Team members: Nikki Chang, Ke Jin, Miao Li, Amy Lin, Sharlene Minosa, Yusi Shi, Yanfei Wu, and Shuran Xiong
Project mentor: Rebecca Auger
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Abstract
This study aims at characterizing the spaces that educators have established for online discussions. Based on the theoretical frameworks of “affinity space” from education and “public sphere” from political communication, we propose that social media conversations on the topic of education have two dimensions: interest-based and political-driven. To quantitatively assess the extent of this integration, we used a combination of network analysis, content analysis, and machine learning to examine Twitter’s hashtag communities for educators. Our results indicate that it is challenging to explicitly differentiate between Twitter discussions that focus on education and learning and those that focus on policy debates, and therefore we suggest that the two spaces should be considered in tandem. We also found that while users identified as opinion leaders changed continuously, prominent users included both political actors and various educators and educational institutions. Findings of the study have important implications for educators and educational institutions who are interested in joining the conversation on Twitter.
Keywords
affinity space, public sphere, Twitter, education, content analysis, network analysis, topic modeling (machine learning)
Team Bio
We are a team of eight MA students from Boston University’s Emerging Media Studies program housed in the College of Communication. Our team is guided by our Ph.D. mentor Rebecca Auger. We came to the program with various experiences in public relations, media work, web development, and government research across the globe (Beijing, Hefei, Kaohsiung, Kunming, Los Angeles, Nanjing, and Taipei). When we are not writing about communication theories, researching the psychosocial effects of social media, or dealing with big data, we share hobbies and interests in food, travel, fitness, design, and music.
Client Bio
Our client is the Program Design and Development team for Professional Education within Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Since 1920, HGSE has provided innovative research and training to education around the world. Presently, Professional Education at HGSE serves more than 10,000 educators internationally by offering over 100 programs for early childhood, K-12, and higher education learning. Their mission and core values lie in providing the training for leaders in supporting and improving student opportunities and success. The COVID-19 pandemic has since impacted the education industry, moving class instruction and group programs to be held online. While already claiming a large social media following, HGSE aims to use our theory-based research strategy to better understand and increase their online target audience engagement on Twitter.