A South African headmaster is hoping to connect teachers through social media by running a series of Twitter conferences.
Preston, headmaster at Elkanah House Senior Primary School in Cape Town, runs Twitter conferences for teachers through hashtagging #educhatsa to lead discussions based on a collaboratively decided topic.
Originally from the United Kingdom (UK), Preston started the initiative for South Africans.
Speaking to HumanIPO, Preston explained a venue was needed for the teachers to connect and as it was rather hard to get together physically online hosting proved to be a good solution.
The conference happens every Monday at 8.30pm, following topic suggestions which open up at 3pm on the day of the conversation.
Topics vary from technology to classroom management.
The general attendance has grown from eight to nine active tweeters to anything between 20 and 30 engaged in discussion.
Online attendees are mostly of the older generation, Preston revealed.
The online conversation takes a rather informal tone, focusing on the interaction of professionals and using twitter as a tool.
Preston motivated the use of Twitter above Facebook as Twitter is much more “open” for discussion purposes and more teachers seem to be active on this platform rather than Facebook.
The headmaster thinks Twitter can be a great asset to classrooms.
Preston also runs a site called Head Thoughts: Personal Reflections of a Headmaster, which provides tips and other resources for teachers.
