#CreateEdu Twitter Chat

Educators have the unique challenge of preparing students for a rapidly changing world that is filled with complex problems. It’s up to the next generation to dream, collaborate, iterate, and create what is possible.

However, our recent research study on Creative Problem Solving revealed that both educators and policy makers agree there is not enough emphasis on creative problem solving in today’s curricula. In our sample of 1600 teachers, secondary and Higher Education educators identified the most important problem solving skills for students to learn:

To help educators foster these eight skills and beyond, we’re hosting a weekly conversation aimed at sharing best practices and resources to drive change in classrooms.

#CreateEdu Twitter Chat

Starting on Thursday, March 15th at 4PM PT / 7PM ET the Adobe Education team (@AdobeEdu) is hosting a 4-part Twitter chat focused on nurturing creative problem solving in the classroom and school community. Each week, we’ll spotlight a different educator, technology coach, or administrator (lead learner) to facilitate the conversation. We’re looking forward to collaborating with these educational thought leaders and hearing from you!

Thursday, March 15th 4PM PT / 7PM ET

Topic: Communication

Host: Adam Welcome

Overview: In this chat, we’ll discuss the role of communication in the creative problem solving process, and how it can be approached through teacher to student, and student to student. We’ll also share strategies for bringing creative problem solving into a school-wide culture. Adam Welcome, host moderator, is the Director of Innovation at Mt. Diablo Unified School District. He is the co-founder of Kids Deserve It!, a former K-5 principal, and is currently working on his new book, Run Like a Pirate.

Thursday, March 22 4PM PT / 7PM ET

Topic: Resourcefulness

Host: Jennifer Williams

Overview: This chat will share best practices for resourcefulness during the creative problem solving process. This will focus on resourcefulness for students, in addition to educators during their own professional development. Jennifer Williams, host moderator, is a Professor of Education at Saint Leo University. She is a former speech language pathologist, literacy specialist, and teacher, and currently is the Director of Education Strategy at Participate.

Thursday, March 29 4PM PT / 7PM ET

Topic: Collaboration

Host: Tanya Avrith

Overview: This chat will focus on strategies for collaboration during the creative problem solving process, specifically in a project-based learning environment. In addition, we will discuss opportunities for collaboration among educators when iterating in their own classrooms. Tanya Avrith, host moderator, is the Director of Educational Technology at Grandview School and co-author of The Google Infused Classroom. She is passionate about digital citizenship and leadership, and has presented at many national conferences on this topic. Tanya is also a consultant and visits schools/districts across the country to work with PreK-12 school leaders, to help plan large scale implementation plans as well as workshops on how to use technology as a tool for learning.

Thursday, April 5 4PM PT / 7PM ET

Topic: Creative Problem Solving

Host: Lisa Dabbs

Overview: In this chat, we’ll define creative problem solving and focus on skills for facilitating it in the classroom. Lisa Dabbs, host moderator, has extensive experience as K-12 educator and principal. She works as an Education Consultant and s a professor of pre-service teachers at The University of Laverne. She is passionate about supporting educators in their journey toward student-centered learning. She is the founder of New Teacher Chat on Twitter which was dedicated to supporting new and pre-service teachers. It launched in 2010 and ran successfully for 7 years! Her #ntchat hashtag is still used today by educators around the world that want to connect their product or resource to the new teacher community on Twitter. Lisa is also a published author, and her works include Standing in the Gap: Empowering New Teachers through Connected Resources.

How do I join a Twitter chat?

To participate in the chats above, simply follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your existing Twitter account, or create a new account on the time and day of the Twitter chat (Thursday, 4PM PT/7PM ET)
  2. Search for the hashtag #CreateEdu in the search bar or use Tweet Deck (log in with your Twitter credentials) to create a column for #CreateEdu.
  3. Watch the feed when the chat begins, the @AdobeEdu account and the host moderator will tweet out question prompts, beginning with introductions. Each question will be marked in order within the tweet – Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. There will be six questions in each chat.
  4. Respond to each question in a tweet and mark your answers with the corresponding number. For example A1 for answer one to Q1, A2 for answer two to Q2, etc. Please see this article for tips on how to write a tweet. At the end of each of your tweets, include #CreateEdu. This will allow other participants to find your answers
  5. Interact with other participants. If you agree with another tweet in the chat, like it. In this chat, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with other educators and form your professional learning network. Be sure to follow other Twitter chat participants who you’d like to learn with and from.

Twitter chats happen in real-time, but you can always view follow the conversation later on by searching hashtag #CreateEdu.

Adobe Education Communities and EdEx

In addition to this Twitter chat, Adobe Education also offers professional development resources through the Adobe Education Exchange. Discover more opportunities to be involved in Adobe communities through the Adobe Campus Leaders program.