Transforming Classroom Time in January’s #MSFTEduChat TweetMeet

Educators around the world are fully aware that empowering students to prepare for their future also means embracing change in their classrooms and in their approaches to teaching. The big question is: How do you best go about transforming your classroom? What does it mean, how do you start, and where do you go for inspiration?

You don’t have to wonder aloud into the void, thankfully – that’s what the #MSFTEduChat TweetMeet is for! In January’s event, we’ll bring together educators and experts to discuss Transforming Classroom Time. The act can mean different things to different people, even more if you consider that classroom circumstances can vary significantly from one place to another. Key recurring elements in the conversation are to look for small, affordable steps of change that save teachers precious time and that help their students take ownership of their own learning.

Join the #MSFTEduChat TweetMeet on Tuesday, January 15, at 10:00 a.m. PST (check your time zone here) to find out more. (Sounds great, but what’s a TweetMeet?)

We offer 11 simultaneous language tracks this month and we’re super happy to have a host from Turkey this time again. Here’s an overview of all language tracks and their hashtags for the January TweetMeet:

For each language track, we have one or more hosts to post the translated questions and respond to educators. As always, we’re super grateful to all current and former hosts who are collaborating closely to provide this service.

The #TweetMeetXX hashtags for non-English languages are to be used together with #MSFTEduChat so that everyone can find the conversations back in their own language. For example: Portuguese-speaking people use the combination #TweetMeetPT #MSFTEduChat. English-speaking educators may all use #MSFTEduChat on its own.

Find out how teachers all over are transforming classroom time with a new #MSFTEduChat TweetMeet! Join us on Tuesday, Jan. 15 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST. #MSFTEduChat #ChangeMakers
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TweetMeet fan? Show it off on your Twitter profile

Every month more and more people discover the unique flow and characteristics of the TweetMeet events and become passionate about them. Show your passion for the TweetMeets right from your own Twitter page by uploading this month’s #MSFTEduChat Twitter Header Photo to the top of your own Twitter profile. Besides English, this same Twitter Header Photo is also available in each of this month’s 10 additional language tracks.

Looking back on the December ‘Best of 2018’ TweetMeet

The December edition of the #MSFTEduChat TweetMeet was special in many ways. In a very lively conversation discussing ‘Best of 2018’, as many as 140 former TweetMeet hosts engaged with educators around the world in 17 different languages. Look at some of the highlights from that Twitter conversation collected in this Twitter Moment.

Why join the #MSFTEduChat TweetMeets?

TweetMeets are monthly recurring Twitter conversations about themes relevant to educators, facilitated by Microsoft Education. The purpose of these events is to help professionals in education to learn from each other and inspire their students while they are preparing for their future. The TweetMeets also nurture personal learning networks among educators from across the globe.

We’re grateful to have a support group made up exclusively of former TweetMeet hosts, who volunteer to translate communication and check the quality of our questions and promotional materials. They also help identify the best candidates for future events, provide relevant resources, promote the events among their networks, and, in general, cheer everybody on.

Our hosts are thrilled about this upcoming TweetMeet:

When and how can I join?

Join us Tuesday, January 15 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. PDT on Twitter using the hashtags #MSFTEduChat, #ChangeMakers and #MicrosoftEDU (which you can always use to stay in touch with us). To find the event time for your specific location, use this time zone announcer.

From our monthly surveys we know that you may be in class at event time, busy doing other things or maybe even asleep – well, no problem! All educators are most welcome to join after the event. Simply take a look at the questions below and respond to these at a day and time that suit you best. You can also schedule your tweets in advance. In that case, be sure to quote the entire question and mention the hashtag #MSFTEduChat, so that everyone knows the right question and conversation to which you are responding. Mark the exact timings – they are different this month.

How can I best prepare?

To prepare for the #MSFTEduChat TweetMeet, have a look at the questions we crafted this time. You might also find something useful in one of these resources:

• Hack the Classroom Celebrating ChangeMakers YouTube Playlist
• Transforming Education eBook
• 21st Century Learning Design Course on Microsoft Educator Community
• Microsoft’s Education Transformation Framework: A K-12 framework for holistic digital transformation – Microsoft Education Blog

TweetMeet questions

Hosts

Please meet the 19 hosts for this month’s TweetMeet. They are all passionate about classroom transformation and very eager to engage with you. Several of this month’s hosts have already blogged about the positive impact of being a #MSFTEduChat TweetMeet host and why you should join. You can check these posts out in this brand-new Sway:

We also made a Twitter List so that you can easily follow all the hosts and see what they are tweeting about.

