The first thing I will say is that I couldn’t believe how quickly the hour disappeared.   One minute I was sat waiting for everything to begin and the next minute the final summary tweet highlighting the topic and date of the next tweet was being sent out.

During the hour the discussion was thick and fast with several people to reply to or retweet all with a video chat running in the background as a back channel for hosts.  This back channel ensured that we were all kept to the correct timings for each question even although we had been encouraged to make use of buffer to schedule the main questions so we could focus on our replies and retweets.

I picked up a number of good points from participants to the event plus enjoyed the online interaction which was fast paced and to the point.   It was also interesting seeing differing viewpoints being put forward from different school contexts and different countries.    In addition, the preparation ahead of the TweetMeet itself was carefully managed through a OneNote of support materials and timelines plus occasional messages from the organizing members sent via Microsoft Teams.  This all made for an interesting process including reintroducing me the functionality of both Wakelet and Flipgrid.

Overall it was an excellent experience in preparing, with the other hosts, for the event followed by the TweetMeet itself.  It was a fun experience, albeit the time disappeared quickly.   It is certainly something I would be interested in being involved with in the future.   I would also heartily recommend it to anyone who is thinking about getting involved as a host but is unsure.  And to those hosting the Microsoft TweetMeet on the 18th Feb, focusing on AI in education, I wish good luck!

I have been involved as a participant in previous Microsoft TweetMeets looking at topics such as Future Skills contributing my thoughts and ideas to the questions posed.  In my experience the discussions are vibrant and fast paced, and I have come away having enjoyed the experience.   As a result of the above I have been eager to get more involved however previous TweetMeets have fallen at times when I have been unable to allocate sufficient time to make hosting worthwhile.   As such it wasn’t until now that I have been able to get more involved and become a host.

I have also previously hosted twitterchats and my initial expectation was that TweetMeets would be very similar and in some ways they are however TweetMeets, in my view, are much more structured and organised.   There are a whole set of resources for use in preparing along with tasks for each of the weeks running up to the TweetMeet itself.  This includes a OneNote notebook with a breakdown of activities for each week leading up to the event, suggested tweets to share along with images and also guidance on using the likes of Wakelet, Flipgrid and Tweetdeck among other apps.   I have found this to be very useful indeed.    It is also interesting, in the run up, getting to know the other hosts and getting their thoughts and experiences in relation to the topic in hand.    Preparing your own Wakelet and Flipgrid video and then sharing these with the other hosts helps to build the team of hosts ahead of the event itself.   I must admit I have always struggled with creating videos of myself however I enjoyed the process of creating my Flipgrid which you can view here.

At this point the event is now less than a week away and I am looking forward to the discussion.  It is also quite apt to have a discussion regarding devices just prior to the BETT conference beginning and at a time where in my own school we are currently exploring the devices options which are now available.

For those considering getting involved in future TweetMeets, I heartily recommend it however I do note that to get the best out of the experience you will need to be willing to dedicate at least a few hours per week leading up to the event.   Like a lot of things, you get out what you put in.

I look forward to the Tweetmeet on the 21st Jan at 6pm GMT, and hope you are able to join us.