A TeachTweet? That's a novel idea!

cc: http://chriswallace.net/category/blog/icons/

While browsing around on one of my favourite applications, Twitter, I came across a couple of interesting tweets inviting folk in the UK to a TeachTweet! I know about TeachMweets (and love them) but TeachTweets?! Well luckily for me, it is all happening tonight (31st October) so I’ll be there virtually to investigate! It is all part of the #ukedchat Twitter chat.

The TeachTweet website
There is a TeachTweet website (http://ukedchat.com/teachtweet/) so I have taken a surf round it. Awesome! Just look at some of the presentations for tonight’s TeachTweet – and they know exactly what time they’ll be broadcasting!

So, what exactly is a TeachTweet?
TeachTweet is an online twist to the TeachMeet genre to bring the Twitter backchannel to the fore. @UKedchat and @ICTmagic host the events together, and they encourage educators to submit videos sharing ideas and innovation within schools. Wow, and this is the fourth one tonight!

I looked through some of the rules to get the gist of everything

• The sessions run from 8pm to 9.30pm approx, and we ask for pre-recorded* videos between 3-5 minutes long which can be viewed openly on sites such as YouTube or Vimeo** and discussed by the Twitter audience.
• We request that these are new presentations, please. The links to the videos will be tweeted out for the audience to watch, so they should be viewed in ‘near’ sync.  Please ensure you are available online during the session to talk or answer questions about your video (via twitter).
• If you wish to make a video to showcase during the session, please ensure you are free on the evening, so you are available to discuss your presentation and answer any questions from the audience, via the #ukedchat hashtag.
• *We are using pre-recorded videos to (hopefully) minimise technical problems.
• **We are using video sites because we wanted anyone to find the presentations easily on a range of devices within needing to sign in to a video discussion forums. This also lets us use Twitter for discussion where the audience can ‘@’ to people rather than just appearing in a feed and to feel more like a regular TeachMeet backchannel.

Previous sessions
There is a PDF link to previous sessions with their videos on their website.

There is a blog showing archived sessions: http://ukedchat.com/2013/03/28/session-144-teachtweet-session/

There is a Scoopit with links to previous presentations http://www.scoop.it/t/links-from-ukedchat-sessions (usually stored on the presenter’s blog)

There is a form for signing up to present at future sessions.

Last night’s session (Session 175 – TeachTweet 5)
So, last night (31 October) I tuned in to the TeachTweet’s #ukedchat and lurked...and watched the videos! Fascinating! Exciting! As the short videos were watched individually at the assigned time, so the attendees at the #ukedchat Twitter chat commented on what was being said in the videos.

Here are the video links:

1. James Abela (@eslweb) Vector Drawing with PowerPoint –View the video here.
2. Lee Parkinson (@ICT_MrP) - The power of the internet to inspire writing. View the video here.
3. Alessio Bernardelli (@asober or @Collaborat_Ed) - Peer Assessment with Aurasma. View the video here.
4. Jon Tait (@TeamTait) – The Global Classroom; how to use SKYPE to create a global classroom. View the video here.
5. Hannah Tyreman (@HannahTyreman) – Feedback strategies and methods. View the video here.
6. David Obst (@david_obst) - How to make your own high-speed video. View the video here.
7. Martin Burrett (@ICTmagic) - Tricks and Treats for your classroom. View the video here.
8. Andy Lewis (@iTeachRE & @TalkingDonkeyRE) - ”Dazzle Us!” Our Family Learning Project. View the video here.
9. Danny Nicholson (@dannynic) - Interactive resources for teaching Science. View video here.
10. Andy Knill (@aknill) - Mishmash reflection. View the video here.
11. Daniel Harvey (@DanielHarvey9) - Applying research models to classroom practice. View the video here.

Well done on this fantastic innovation #ukedchat. I love your idea of TeachTweets!