• Abeer Almihdar @AbeerMehdar (Microsoft Learning Consultant – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
• Arnaud Markert @ArnaudMarkert (Religious culture teacher and digital referent teacher – Strasbourg, France)
• Cornelia Melcu @CorneliaMelcu (Primary school teacher, teacher trainer, mentor and eTwinning and Scientix ambassador- Școala Gimnazială Nr. 9, Nicolae Orghidan, Brașov, Romania)
• Eileen Heller @EileenHeller (Instructional Technology Trainer for Omaha Public Schools – Omaha, Nebraska, USA)
• Felix Malombe @Felmalo (ICT Curriculum Leader and Maker Lab (STEAM) teacher for Crawford International School – Nairobi, Kenya)
• Flavia Giannoli @flagia3 (Math & Physics teacher at High School/ teachers Mentor and Trainer / Innovative Design Thinking and e-learning expert/ MCE & MIE Expert – Milan, Italy)
• Gülşen Korucu @gulsen_korucu (English teacher at Saimbey Secondary School – Osmaniye, Turkey)
• Ian Phillips @ianhabs (I am Assistant Head and Director Computing & ICT at HabsBoys and independent school near London in the UK. I am an Intel Visionary and Chair of the ISC Digital strategy group)
• Joël McLean @jprofnb (Elementary school principal and leadership coach – Callander, Ontario Canada)
• Josh Arnold @GuyCivics  (Middle School Teacher/Educational blogger – Wesley Chapel, Florida, USA)
• Lynne Oakvik @LynneOakvik (Instructional Technology/School Library Consultant, Lilead Fellow – Boone, North Carolina, USA)
• Małgorzata Kulesza @Malgosia38 (Secondary school teacher of chemistry and science, coordinator of international projects, nominated as an European Hero by Scientix, MIE Expert, passionate global educator- Krakow, Poland)
• Marina St Mircic @s13_marina (Italian and Civics Teacher in secondary school, MIE Fellow, Skype Master Teacher, MIE Expert, passionate blogger and translator  – Zajecar, Serbia)
• Nicole Caldwell @n_caldwellEDU (1:1 Technology Resource 3rd – 5th Grades/NCCE Professional Learning Specialist – Tampa, Florida, USA)
• Paula Barnard-Ashton @PaulaBarAsh (21st century learning design lecturer & trainer @ Wits University, School of Therapeutic Sciences – Johannesburg, South Africa)
• Sascha Sohn @SohnSascha (Mathematics and Physics Teacher at Gymnasium Johanneum Loburg – Ostbevern, Germany)
• Shannon Davenport @sdavenport931 (Director of Professional Learning for NCCE, The Northwest Council of Computer Education – Clarksville, Tennessee, USA)
• Stu Ayres @StuAyres (Senior Deputy Head and computer science teacher, Raspberry Pi certified educator, teacher trainer, 21^st-Century learning design practitioner – Denbigh, Wales, United Kingdom)
• Víctor Rodríguez @VRS_ae (HP/lntel Teacher Ambassador, teacher trainer at Grupo Advanced Education, MIE Expert – Spain)

What are #MSFTEduChat TweetMeets?

Every month Microsoft Education organizes social events on Twitter targeted at educators globally. The hashtag we use is #MSFTEduChat. A team of topic specialists and international MIE Expert teachers prepare and host these TweetMeets together. Our team of educator hosts first crafts several questions around a certain topic. Then, before the event, they share these questions on social media. Combined with a range of resources, a blog post and background information about the events, this allows all participants to prepare themselves to the full. Afterwards we make an archive available of the most notable tweets and resources shared during the event.

Please connect with TweetMeet organizer Marjolein Hoekstra @OneNoteC on Twitter if you have any questions about TweetMeets or helping out as a host.

Join for next month’s topic: Literacy