My First TeachMeet

My reflections on my first TeachMeet at the naace conference in March 2010

I’ve just been to my second teachmeet. The first time I came across this bite sized innovative way of celebrating and sharing practice was at the BETT show in January (incidentally, it was the best thing that I saw there this year) and the venue tonight was Blackpool.

For the uninitiated, TeachMeet is an informal gathering of professionals interested in the use of technologies for learning who come together to share what they are doing in a refreshingly quick, snappy and concise way. The nearest thing I have experienced to this is an open mic night at a comedy club, where anyone can get up, do their bit and then get off. It makes for a very entertaining, informative and inspiring hour or so, as volenteers, randomly selected by an online fruit machine stand up for a maximum of seven minutes to talk about what they're doing.

Contributors presented in variety of ways, some using PowerPoint others showing examples of their and others work on the big screen, others just stood up and talked. The subjects varied from the implementaion of a city wide online survey to the use of Second Life to provide online CPD about esaftey to teachers.

Contributors presented in variety of ways, some using PowerPoint others showing examples of their and others work on the big screen, others just stood up and talked. The subjects varied from the implementation of a city wide online survey to the use of Second Life to provide online CPD about esaftey to teachers. All had to stick to simple rules:

* presentations no longer than 7 mins
* maximum of 1 minute set up time
* must be focused on how technology contributes to learning
* no commercials for software

These rules ensure that the pace is fast and the focus remains relentlessly on learning. The MC for the occasion was Drew Buddie (who is known to some secondary colleagues in Leeds as a pioneer of the use of learning platforms) who ensured that the event ran with pace and humour.

The really great thing about TeachMeet is that it's so time efficient, both to watch and to contribute. For the watcher, you hear about 10 stories an hour - that's 10 good ideas that inspire and make you want to find out more. If a presentation isn't relevant to you, you know that another one will along in a minute or two, so very little time is wasted. It reminded me of our Evolve Butterflies, but in real time. For the contributor, presentations are short, so no lengthy preparation time is required. It relies on what comes naturally to teachers, their ability to explain and get their ideas across quickly and simply.

I think there is real potential in TeachMeet for sharing ideas and practice, posing questions and celebrating success in all areas of learning, not just in the use of technology. It seems ironic that the ICT in education community came up with an idea that is so relies so little on technology, but the feel of these events capture one of the great traditions of this community, the willingness to share and collaborate.

If you want to find out more – here are some examples of TeachMeet at BETT this year from YouTube - or better still, get involved with TeachMeet at the Yorkshire and Humberside TeachMeet on Friday 26th March. Details of this are on the TeachMeet wiki, which sounds a bit geeky and technical, but really isn't. Anyone can read and sign up to this site, which contains information about upcoming and past events.

Maybe we'll do a LeedsTeachMeet .....