Without getting into the details of the discussion, the hashtag I came up with was #pulseyourinfluence for Twitter and Instagram. After announcing the hashtag and being the first to tweet it and post pictures, the amount of teens that actually tweeted and instagrammed this discussion: 0.
It's a shame too because the discussion went really well. I was not expecting this hashtag to break the internet, or even sprain the internet. I was hoping for at least one participant though.
After reviewing the discussion in my mind this morning, I remembered a tweet from Tim Elmore, @TimElmore, "Students support what they help create." I realized that while my effort was good, my effect was not.
The teens had no hand in creating the hashtag so there was no connection. Their discussion was very engaging and it is something that will be continued on so they enjoyed the conversation.
My takeaway from this experiment is to let the students have a hand in creating their social media context for learning and have the educators be a guide and set parameters. A great experience to take with me for the future.
