Hosting a TweetMeet

I am currently looking forward to being one of a number of hosts for a Microsoft TweetMeet due to happen on 21^st January focusing on the topic: “Devices for Student Success”.   The event promises to see educators from all over the world sharing thoughts and ideas in relation to educational technology and in particular how to bring about success through using iPads, laptops, MS Surfaces, Chromebook, mobile phones or other mobile devices.

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.

Author: Gary Henderson

Gary Henderson is currently the Director of IT in an Independent school in the UK.Prior to this he worked as the Head of Learning Technologies working with public and private schools across the Middle East.This includes leading the planning and development of IT within a number of new schools opening in the UAE.As a trained teacher with over 15 years working in education his experience includes UK state secondary schools, further education and higher education, as well as experience of various international schools teaching various curricula. This has led him to present at a number of educational conferences in the UK and Middle East.View all posts by Gary Henderson