Introducing #SLTchat to all teachers, for ALL teachers.

August 2012: Quite simply, I’ve had a ‘lightbulb’ moment. Read the ‘Introducing’ sub-heading at the bottom of this post to get straight to the point!

Twitter Ideas:

I’ve seen a few great ideas on Twitter recently. One I have to keep very close to my chest for now… but, my particular favourite must be by @MrMicahelShaw of TES. He writes for the TESPro magazine (@TES) and broadcast on Twitter this evening, that the TES were creating a set of Teacher Twitter Trump cards. Now, if you’ve played top trumps and are tweeting, this sounds like lots of fun. So, I will be first in line to buy a set of cards!

Secondly, I have been responsible for signing up many colleagues to Twitter and taking part in many #hashtag chats myself, such as #PhDchat, #Edchat and #UKEdChat.

It has also been great to reconnect with old friends that I used to work with and also excite current colleagues to become connected. What’s even better, is the vast amount of twitter colleagues I have generated over the years and how many I have met, or ‘bought-in’ to lead CPD events at my place of work. Examples include @ActionJackson of The Fix Up Team; @MsVanessaS of The Rafiki Network; @LearningSpy and @PhilBeadle. It truly is a powerful forum and I cannot stress enough, how much Twitter can benefit Teacher-CPD, if introduced slowly, carefully and if demonstrated in it’s usual way, be informative and inspiring!

Eureka moment:

Today was one of those great moments all teachers take pride in when you see a child grasp something in the classroom they had previously struggled with. A eureka moment! Only 2 years ago, I introduced @MrSulemanMaths to Twitter, and tonight I watched as he started up his #UMFac (Ultimate Maths Faculty chat) on Twitter. It filled my heart with warmth…

So, @MrSulemanMaths, I may have inspired you to get signed up to Twitter but you have inspired me to get reconnected onto Twitter with my very own school forum too! Thank you.

What’s happening?

@LondonLeaders collapsed a few months ago. I never really got it started and only managed 2 or 3 successful weekly chats and polls over the past two years. I guess you could say I was rather busy dealing with redundancy and then @FreddieWM born 3 months too early!

You may also argue that I set myself up to fail with my 8th Twitter account and a long-winded and complicated hahstag #LndLdrs. It’s design by nature would hardly allow anyone across the country to engage with the forum; never-mind a name that was easy to remember or a chat that offered all teachers across the UK to be part of the gang!

Introducing:

So ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you #SLTchat (Senior Leadership Team Chat) – open to:

1. all those currently in school leadership across the UK.

2. for those who aspire to be in a school leadership team/position and,

3. for anyone who is interested in what senior teachers are discussing up and down the country.

Of course, the forum is a perfect opportunity to open up the debate for all and allow Twitterverse teachers to discuss their experiences and ideas.

I intend to start off SLTchat with a simple TwitPoll. The forum itself will take place for 30 minutes only – once a week, initially throughout September 2012 with a special introductory SLTchat tomorrow evening. The aim is, once the SLTchat hashtag is up and running, the hashtag tweet will run by itself and I and others will occasionally dip in and out of TwitPolls to keep the debate fresh and lively. The plan will be at least once a half-term – but it is entirely open for debate, as are the timings.

SLTchat Dates:

1. SLTchat: Friday 31st August 2012 (8pm – 8.30pm)
2. SLTchat: Sunday 9th September 2012 (8pm – 8.30pm)
3. SLTchat: Sunday 16th September 2012 (8pm – 8.30pm)
4. SLTchat: Sunday 23rd September 2012 (8pm – 8.30pm)
5. SLTchat: Sunday 30th September 2012 (8pm – 8.30pm)

So! What are you waiting for? Cast your vote now on the latest Poll and join in our SLTchat, every Sunday night, across the country. @SLTchat even trended on Twitter for it’s first two weeks! Look:

This poll is now offline.

Enjoy – @TeacherToolkit

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