more than others. But we are all OK with that and accept that each chat can only be as good as the sum total of our experiences and interests.

But apart from all that, and although the topics are serious, there is a great sense of fun and light hearted conversation springs up all the time. It’s fun to take part in #ELTchat! #ELTchat is a joyful event every week.

Link to #ELTchat survey

Link to a spreadsheet with participants' answers

Codes of conduct

In regard to suggesting a topic for the chat, moderators have designed simple, yet clear guidelines (on the blog) which state that the topic should be relevant to ELT, simply and clearly expressed, not replicating any of the topics already covered in the chat and not a targeted attack on individuals and institutions. Comments that are not meeting the requirements will be removed from the blog.

A YouTube video giving some advice on how to participate in the chat:

A link to a website with similar advice

First ELT Chat - 26 Oct 2011, 12 GMT (1 hour)

Topic: Use of E-portfolios in ELT

Link to Wiki Transcript tweeted by one of the moderators at 2.14 pm.

Link to a Summary 

Link to a repository of online resources recommended in the chat on e-portfolios