TeachMeet Student Edition: Initial thoughts

It seems that the first ever TeachMeet Student Edition went well. There's been some good comments on Twitter and the students that have spoken to me all said they were looking forward to next year's - so I guess that we're committed now. :-)

A couple of folk have said they liked the relaxed atmosphere but I must admit it was all a bit of a blur to me. I thought I'd be able to type up my blog as people spoke but quite apart from the problem of my computer going on go slow, I couldn't really concentrate properly. Thankfully, it was recorded in the Flashmeeting, so hopefully I'll get the chance to listen to it soon.

People have started to post links to the stuff they were talking about. So far I have noticed a post from Stuart about his guide to the probationary year (and another about the collaborative effort involved in contacting Local Authorities). Neil has posted links to the seven resource he tried to cover in seven minutes (he managed six). David has posted a set of links and the students from Glasgow have published a link to their presentation. Have I missed any?

I hope to write a proper reflection on the evening later but for now, I'll close with a link to the lyrics of Four Capacities - The Musical and a video of the closing chorus. Enjoy. :-)

TeachMeet Student Edition: Part 3

Gave up with laptop. Restarted and it seems to be working a bit better now.

However, by the time I got it working again, I missed recording all the good stuff. :-( I'll try and record my feelings tomorrow and hopefully other people have been paying attention and have blogged/Twittered about what happened.

Will finish in a few moments with Four Capacities: The musical. 

TeachMeet Student Edition: Part 2

Back after a short break and Cassie Law was up next talking about class wikis and blogs. Importance of having a safe, moderated environment. Giving pupils their own blog space has been a good way for the teacher to learn about what interests the pupils.

Missed all of David Noble's bit because my laptop went on go slow. :-( One bit I did catch was that the people in charge of probationers in his authority thought that a TeachMeet was an unprofessional way to do teacher development. :-)

Next up was Gordon Brown who was also struggling against a slow machine while trying to show some SQA websites. Games based learning, online training and e-portfolio.

The final seven minute presentation in this section was from Iain Hallahan who started by sharing some of his mistakes but also some of the opportunities that he grabbed.

Before a short break, John Daly showed off some fantastic contraptions.

TeachMeet Student Edition... And We're Off

Only a little late. we start. Iain's not here and nobody else seems to know how to start a Flashmeeting so at the moment, nobody can see us remotely.

Jaye Richards was up first and gave a quick romp through some of the tools she uses to develop a network of professionals who help her be a better teacher.

Next up was Katie Barrowman who gave a brief demo of Glow. Good to see real uses by real teachers. {During Katie's bit, David Noble arrived and set up Flashmeeting. Huzzah!}

Then Stuart Meldrum described his experience of his probationary year. He used Prezzie to show what his year was like. WHat helped him get through the year. Coffee! Or more importantly, other teachers - people to talk to. Find something to take your mind off teachers. Observe other teachers.

Finally, in the first section of the evening, we had a two minute presentation from Francis Dickson who talked about RoboSapien. Can be acquired very cheaply on eBay. Francis got one for £11 including postage!

I love it when a TeachMeet comes together...

A few weeks ago when I made the How to organise a TeachMeet in four weeks! post, I wasn't sure if we could pull it off but it looks like it's all coming together nicely.

I love the way so many people have pulled together and pitched in. It's not right to single out one person... but I would like to say that I've been feeling guilty because I hadn't done anything about sponsorship and with time running out I was very pleased to see that John has made first contact with the teaching unions.

So, please go to the TeachMeet Student Edition site and see what you can do to help make the first Student focused TeachMeet a success.

How to organise a TeachMeet in four weeks!

Announcing TeachMeet Student Edition 09 - #tmse09

The proposed date of 9th June is an insanely tight deadline but I thought it was worth a try. What's the worst that can happen? :-)

Some time ago I floated the idea of having a TeachMeet that was pitched at student and probationer teachers (TraineeTeachMeet). It was generally felt to be a good idea. I started some initial work and a very competent and wonderful student from Glasgow University, who was at TeachMeet Borders, did some work checking out venues etc. However, deadline doom took over my life and I dropped the ball.

I am not at all sure that it is possible to organise a TeachMeet in four weeks but thought it was better to try and fail than not to try at all.

I've created the wiki page (PBWorks now I notice rather than PBWiki) and I'll do some more publicising and organisation this afternoon. However, that's it officially launched. It's an unconference, so lets see what we can do, together, in four weeks!