On the 21st Jan I did my first Microsoft TweetMeet as one of the hosts. I have been involved in previous TweetMeets as a participant and have also hosted a couple of non-Microsoft TweetMeet, however as I posted previously (read here) a Microsoft TweetMeet is slightly different.
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!
Technology and Learning