Public Sphere and Affinity Space on Twitter

Introduction  The start of the pandemic in March 2020 has significantly impacted thousands of educational institutions across the United States that transitioned to offering completely remote online courses and programs. Anecdotally, it has not been easy for students and educators to transit to an all-digital setting. While the development of communication technologies and online social networking sites has allowed for the expansion of online learning opportunities, the radical shift to online education has also yielded new challenges. Both opportunities and challenges can cause educators to turn to social media for sharing and seeking solutions  In this paper, we seek to characterize the space that educators have created for these discussions online. As discussed by McGee, affinity spaces are "the kinds of learning communities to be found on interest-based websites, which he presents as a model for learning that seriously challenges current school practices" (Nygard & Skaftun, 2017). This theoretical model differs from the learning environment of traditional face-to-face classes for various reasons such as the medium of communication, modes of learning, and even the stakeholders present, among others. Thus, in this paper, we begin with the theoretical frameworks of an affinity space and the public sphere to investigate the topical arrangement of these conversations, making a connection between the two theories and approaching the broader theoretical question of whether political and non-political discussions can be fully separated, particularly on such a public forum like Twitter. Then, we consider leaders' position in the conversations of educators on Twitter, investigating user characteristics associated with typical leadership in a given topic area based on affinity space and public sphere literature. Educators on Twitter The literature on Twitter use in education describes various educational applications at different educational levels, from first graders to graduate students. Studies show that educators use Twitter for three primary reasons; (1) to improve communication, (2) to enhance classroom activities, and (3) to promote professional development (Carpenter & Krutka, 2014). Carpenter and Krutka (2014) demonstrated that Twitter could boost communication between learners and educators. Through participation in these conversations, educators become more proactive and engage in teaching their students through alternative modes of learning, which is found to increase their efforts (Chawinga, 2017). Although research on communication use of Twitter is limited, numerous practitioner-oriented articles detail its use in communication. According to Carpenter and Krutka (2014), educators can use micro-blogging to inform or update school communities on events, activities, and policy changes. Twitter is also used in professional development (PD). Twitter potentially provides PD opportunities that are different from traditional methods due to its speed in communication (Carpenter & Krutka, 2014). Research shows that Twitter can facilitate educator's PD in numerous ways. It allows instructors to contribute and discuss ideas through chats and tweets.  They can also share and acquire resources by tweeting links to ...