There are many people in the same situation as I find myself, who have been teaching science for a while but still have a desire to improve their craft. I’ve seen various changes in government, the curriculum and exam specifications. All of these have an impact on my role as a teacher that I have to respond to. Who do you turn to for an opinion or to ask a quick question?
The Association for Science Education (ASE) realised that many conscientious science teachers want someone to talk to too. Whilst the ASE has a developing community on its own forums, it recognises the role that social media can play in bringing teachers together as a community for professional development.
The ASE selected Twitter as a medium for teachers to talk to communicate, as it allows members to find each other’s’ posts easily. Twitter can be accessed using many different pieces of software from the web, smartphones and tablets, so that everyone can access the conversation (and from anywhere!).
ASE Chat happens every Monday from 8:00 until 9:00 pm, although there may be teachers talking science at any point through the week. If you are familiar with Twitter and have an account, you need to use the #ASEChat tag on posts and replies that you want to be a part of the ASE chat discussion. For those of you that are new to Twitter or want a little help, check out my guide here which I’ll try to keep updated (there is a downloadable version on this page for those of you who like paper!).
The best way to find out how it works it to give it a try by following my guide and starting to chat!
