Twitter Users: Talk About the State of Our Schools With #NJPatchChat

Patch has made a commitment this year to explore how funding cuts and the harsh economy are affecting our schools. Now we'd like to ask you to join in on the conversation—with the first installment of #njpatchchat, our new weekly Twitter chat on statewide topics of local importance. The first chat is set for Thursday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m.

Here's how it works:

Head to Twitter.com  and search for #njpatchchat. If you're new to Twitter, that's what's called a hashtag—a special keyword you can search for to see what people are saying about a certain topic, even if you don't normally follow those people. If you do that Thursday, Oct. 14, at 8 p.m., you'll see the conversation live, as it takes place—you'll see our questions and the answers or comments provided by anyone in the online community.

If you want to jump in with an answer, question or comment, make a tweet (a Twitter post) using the hashtag yourself. So we might ask, "What do you see as the most harmful impact of school budget cuts this year? #njpatchchat." And you might answer, "I think what it's doing to athletic programs is a shame. #njpatchchat." So long as you use the hashtag, anyone following the conversation will see your comment.

Those of you who are a bit more Twitter-savvy can, of course, use your preferred apps and tools to accomplish the same.

We'll be running the first chat from our MorrisPatch account, but we may use other accounts in the future. The hashtag will always stay the same.

We'll be asking 10 questions over the course of the discussion. If you've got some topics you'd like us to discuss, e-mail Louis@Patch.com, or send a message to @MorrisPatch on Twitter (be sure to use the #njpatchchat hashtag when you do).