#GAeConf20 TeachMeet

The past month has seen some extraordinary times. When I first learnt of the demise of the annual Geographical Association Conference, it was heartening that Harriet and the team set their sights on creating an online version.

I'm pleased that I could play a small part in this by hosting the 6th GA Conference TeachMeet. This is embedded above. Thank you to the 340 or so that joined at the time. Since then, there have been over 1000 views. Visit the YouTube page to find the links to each presentation and additional resources.

I haven't checked the facts but:
- The largest attendance of a TeachMeet
- The youngest story teller: Theo, aged 5.
- An audience of enthusiastic lurkers from all around the world.

A massive thank you to:
- The story tellers - 14 brilliant chats about simple ideas that work.
- The enthusiastic lurkers who flooded Twitter and YouTube with comments, communication and collaboration.
- The GA team for continuing to support the event.
- Discover the World Education who have sponsored every event.

Next year, the event will return to its face-to-face roots, although I am very tempted to curate another virtual version also to increase participation. What do you think? I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments below.

Comments

Year 10 need your help! Can we get Twitter and Facebook in to a GCSE project?

I’ve been told that social media has no place in the classroom. Now, this post is not to battle that argument head on. Let’s smash it. This week, Year 10 are visiting Hengistbury Head . They are investigating whether this piece of coastline should be protected. They are wondering what you think? You may know the location well, you may not know it at all. But we’d like to hear from you all the same. This will either result in some usable data and comments, or not. Either way, we'll know and I’m sure that your comments will help spark discussion in class! What would Year 10 like me to do? Just simply comment on this post or tweet me, with an answer to this question: ‘Should Hengistubury Head be protected from the Sea? Just answer Yes or No and give a brief reason. It would also be useful if you could tell us whether you know the area or not. Many thanks in anticipation…… Image – my own.

Banned Word Board

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What makes a learning experience profound? Personal reflections and possible implications for classroom practice.

I have recently begun a Leadership Pathways journey. As part of the first core day, we were asked to reflect on a profound learning experience. This got me thinking about how many profound learning experiences I have both been involved in, and how many I have been able to give to others. Our group came up with a huge long list, but these are my five. Emotional Connected Demanding Reflective Collaborative As always, these are personal thoughts and quite mixed up. I put them here so that I can look back on them (plus they’d get lost inside my world-cup-free brain) 1. Emotional I can’t think of a time where deep learning hasn’t engaged my emotions. From being awe inspired to that tingle feeling when a student gets a light bulb moment. From this-is-the-happiest-day-ever, to I-think-I’m-about-to die. How often do we engage the emotions of those we teach? Here, I would argue that having a safe learning environment i...

David Rogers

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