It started with a tweet

“RT if you agree – educators in Scotland should be sharing & connecting on Twitter using the #scotedchat hashtag – pls using it!!”

I have never caused a mini Twitter-storm before so this was new territory for me… I haven’t been using Twitter very long but in a short time I have found it to be one of the most valuable learning and development tools I use. I also observed that trailblazing teachers have come to the same conclusion – see the success of @UKEdChat and our very own @Pedagoo, as well as Twitter champions such as @cijane02, @mrkempnz and @markrpriestley to name just a few.

So I thought to myself:

Given how popular #UKEdChat is: why isn’t anybody using #ScotEdChat? And what would happen if I suggested that we should be using it?

It turns out that others might have been thinking the same thing. Previous attempts had been made at establishing #ScotEdChat but perhaps the timing wasn’t quite right. Before I knew it the tweet above had 214 engagements including 24 retweets and 41 hashtag clicks, it had started a few conversations, with ‘early adopters’ such as @fkelly, @mrspert1 and @athole getting right on board with the idea straight away. All of a sudden there was an expectation that #ScotEdChat might become an actual ‘thing’ so I continued to push it out there to see who else might like to get involved somehow, with no real idea of what #ScotEdChat was or could become.

Since then the hashtag has received more and more attention and people have been making suggestions as to what it could be and how it could run. So here is my summary of feedback received so far and where I think we are at now.

#ScotEdChat is:

• a regular week-long #SlowChat happening on Twitter – each chat has a voluntary host who chooses the topic, offers to pose the questions using the @ScotEdChat account and collates responses in a summary blog for the Pedagoo website, all using the #ScotEdChat hashtag,

• a new category on Pedagoo.org, complete with a forum for organising and discussion, anyone can make suggestions for topics and/or volunteer to host,

• an inclusive grassroots movement open to anybody wanting to continuously improve education in Scotland – this includes teachers, young people, parents, youth workers, 3rd sector organisations, etc,

• a place where people can freely chat about key issues in Scottish education (some of those mentioned were the attainment gap, teacher workload, professional learning/development, recruitment, standardised testing, learning using technology and a host of other issues)

• not a #moanathon,

• a place where the main objectives are (probably) learning, connecting and sharing,

• a place that allows for dialogue and “messy progress” – get involved to see where it takes you.

We even have a logo…

How to get involved

1. Have a look at the #ScotEdChat forum on Pedagoo and contribute your ideas
2. Get chatting on Twitter using #ScotEdChat
3. Tune in to the first #ScotEdChat – 5th November at 8.30pm