If you’ve not heard about Clubhouse, it’s only a matter of time. EduTwitter and teacher Reddit are already awash with discussions about how to use the app and who to connect with on it.

But how does it differ from other social media platforms? And why is there such an interest from people working in schools?

Here are the answers to the key questions:

What is Clubhouse?

Clubhouse is an audio social media platform. It’s like a cross between a camera-free Zoom call, Twitter and a panel at a conference.

When you log in, you’ll see “rooms’” that you can join. You enter as a listener; you can’t just join in and speak. Instead, you have to be made a speaker by the admin of the room (you can request to speak by “raising your hand”).

This set-up makes it handy for those who want to just take a passive role and listen, and, equally, it’s great if you want to get stuck in and open your own rooms and speak yourself.

Why would teachers want to use it?

Teachers can use it to listen in to interesting conversations about education and other subjects, too. It could be general knowledge, their subject area, pedagogy, human behaviour: there’s something for everyone.

Clubhouse’s biggest selling point is that it allows you to listen to different views. On other social media platforms, choosing who to follow and who can follow you can create echo chambers, but the settings on Clubhouse mean you can hear from anyone worldwide, on any topic. There are rooms for relationship advice, how to be a successful person, branding and marketing, advice for first-time house buyers… 

And what Clubhouse rooms are there for teachers?

Every Wednesday there is an Ed Clubhouse discussion, with topics varying from school culture to curriculum and everything in between. There are structured discussions, with opportunities for debate and questions. Teachers can listen and join in.

There are also plenty of other edu-rooms, although these are quite American-based at the moment.

Why are teachers so interested?

There are no Saturday conferences or face-to-face CPD courses running at the moment, so Clubhouse is perhaps satisfying the urge to chat through education issues with other interested professionals.

Clubhouse also differs from other social media platforms in that it is all about voice, without photos, so the non-image-based element may be more appealing.

What do I need to do to sign up?

At the moment, Clubhouse is invite-only and is currently only available to iPhone users. This is apparently deliberate to ensure that its servers aren’t overloaded. There are threads on Twitter and Reddit where you can ask for an invite.

Thanks to Amy Forrester, Nimish Lad and Shannen Doherty for their help in writing this article