One such tool, which the Chartered Teacher Glow group will attempt to make full use of, is Glow Meet.  This is a web conferencing tool which can connect eductors from around the country live for a set time, only requiring that they have a Glow login, access to the web, and computer speakers (with webcam and mic optional).  Below is a list of the Glow Meet sessions which are open to all members of the group (to join the CT Glow group click here):

The first session takes place on Thursday, 29th October from 7.30pm to 8.15pm. Details are below:

Title: October Glow Meet: Discussion on the Revised Standard for Chartered Teacher
Begin: 29/10/2009 19:30
End: 29/10/2009 20:15
Description: David Noble and Dorothy Coe from the Association of Chartered Teachers Scotland will chair this discussion session. In preparation, the Standard for Chartered Teacher is available for download here.

You will be able to listen to the discussion and, if you wish, contribute via your mic or webcam, or by typing in the text-chat area. To enter the Glow Meet, click on the link before 7.30pm on the 29th. Then follow the on-screen prompts. Comprehensive guides on using Glow Meet are available here.  Alternatively, email actscotland@yahoo.com and request a one-to-one GlowMeet trial.

Please remember that you need to join the Chartered Teacher Glow Group before you can participate in one of the above Glow Meets.

The ACTS Committee met at Woodfarm High School, East Renfrewshire on Saturday, 25th April.  David was pleased to report that there were 98 Full and Associate members of the association, with email and letter membership invitations being sent out to those who attended the recent reception at the Scottish Parliament and who are not yet members.

A brief discussion took place reflecting on the success of the reception.  Duncan was thanked for organising the fantastic musical segments during the morning.  It was felt that the committee had ensured that the event was well organised and run, with some pointers for development.  Fiona Hyslop’s keynote can be read here.

David asked that all those involved in the association consider sending him useful weblinks which may be of interest to Chartered Teachers.  This could include academic papers, news stories, resources, discussions etc.  All links will be hosted at the ACTS virtual library; details of which will follow.

ACTS will have a table at the GTCS/Scottish Government Chartered Teacher conference, which takes place at the Hilton, Glasgow on Saturday, 30th May, with a keynote from Andy Hargreaves.  A sub-committee is hoping to organise a social event close-by for after the end of conference.  Details will be contained in the next ACTS newsletter which is due to be issued before the end of the month.

ACTS and individual members are invited to take part in the national consultation on the GTCS (’Towards an Independent General Teaching Council for Scotland: Consultation on the future status of the GTCS’).  Some initial points were made, with the recognition that a longer discussion is necessary in order to construct a useful response.  The deadline for which is 26th June.

Finally, we looked into raising the idea of making a regular article contribution to the TESS and raised a request from HMiE for examples of ‘good practice’ by Chartered Teachers.

The next meeting of the ACTS committee will take place in Peebles on Saturday, 13th June.

ACTS can be contacted at actscotland@yahoo.com.

• Please click on the link to read the ACTS Reception report (thanks to Dorothy and Paddy)
  
• To watch an edited recording of the event, please click here
• An ACTS membership form can be downloaded from here.