Thanks to all the organisers of Teachmeet Moodle. It was a well spent 5 hours or so! I have a few reflections, some on the great Moodling I saw, and some on the Teachmeet format.
Moodle Reflections:
There were some superb presentations on the day – many of which are linked to on the Teachmeet Moodle wiki http://teachmeetmoodle.pbworks.com/TeachMeetMoodle – James Michie has also summarised and linked to some of the presentations on his Blog http://jamesmichie.blogspot.com/2010/07/teachmeet-moodle.html
My top highlights were:
James Michie‘s comprehensive but fast paced 72 slide presentation on Moodle in his school. It gave so many great example.
Gideon Williams fantastic presentation on Moodle plugins at his school
Helen Morgan’s presentation on how visuals can improve learning and participation – blindingly obvious, so simple to implement and proven good practice.
Dai Barnes presentation on quizzes in Music (with embedded music)
and Miles Berry on how he now uses Moodle in teacher training
But of the above I have to again mention Gideon Williams – it was the second time I have met him and both his style of presentation (lighthearted!) and amazing moodling were fantastic. If you want to see a great school Moodle I don’t think there is a better example than that of Perins School
Teachmeet Reflections:
I’ve lost count of how many Teachmeet’s I’ve now attended – probably around 10 now including one I organised at the Computing at School Hubs Conference. There is always discussion about how they should be structured and this one again was very different and I think very good. Here’s a few points of note about the structure on the day.
We started with a speednetworking session – everyone was given a table to fill in names, e-mail and expertise of other people and we went round to a whistle meeting person after person for a few minutes until we were told to move on. It was a great and simple way to network and get a good atmosphere in the room (especially as we has started at 10.30 am and there was little of the beer in the room that facilitates the networking in many teachmeets!)
We had one commercial presentation at the start – from the sponsors SchoolsICT – I think this was received well by the audience partly because they didn’t think to protest. But also because of the ethos of many Moodlers that if you are developing something to enhance Moodle then you are a good person. Personally, I thought it was a shame to start with this presentation, but I have no problem with a presentation from a sponsor – though there is an obvious red line when it becomes a sales pitch (this one wasn’t).
Time Limits were not kept to – I think some flexibility with time limits is good, some great presentation take a little more than the 7 minute teachmeet limit. But some timekeeping is necessary and Nano presentations become pointless if other presentations are allowed to go on and on. Short presentations also keep the audience attentive!
Video presentations – One pre-recorded screencast was shown – I don’t really think this is necessary as we schlepped all the way in we could have just watched the presentation in our own time. Live video presentations are another thing.
Overall, it was a very good teachmeet, it had a great friendly, informal and collaborative atmosphere. I think that’s what happens when you bring two great communities, teachmeet and moodle together.
Very thoughtful Dan, I have to agree with you about the video – pre-recorded not necessary but it would have been great if Ian Usher’s Connect meeting had worked, live video I believe does have a place.
As for the time limit, I am grateful the Camel was not present at #TMMoodle as I would certainly have fallen foul. That said I can see the purpose; having not stuck to the time limits it meant that a handful of people did not get to present. Had that been me I would have been gutted.
I thought the speed networking session was excellent and for me could have gone on for 10/15 minutes longer just so I could connect face to face with a few more people.
Overall, I found the day to be most enjoyable and certainly useful. The ensuing call for us to share Moodles is a discussion that needs to continue and turn into action.
Thanks for linking to my blog. I am going to add to my thoughts that I have posted thus far this evening and I will certainly include a link back to this post.
Regards
James.
Loved your preso on the ducks Dan. Makes schools the human place that they are with tech to remind everyone we are still human despite assessments, rules and governance.
I am now encouraging local wildlife (except foxes) into our playground so we can enjoy the same!
TMMoodle was great. Great to talk and share with others. And Moodle can be such a hub for all web2.0 work that it is rewarding to see other approaches.
Thanks for both comments. Dai – what we missed was a live webcam!
I really enjoyed your presentation Dan and it has given me ideas for how to promote whole college involvement through Moodle in a more fun way as the skills they learn through this kind of involvement can promote learning type.
This was my first Teachmeet and I was scared to share my classroom practice but am so glad I did. It was a great experience and I came away with so many implementable ideas…which is kind of the point :).
Thanks for the comments Helen – it was good to meet you and great to find your blog!