Teachers’ Rooms get teachers talking

eTwinners start networking and discussing through the Desktop “Teachers’ Rooms”. Create your own or join another today.

A Teachers’ Room is a tool on the eTwinning Desktop where colleagues with similar interests can talk using a forum and/or a chat. And what’s more: any eTwinner can create a Room! The only prerequisite is the presentation of an interesting topic or issue you would like to discuss in the Room. You may want to create a Room for a specific group of people (e.g., the eTwinning Ambassadors in your region), for an event (e.g., an eTwinning PDW or Contact Seminar), or for an open discussion with eTwinners in general (e.g., a Room on using podcasting for language learning).

How do I create a Teachers’ Room?

Creating a room is simple:

1. Go to the Teachers’ Rooms page on your Desktop
2. Go to “My Rooms” and then click on “create”.
3. Write a quick and engaging description telling your colleagues what the purpose of the Room is and submit.
4. Once the room is created, write the first message in the forum: this is important to get the discussion started!
5. At this point, with a good description and the first message posted, you can then start inviting your contacts and make the Room grow.

You can read more about how to create a successful Teachers’ Room in the Helpdesk.

What’s already out there?

Although Teachers’ Rooms are meant to be short-term discussion platforms, and should ideally only last up to three months, a few Rooms have developed in such a way that closing them would have been a shame, and so they are still open and maybe, one day, will grow up and become eTwinning Groups.

In addition to the Helpdesk Room, where you can ask questions and get fellow eTwinners’ support, there are Rooms on topics such as “how to promote eTwinning” or “how to use web 2.0 tools”; Rooms for eTwinners of a certain country; Rooms on learning a foreign language; and much more. There are literally dozens of Rooms available in all languages. So, if you want to participate or if you are simply curious, just search for a specific one if you have something already in mind, take a sneak peak at what is being discussed before joining. Everyone is welcome to read and, when you are a member, to contribute. Becoming a member is very simple: at the Room’s homepage just click on ‘join’ and wait for the administrator to accept your request.
 

Why should I join a Teachers’ Room?

In order to get a better sense of the interest and value of participating in Teachers’ Rooms, we asked the following questions to Daniela Arghir and Robert Conings, both moderators of successful Teachers’ Rooms.  Here’s what they had to say:
 

1. Why did you choose the subject of your Teachers’ Room?

“I first thought of creating a Teachers' Room on ‘eTwinning project trailers’ - a new concept for ensuring better visibility for our eTwinning projects. I knew I would love the fact that informally talking about various topics of interest without committing too much time to it (and effort, for that matter) would help develop eTwinning members' thinking and writing skills while allowing time for in-depth reflection.” Daniela Arghir, Romania.

“My Teachers’ Room ‘Web 2.0 applications and IT tools for international projects’ allows participants to exchange the latest apps and tools. Every day, there are new tools or apps to discover, what is impossible for one person to evaluate. Thanks to our colleagues who are writing articles about these tools, it is easier to have a quick view and a short summary about the value of each and every tool.” Robert Conings, Belgium.
 

2. How did you keep the conversation going?

“I usually presented content and questions at regular intervals; modeled effective communication protocols such as checking in, posting early, asking thoughtful questions, being respectful of others, thinking about grammar and spelling; provided links to further readings and to trailers to watch; designed activities such as discussion and debate, peer review, reflective diary writing; and finally, I summarised the discussions at least once every fortnight. Even before the Room was created I prepared a list of possibly useful materials such as links, video clips, pictures, short case studies, editorial posts, blog entries, stories, comments with the aim of having 'tools' to keep the conversation lively and interactive throughout the life of the Teachers' Room at my disposal. This list proved invaluable along the life of the Teachers' Room.” Daniela Arghir.


3. What tips would you give the eTwinners who are new to the Teachers’ Rooms?

“I think the most important factor to be considered is the need for each Teachers' Room member to take every opportunity to get to know the people they are working with. Additionally, moderators should be able to set the tone: write as you would speak; keep it friendly and informal, and beware of irony or cynicism. Also, keep the size of the Teachers' Room relatively constant, with identifiable individuals. Invite contributions at regular intervals, and if you yourself are the moderator and facilitator, be regularly and actively engaged, but not overwhelmingly present. Consider imposing a time delay when you respond to contributions in order to allow time for members to respond and collaborate with each other.” Daniela Arghir.

“(1) Find a Teachers’ Room that is interesting for you and your project. (2) Try to post an article on a regular basis to keep the Teachers’ Room active. (3) Refer to the Teachers’ Room on several occasions to increase the members of your Room.” Robert Conings.

As you can imagine, much discussion and many ideas come out of Teachers’ Rooms to help you along the way towards projects, Groups and professional development in general. Go to your Desktop and join a Teachers’ Room today!
 

Web Editor: Kapilar Gamze Published: 08.06.2011 Last changed: 12.10.2011