Primary Bits and Bytes

(Posted by Dughall)

Friday 26th March, 6.00 – 9.30 pm Doncaster South CLC

I’ve mentioned Teachmeet in this blog before (here, here and here). So what is it? Well, boiled to its bones, it is good quality, free CPD.

I first encountered a Teachmeet at the BETT show in January 2009 and was an instant fan. Teachers (and others with a direct involvement in education) took to the stage and spoke enthusiastically about things they were doing in classrooms. They were short, punchy, informative presentations of ideas and resources that you were left feeling you could probably use in your classroom the following day.

Hearing first hand from practitioners about things they have tried, things that have worked and problems encountered and solved is very powerful.

One of the nice things about Teachmeets is that although they are increasingly happening all over the place, technology allows anyone to attend via the internet. This ‘virtual’ attendance can be entirely passive or might involve a degree of participation from ‘afar’. These distance contributions might be actual presentations (via web-conferencing) or may be texted questions or comments.

I have now attended a number of Teachmeets in person and virtually and I have also given presentations in situ and virtually. In the spirit of Teachmeet, I have shared examples of my own practice in the classrooms of Kirklees.

Last year, I went to Manchester for a Teachmeet with some Kirklees teachers (one of whom spoke enthusiastically about the use of the DBPrimary Learning Platform with her Foundation Stage children). We shared a lift and on the return journey we were buzzing with the ideas that had been shared. We also decided that there was a need for something like this to happen closer to home. This was a seed sown.

Since then, plans have taken shape, cogs have slotted together and wheels have turned and Teachmeet Yorkshire & Humberside will be taking place later this month (26^th March).

One of the considerations for this event was to make the venue as accessible as possible for people to attend from a wide area – this is why we decided upon Doncaster – with its access to A1/M62 and other major roads. Doncaster South CLC is a fantastic, modern, flexible venue where attendees can come and know that they can attend in comfort, borrow a laptop or connect their own (if they wish). Credit must also be given to Damian Ward (Curriculum Manager at the CLC) for his work in helping this to get off the ground and for his excellent publicity materials. (Poster) (Flier).

So here’s where you come in.

• Please head over to Website and read a bit more about the event.
• Please consider whether you might be able to come along for some or all of the evening.
• If you can’t come, please consider checking in via the internet (a link with details will appear on the Teachmeet Y&H page closer to the date).
• Print off the poster and display it in the staff room, notice board(s), corridor(s) etc
• Print off the flier(s) and distribute accordingly.
• I know that you are doing or have done something with your pupils worth sharing with others – please consider sharing your practice with others on the night by signing up for a presentation.

I sincerely hope to see you there.

By all means contact me directly if you would like to know anything more about it or if you have any questions. dughall.mccormick@kirklees.gov.uk

(Posted by Dughall)

I always enjoy the annual BETT show at Olympia. As well as being an opportunity to get up to date on the latest developments in educational technologies, it is also an excellent chance to meet, network and catch up with educators who have inspired me virtually or in real life.

This year, though, promises to surpass previous year’s experiences for one fundamental reason – teachers are taking over! By this, I mean that there is a far greater emphasis on ‘learning’. As Ian Usher puts it in his blog:

“During various threads on Twitter about BETT – including a mainly productive one on Tips for (new) visitors to BETT – I opined how BETT would, to my mind, benefit significantly from having an “L” in its title (and core purpose) similar to the one in SLF – the Scottish Learning Festival, which was tellingly formerly titled SETT.”

Well this year it promises to be an ‘L’ of a BETT show with 4 significant ‘fringe’ features:

Firstly  TEDx Orenda.

On Wednesday 13th Jan at 6pm there will be a FREE TEDx event with a stimulating line-up of inspirational speakers from diverse backgrounds (from a London cabbie to the man who brought us Moshi Monsters). TEDxOrenda at BETT is an individually organised TED event that epitomises the tradition of TED as a vehicle for ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’.

One thing that is guaranteed is that the speakers will be sharing stories that will be of interest and inspiration to educators from every sector.
More details of the TEDxOrenda event can be found here.
The event is FREE and tickets are available from here.

On Thursday 14th January, there will be a free AmplifiED event, again from 6pm. AmplifiED follows a Barcamp, unconference model and is essentially a participatory event that involves table discussion around topics and themes. In this case, the topics for discussion will be education-based and possibly provoked by the BETT show itself.
More details of the AmplifiED event can be found here.
The event is FREE and tickets are available from here.

Last year, the highlight of the BETT show for me was the Teachmeet that took place on the Friday evening. It was my first Teachmeet and had a profound impact on me. I blogged about it at the time.

This year, on Friday 15th at 6pm a similar Teachmeet event will take place. For those unfamiliar with the Teachmeet format, it is an event that consists of short (2min or 7 min) presentations given by practitioners. These presentations are about great ideas and what works well in the classroom.
More details of the Teachmeet event can be found here.
The event is also FREE and although there are no formal ticketing arrangements, you are encouraged to sign up to the wiki (above).

Finally, Teachmeet ‘Takeover’ will be happening throughout Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In a nutshell:

What is TeachMeet Takeover?

• Short time slots of 30 minutes or less on vendor stands throughout the course of the show.
• Teachers taking over – no affiliation to the vendor or obligation to help sell their products.
• Education professionals talking about FREE ideas.
• Informal presentations of good, quality ideas that you don’t need to pay for.
• Vendors sign up for time on a wiki.
• Educators put their name down in a time slot to talk on the wiki.

Tom Barrett is the chief instigator of Teachmeet takeover and you can find out more on his blog.

If you are going to BETT this year, do try to add a little extra ‘Learning’ to the mix with one, some or all of the above. If not, many of these events will be available through archived video or even live streams from the events themselves.

If you aren’t able to attend in person, watch this space for a post-match report. It promises to be a BE(L)TTER!