I have only just heard about this recently well actually just near the end of the holidays! I think it is a fantastic resource for teachers or others involved in education especially for their professional development. It is basically a weekly online conversation that takes place between 8-9pm at night although you may not take part in this live – you can always read the archived documents and respond to it afterwards if you feel that it is a bit full on. I took part in the live session last week and it was at a hectic pace but I really enjoyed it and had to read over the archived stuff afterwards to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
I should also point out that there is also a similar one that takes place called EDCHAT which is mainly based in the states but many UK teachers take part in this too. I have done for the last year or so and often do it live although sometimes it is a 4am (yes I don’t sleep a lot!) You can follow these conversations via twitter by using #edchat.
How does it work?
A weekly poll decides the debating topic, providing ideas, resources, and free CPD for those who participate. To find out more about it and how you can participate in many different ways please visit: http://ukedchat.wikispaces.com/ As I mentioned before you can also visit this link to view or download the archived chats: http://ukedchat.wikispaces.com/ukedchatArchive or follow the feed on twitter #UKEDCHAT.
I think this is a great way of sharing ideas etc and please pass on these details or forward the site link to everyone in your schools. I have included it in my schools annual learning newsletter as a fantastic resource for teachers – have a think about how you can share this with the teachers that you work with too.
For more information on how it works you can also check out a great blog post by @ianaddison at http://ianaddison.net/?p=288
What do you think about #ukedchat? Have you taken part? Have you heard that there is going to be a conference next year? On a more serious note – will they change the time of it now as it clashes with Waterloo Road – ha ha!