class: left, bottom, title-slide # Hashtag-Thread Mashup ## How Educators Talk to Each Other in Twitter #Edchat ### K. Bret Staudt Willet ### April 10, 2020 --- class: inverse, center, middle # Slides [bretsw.github.io/site20-twitter](https://bretsw.github.io/site20-twitter) --- class: inverse, center, middle # Thank you! This research was funded in part by a **Summer Renewable Research Fellowship (SRRF)** Michigan State University, College of Education --- class: inverse, center, middle # Learning Together --- # Learning Together ### Technology-related complications More than just doing what you usually do, plus technology... <img src="img/intersection.jpg" width="600px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- # Learning Together ### Education-related Twitter hashtags <img src="img/learning.jpg" width="480px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- 1. Resources -- 1. Emotional support -- 1. Collaboration --- # Learning Together ### Education-related Twitter hashtags <img src="img/hashtag.jpg" width="300px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> ### \#Edchat -- "...Twitter discussion that any educator can discuss and learn about current teaching trends, to integrate technology, to transform their education, and to connect with inspiring instructors around the world." -- **Tuesdays 7:00-8:00pm EST** on Twitter --- class: inverse, center, middle # How might technology complicate how educators learn together? In this case, how might the affordances of Twitter complicate things? --- class: inverse, center, middle # Affordances of Twitter --- # Affordances of Twitter ### Media convergence: Kludge <img src="img/kludge-houses.jpg" width="480px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- 1. Amount of content -- 1. Mishmash of content -- 1. Mashup of features --- # Affordances of Twitter ### Tweets <img src="img/tweet-example.png" width="600px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- # Affordances of Twitter ### Hashtags <img src="img/hashtag.jpg" width="300px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- **Many different uses!** -- * topical index: #Teaching -- * humor and wit: #CoolTeacher -- * synchronous chats: #SatChat -- * "space" for ongoing discussions: #Edchat, #ITeachMath --- # Affordances of Twitter ### Threads <img src="img/thread-example.png" width="420px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- # Twitter Background ### Hashtag-thread mashup <img src="img/thread-example.png" width="420px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- # Affordances of Twitter ### Hashtag-thread mashup -- 1. Hashtag replies -- 1. Upstream replies -- 1. Downstream replies <img src="img/thread-example.png" width="300px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- # Research Questions <img src="img/question.jpg" width="480" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- 1. How common are hashtag replies versus upstream replies? -- 1. How different, if at all, are hashtag replies and upstream replies? --- class: inverse, center, middle # Method --- # Data Collection <img src="img/collection.jpg" width="480" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- * I collected tweets with a `Twitter Archiving Google Sheet (TAGS)` (Hawksey, 2014) -- * all tweets containing the keyword text "#edchat" -- * October 1, 2017 to June 5, 2018 (8 months) -- * I obtained tweet metadata using the `rtweet` R package (Kearney, 2018) --- class: inverse, center, middle # Results --- # Results: RQ1 ### How common are hashtag replies versus upstream replies? -- * 13,176 total reply tweets from 3,672 tweeters -- * 10,433 hashtag replies (**79.18%**) * 2,743 upstream replies (**20.82%**) -- * 2,364 (64.38%) composed only hashtag replies (i.e., they always included the #Edchat hashtag in their replies) -- * 822 (22.39%) contributors composed only upstream replies -- * 486 (13.24%) contributors composed both hashtag and upstream replies. --- # Results: RQ2 ### How different, if at all, are hashtag replies and upstream replies? -- **Table 1.** Comparing Tweets in the #Edchat Hashtag-Thread Mashup <table class="table table-striped table-bordered" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align:left;"> </th> <th style="text-align:left;"> Hashtag Replies </th> <th style="text-align:left;"> Upstream Replies </th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"> Synchronous % </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 36.04 </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 11.59 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"> Self-reply % </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 15.98 </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 29.20 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"> Words per tweet </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 26.53 </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 27.90 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"> Characters per tweet </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 185.85 </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 201.87 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"> Sentiment </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 0.31 </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 0.25 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"> Hashtags per tweet </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 2.51 </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 0.57 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"> Hyperlinks per tweet </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 0.24 </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 0.22 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"> Likes per tweet </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 2.01 </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 26.25 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"> Retweets per tweet </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 0.48 </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 3.66 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"> Replies per tweet </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 0.27 </td> <td style="text-align:left;"> 1.03 </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> --- # Results: RQ2 ### How different, if at all, are hashtag replies and upstream replies? -- **Figure 1.** Percentage of Tweet Purposes by Type of Reply <img src="img/tweet_purpose.png" width="800" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- # Results: RQ2 ### How different, if at all, are hashtag replies and upstream replies? -- **Figure 2.** Percentage of Tweet Discourses by Type of Reply <img src="img/tweet_discourse.png" width="800" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- # Results: RQ2 ### How different, if at all, are hashtag replies and upstream replies? -- **Figure 3.** Visualization of Social Interactions in the #Edchat Affinity Space <img src="img/edchat_hashtag_thread_mashup.png" width="360px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> ###### Blue lines = hashtag replies; red lines = upstream replies --- class: inverse, center, middle # Discussion --- # Discussion ### Multiple conversations in one space <img src="img/multiple-conversations.jpg" width="600px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- \#Edchat can simultaneously host a variety of conversation styles and topics --- # Discussion ### Need for increased digital literacy <img src="img/kludge-houses.jpg" width="560px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- ...because of Twitter’s dual kludge of **features** and **content** complicates learning together with this tool --- # Discussion ### Research Like a Participant (#RLAP) <img src="img/ux-path.jpg" width="560px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> ###### Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/larskflem/2472709843 -- ...because how researchers conceptualize a concept has not always matched with how participants experience it --- class: inverse, center, middle # Conclusion --- # Conclusion ### Technology complicates the social dimension of learning <img src="img/intersection.jpg" width="320px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- * Important to pay attention to Twitter's features in addition to its content: -- * Including multiple hashtags ~ bringing multiple spaces together -- * Adding a hashtag at the end of a thread of replies ~ building a bridge to a past conversation -- * Dropping a hashtag in a thread of replies ~ walking out of the room where a conversation may still be happening --- class: inverse, left, top # Questions? * **Email:** [staudtwi@msu.edu](mailto:staudtwi@msu.edu) * **Twitter:** [@bretsw](https://twitter.com/bretsw) * **Web:** [bretsw.com](http://bretsw.com) * **Slides:** [bretsw.github.io/site20-twitter](https://bretsw.github.io/site20-twitter) * **R code:** [github.com/bretsw/edchat-interactions](https://github.com/bretsw/edchat-interactions)