Hi, I had planned to come but what put me off was travelling from Holmfirth through busy Friday traffic on the motorways after a long week. I’ve done enough journeys in my life where I had no choice but to do just that and so that’s why I didn’t come. For me I’d come if it was more local to me. Sound’s like I missed a great evening though! I agree also about opening it up to the ‘anything that works/has worked well’ idea.

Hi Dan, I have to agree with you on this; even though I have not attended a Teachmeet in person I always get the impression that most of the attendees are advocates of the use of and further use of technology in the classroom. There are many teachers who might not go willingly due to the event held traditionally on a Friday but also because the event is aimed at the use of technology in the classroom, they would not be keen to be seen sitting alone or huddled in groups in a room of devotees.
When I held my own Teachmeet in Gran Canaria the response was twofold – lots of interest for the event but minimal turn up for the night. There are many other avenues open for Teachmeets and the one factor that makes a it worthwhile is the speed of informative and illuminating presentations. As you have pointed out, many a CPD meeting would be better spent learning from your colleagues than sitting for one hour listening to one speaker.
A possible format for future TeachMeets could be drawn up along the lines you have suggested and I’m quite certain more teachers would be willing to attend.

Hi Dan – I enjoyed your post and your reflections about the NW event.
I do think that Friday night is a good night for staff, as Lois says, getting up for school the next day may often deter people from fully relaxing and enjoying themselves. Whichever night is chosen some people will not be able to attend – in my opinion Friday is best so people can go on to a TeachEat. This has often been a great extension of the night as conversations continue.
When I was at the SLF this year I caught up with Ewan McIntosh who, as you know is the founder of the original idea. We talked about TeachMeets this year and he reiterated how they were never meant to have a solely tech focus. They were always meant to be about sharing good examples of teaching and learning. I agree that the emphasis needs to return to this more clearly.
I also agree that I would love to listen a 2 minute nano from a teacher talking about a great display they did in their classroom. We need to see more of that in future Teachmeets as it will encourage new people to talk about successes they have experienced outside technology.
Often the current topics on the wiki for talks may deter people – as you may look down a speaker/topic list at a normal conference – exploring the wiki is the same thing. Hard to influence what people put down – but as I have already said I hope that other examples are shared in future events.
I would recommend anyone setting up a TM to try and raise early sponsorship to use on emailing schools across a region. To get the message into staff rooms – to get the message outside of the echo chamber beyond the well trodden paths of communication we all use.
Another important part of the event is that it is voluntary – would you get the same type of atmosphere if people were told they were having a TM? Just a thought.
Thanks again for your reflections.

Can someone post the link to the fruit machine name picker please? Must use it in class!

There are lots of good points made here. I wondered whether TMSuKe should have been on a Friday night or not, but each day is going to have pros and cons attached to it.
I am in the process of organising a TeachMeetMacro at school for our January Inset – the same TM concept, but just the staff at school. Voluntary attendance and free nibbles should hopefully be a good incentive!

Another difficulty that occurred to me is the freeness of it. Because it is free to attend, there is possibly an inherent suspicion that it is either (a) well-meaning but rubbish ["or they'd charge"], or (b) some form of secretive sales pitch.
That being said, I think that the vast, VAST majority of people who have attended a TeachMeet would happily sing the praises of a hyper-productive evening. To that end, I think it’s as important to sell the concept as much as the event itself. As my friend Alan says all the time, it’s about selling the benefits rather than the features!
I’m not suggesting for one moment that we charge for TeachMeets, more that we align ourselves as a benefit-filled opportunity for those attending, to avoid being misinterpreted, which is very possible.