Members chronicle Convention on Twitter |
On Board Online • November 5, 2012
By Barbara Bradley
Staff Writer
During NYSSBA’s 93rd Annual Convention, board members and the commissioner of education conducted a running commentary of their Convention experiences on Twitter.
It was the third year that NYSSBA created a conversation thread dedicated to the convention, but the first year that dozens of participants chimed in.
For the uninitiated, Twitter is a 140-character microblogging social media platform. Messages are called “tweets.”
Members were able to contribute to the same thread by ending their messages by typing a code called a hashtag. The Convention hashtag was “#nyssba12.”
Under the name @nyschoolboards, NYSSBA staff got the conversation going with announcements of upcoming convention events, observations and links to photos. One example: “Anti-bullying expert Barbara Coloroso tells a full house kids should have a healthy regard for themselves & language matters #nyssba12”.
Convention attendees participated, adding nearly 200 tweets to the conversation. They tweeted their observations during educational sessions and special events, and sent messages to fellow attendees.
State Education Commissioner John King’s Friday morning presentation generated the most tweets – nearly 30. For example:
- Onteora Board Vice President Tony Fletcher (@tonyfletcher) reported, “NYSED’s message to school boards: Do more. With less. Get used to it #nyssba12.”
- Holland Patent Board Member Richard Allen (@Rallen29) observed, “We are wasting resources on the APPR. Let the local school board make the decision on how to achieve high standards #nyssba12.”
Even Commissioner King (@JohnKingNYSED) contributed: “Talking w/school board members about ed reform initiatives at the NYSSBA Annual Convention in Rochester. #nyssba12 @nyschoolboards #ROC.”
Other tweets:
- Springville-Griffith Board Member Kara Kane (@karakane): “Great session on transparency from Bedford CSD #nyssba12 solid communications = success.”
- New Paltz Board Member Ruth Quinn (@ruthquinns): “Coffee and documents printed at the print center. Ready to learn and connect #nyssba12.”
NYSSBA’s Twitter feed has nearly 570 followers, up from 39 at the 2009 convention, when NYSSBA first began using Twitter. This year for the first time the conversation stream was displayed throughout the convention on a special monitor at the NYSSBA booth and bookstore, just outside the Education Expo. To read the entire Twitter convention stream, go to https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23nyssba12&src=typd.
NYSSBA has already designated #nyssba13 as our hashtag for the 2013 Annual Convention and Education Expo. Please join our conversation.