#WhatsTheDifference? Comparing Hashtag Conversation on Twitter among Teachers

Martin Rehm, Annabell Preußler, Michael Kerres, Katerina Bohle Carbonell,

Ad NottenAECT 2014, Jacksonville (Florida), USA

continuous professional development of teachers is a pivotal element in the provision of high quality

education (e.g. Hokka & Etelapelto, 2013)

fostered while collaborating in social networks composed of diverse groups of people

(Paavola, Lipponen, & Hakkarainen, 2004)

Networks of Practice (NoP)

“a larger, loosely knit, geographically distributed group of individuals engaged in a shared practice”

(Wasko & Faraj. 2005. p. 37)

Twitter

• light-weight tool for easy communication that enables users to share information

• by encouraging shorter posts, it lowers potential time investment and thought processes for content generation

• frequency of updates increasesJava et al (2007)

“people typically value and protect what they know” (Hew & Hara. 2007. p. 1).

“most teachers […] are accustomed to designing teaching activities in isolation […], which, in turn, prevents knowledge externalization and sharing.” (Hou, Sung, & Chang, 2009, p. 101)

Research Question

Does a Twitter Conversation contribute to a Network of Practice

(NoP) among Teachers?

Twitter

#educhat

• topics cover different aspects of teaching practice

• started out as a synchronous Twitter event (North America)

#acps

• Abemarle county public schools teachers

• part of their professional development program

Social Network Analysis (SNA)

• valuable tool to understand underlying (social) processes within (learning) networks (de Laat, Lally, Lipponen, & Simons, 2007)

• discover prominent individuals and/ or groups– Ego-network

• identify clusters of „like-minded“ individuals – Whole network

unveil the social fabric that enables learning

Data collected: 22.05. – 28.07.2014

• #educhat– Users: 2095– Tweets: 3884

• #acps– Users: 510– Tweets: 1271

Method

i. Users metrics– Tweets, Mentions, Replies to, Followers, Followed

ii. Social Network Analysis – Degree, Betweeness, Cluster

iii. Semantic Network Analysis– Top-100 Hashtag Pairs, 2-Mode Network (Users-

Hashtags)

Clustering Algortihm: Louvain Method (Single Refinement)Layout: Kamada-Kawai (Optimize Inside Clusters)

Nodes: Overall Degree

Social Network Analysis

#acps#educhat

Semantic Network Analysis#educhat

Semantic Network Analysis#acps

• Networks of Practice (NoP)– Yes: “larger, loosely knit […], geographically distributed

group of individuals engaged in a shared practice” (Wasko & Faraj. 2005. p. 37)

• Network Characteristics– “homophiliy”, structural holes & bridges

– different „strategies“ for different circumstances

– ontology/categorization, shared code

#WhatsTheDifference? Comparing Hashtag Conversation on Twitter among Teachers

Martin Rehm, Annabell Preußler, Michael Kerres, Katerina Bohle Carbonell,

Ad NottenAECT 2014, Jacksonville (Florida), USA