For our September #BetterTogetherCA Twitter chat, we’ll be chatting about how much #RelationshipsMatter and how to build authentic relationships with students.

This chat with be moderated by Marilyn McAlister, a 2018 Better Together: California Teachers Summit EdTalk Speaker whose EdTalk was titled #RelationshipsMatter, and Bryan Sanders, another Summit EdTalk Speaker and NBCT.

Marilyn McAlister has been an educator for 24 years. She currently teaches sixth grade in El Centro, California. In 2017, Marilyn was honored to be named Teacher of the Year for the Imperial County and became a Google Certified Educator. She’s passionate about building relationships, Google tools, inquiry-based learning, and developing student-leaders. She’s presented at EdTechTeam Google summits and CUE events. Marilyn says that Twitter and her global PLN have transformed her as a connected educator. She would love to connect @MarilynEdu.

More about Bryan Sanders: I am a National Board Certified high school English teacher with 20 years of experience. I engage in authentic dialogue and inquiry with students about texts. Social justice guides our work in developing excellent critical thinking and razor-sharp expression. Technology and the arts play a central role in my approach. Microsoft selected me as a 2018 Global Minecraft Mentor, and I have been invited to speak about my doctoral research by the University of Hawaii and Kappa Delta Pi. I am currently studying at Loyola Marymount University to develop a new learning theory to disrupt the tradition of educational technology practices.