Join the conversation! #DPTstudent chat made easy!

So you may have heard the buzz about the #DPTstudent chat in the twitterverse, and just like many others you may be hesitant to join in the conversation right away. While “lurking” or following along with the chat can be a great way to gather information, those of us who host the chat and participate weekly encourage you to take the leap and contribute! The #DPTstudent chat is a space for constructive conversation and what makes the tweet chat so interesting is that it is fueled by many differing viewpoints and opinions. So before you think that your opinion or insight might not matter, think again! Realize that during the #DPTstudent chat its not about whether your opinion is right, wrong or goes along with the general consensus, its about developing a platform for sharing knowledge and inspiring ideas.

The Power of Conversation

 

This post is designed to help the amateur twitter user feel comfortable joining twitter and joining in the #DPTstudent chat held weekly on Wednesday nights, 9pm EST!

    1.  Create a twitter account! Signing up is easy, simply log onto www.twitter.com and create your free account. Create a twitter handle that everyone you plan to interact with will be able to easily identify you with. For example my name is Thomas Janicky and my twitter handle is @TJ_Janicky.
    2. You are ready to get started! You should absolutely check out this very informative Twitter tutorial by the American Physical Therapy Association in order to quickly pick up some of the basic Twitter terminology. 
    3. Following a hashtag is possible by simply searching for it in the search bar at the top of your Twitter homepage. Once you search and click for the #DPTstudent you will be able to see any recent tweets that have been generated using the #DPTstudent. In order to participate in the tweet chat simply search “#DPTstudent” on Wednesday at 9pm EST and you can observe the tweets as they roll in with the most recent tweets being at the very top.  It is important to always end or begin the tweets you generate, with the #DPTstudent so that they appear in the #DPTstudent feed and so that others who are participating (who may not be following you) can see it.
  • Tweetdeck is an app that can help you to better organize hashtags that you like to follow! I have provided a video tutorial on how to use Tweedeck for a #DPTstudent chat!
  • #DPTstudent chat Tweetdeck tutorial

It is also important to note that the #DPTstudent is not just used on Wednesday nights at 9pm EST. The #DPTstudent is utilized to share information among the physical therapy student population that inhabits the twittersphere! If you feel you have something that might benefit this population stamp it with #DPTstudent so the students know it was intended for them!

#DPTstudent

Now, contribute! You may feel inclined to sit back and observe the conversation at first, but the best way to take full advantage of the #DPTstudent chat is to join in the conversation!

 

The #DPTstudent chat has taken a break for the holidays, but will resume again on Wednesday,  January 8th at 9pm EST!!