@funnymonkey I have deactivated my account on the bird app, and I can agree with much of you posted, but think in many ways this is more nuanced. I will make a few points of my observations as I have been watching this platform expanding and the education space.
1) The #Edutainers - I am 100% with you on this. They were trash before, they are trash now, and their primary and overarching goal is to make money, project feel good, and ultimately perpetuate an inequitable system. This group as a whole is indifferent to the increasing violence on the bird app, but they never really cared. They have avoided "controversy" and were silent on BLM, CRT etc...
2) I have met and been in community with amazing educators on the bird app. I found you there, and there are pockets of dedicated educators, doing amazing work who have spent years building a community that is helpful, supportive, and productive. I have learned and benefited from many of them. I know many are reluctant to leave, especially given how difficult it is to create such spaces. I know in my work with #ungrading I was able to create a community that has been incredibly productive and generative.
3) There is more to say, but I will make one final observation and leave with a question, I have been on here for about a month, and I know things are dynamic and shifting, but one very clear thing to me is the whiteness of Mastodon. When I look at who I was following on the bird that have moved here, there is a single Black woman. Overwhelmingly, it's white men, and in the #edutoot space there are many white women, as one would expect. I don't see many POC on here as of right now, and the question I have for myself and the community is how do we make this a more welcoming, safe, and productive space for those marginalized within #education?
I agree w/ @funnymonkey 's points. I have been so disillusioned to see "critical ped" folks refuse to leave birdsite because "community". They care not the damage they lead readers into.
Re: #2 fr: @ZingerLearns
I don't buy the framing that ppl carefully built a "community" on the birdsite. They built an audience, a brand, a soapbox & megaphone for themselves, not a community.
When one has 20x or more followers than following, they're just talking for their ego. They're not listening.
@econproph I have several colleagues and friends still on the bird app who have thousands of followers and are equity and service committed. I have met many of them beyond the bird app and though they may seem like a minority in the face of #edutainers there are many doing important work and genuinely engaging in community.
There are/have been thriving #NGSS #Ungrading #equity #UDL that I have been part of and many connect at national and regional conferences. I think dismissing these folx is problematic and lumps those doing genuine work with edutainers is short sighted and dismissive of those who are deeply committed to their communities.
One thing that I have clearly seen in the great migration is that the early migrants are those most privileged.
@econproph most privileged refers to those who can most afford to leave or abandon the bird app. This includes those who have strong, or at least some communities beyond the bird app, those who have access to resources beyond the bird app. Those who do not depend, or depend less on the bird app to be connected and have connections that are far and few outside of that space. It is easy to criticize the bird app and it and its new owner are worthy of much criticism, but it is also important to point out how important it is for many, and how difficult it can be to leave.
@ZingerLearns
How exactly are early migrants "most privileged"? How are you defining privilege when it comes to a decision as to where to read and speak?