Chartered Teacher Glow Group

This group now has about 50 members, and the list is growing daily.  The first Glowmeet successfully took place on 29th October when an interesting discussion took place, including participants sharing how Glow is being taken up and used by their schools.  The scheduled Glowmeet sessions have been planned at different times of the day to try to find a regular time that suits most colleagues.  A list of the Glowmeets for session 2009-10 is here.  Please let us know your time preferences.  The next session is on Tuesday, 17th November at 4.15pm.  Glowmeet is the ideal forum for a widely-spread population of Chartered Teachers to communicate with and support each other.  Please try to join us.

Joining the Chartered Teacher National Glow Group

The Chartered Teacher Glow Group is open to Chartered Teachers and those on the route.  The ACTS Glow Group is within it.  To join, log into Glow, go to the National site tab, and click on the Chartered Teacher Glow Group in the list of “Groups you are not a member of”.  Ignore the unfriendly error message and click on the “Request membership” button.  You will be a member within 24 hours and the Group will appear in your list of “Groups you are a member of”.

Joining Chartered Teacher Glow Meets

Go to the National Site tab at the side and click on the National Groups tab at the top.  Then click on the Chartered Teachers Glow Group and click on “Join the Glow meet” within the Glow Meet box.  If you’ve not used Glowmeet before, you need to know that the Marratech software will be downloaded automatically and this can take a few minutes, so go and make a cup of coffee!  When it’s done, you may need to double click on it to open up the Glowmeet room.

You don’t need a webcam or even a microphone, though these will make the Glowmeet more lively for you; you will still see others who are using them.  You can take part simply by typing in the chat box and your comment will be seen by the other participants.  Full instructions with helpful screen shots are available in the Glow helpsheet, below.

Helpsheet for joining a Glow Meet room

Charitable Status

ACTS is awaiting confirmation of charitable status from OSCR; however this is expected shortly.

Winter Conference on Saturday, 6th February 2010: Engaging with new practice, research and policy

Arrangements are advancing fast for the planned ACTS Conference on Saturday, 6th February 2010 at the Stirling Management Centre.  Event organisers have now been engaged and we look forward to working with them to make the conference a success; complementing the GTCS Chartered Teacher conference later in the year.

We have been successful in attracting four main sponsors to support the conference.  We extend warm thanks to: the Scottish Government, Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Educational Institute of Scotland, and the University of the West of Scotland.  The conference will have a strong link to: implementing Curriculum for Excellence; recent policy changes of interest to those involved in Chartered Teacher;  CPD opportunities; educational research; and will provide a space for Chartered Teachers and those on the route to share their practice and research.  Teachers will be invited to showcase their pupils’ achievements in music, art, and digital media.  After the conference, a Teachmeet-style event will take place, followed by the ACTS AGM.

More details will available in the December newsletter, including how to apply for tickets and propose a workshop.

ACTS committee members are involved in establishing and running the Chartered Teacher Glow group.  Glow is Scotland’s national education intranet and has been signed-up to by all 32 local authorities.  This means that all teachers should have access to this online portal shortly; indeed many already have, with teachers around the country making use of the various embedded resources and communication tools.

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.