Social media has undoubtedly shifted the landscape of educator professional development in the 21st century.  The establishment and development of identifiable professional learning communities (PLCs) like the #SSChat social studies community on Twitter enables educators to connect and collaborate with other professionals across the globe from their own mobile device. The purpose of this study was to determine the demographic features of the #SSChat members. Moreover, we sought to determine if there were any significant differences in #SSChat member’s perceived ‘Sense of Community’ (SOC) based on those demographics. No statistically significant findings were discovered. Still, the demographic data provide good discussions.  

Technology integration has received a significant amount of money from the budgets of schools in the United States, even prior to COVID-19. Social media as an instructional tool was also receiving growing attention. However, since COVID-19 it seems that there is an even larger shift in the calls to use social media. The purpose of this study was to report K-12 Tennessee social studies teachers’ self-reported social media use just prior to the COVID-19. Moreover, we compared teachers’ use of social media based on geography, grade level and teaching experience. Statistically significant findings were discovered.