Week 30 - Activity 6 - Professional Online Social Networks
What social media platform do you feel best supports engagement with your professional development? Why?
In Karen Melhuish’s Master Thesis (2013), she reports that generally (or traditionally), when teachers participate in professional learning, it has usually been decided upon by policy makers, senior management. Their professional development may be bound by tight budgets, or perhaps restricted by other impending school priorities. Sometimes professional learning may be forced upon educators, or they may feel they cannot have control of their own learning, even though research states that it’s important that adults learners have agency and control over their own learning pathways and processes (Darling-Hammond, ChungWei, Andree, Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009; Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2011).
In the ‘Connected Educators’ video (Office of Ed Tech, 2013, Sep 18), Tom Whitby, a high school English teacher and the founder of #edchat says, “...the idea of collaboration was always in education...go back thousands of years and educators would collaborate. But technology has taken us to a level where we can collaborate beyond our wildest imaginations.”
There are numerous benefits for educators if they choose to connect with other educators through the use of professional online social networks, Other people who shared their views on the ‘Connected Educators’ video, expressed that connecting with other educators online is the most impactful thing you can do as an educator. It helps you reflect upon a question we may ask ourselves, ‘how do you know you’re doing well?’. Teachers can share ideas with communities worldwide, almost instantly, anywhere, anytime. Engaging with others through Twitter helps educators to feel supported, reassured, and never alone. Tweet a question and have an answer 5 minutes later from a teacher in another country. Some educators even felt that all their professional needs are met through the use of Twitter. Our desire for learning as professionals can be met using technology tools such as Twitter (Office of Ed Tech, 2013, Sep 18).
In Karen Melhuish’s study (2013), she found that 46% of teachers she surveyed, decided to join the VLN Groups Network was because they wished to be more engaged in professional learning.
The main reason why I am on Twitter is because I believe it helps to quench my thirst for my own professional life-long learning. I think I am moving from being mostly a ‘lurker’, to being someone who contributes more of my own ideas, thoughts, and perspectives online.
I would like to explore VLN which is a social networking site provided by the Ministry of Education. Do you use it? If so, do you find it helpful?
What are potential challenges that teachers need to be aware of when integrating social networking platforms into teaching activities? Why?
Making sure the students understand that you need to be cautious about what you put onto social media or anywhere on the internet. They also need to be aware of the threat of predators and cyberbullies (Social Media For Kids, 2014, Aug 15).
From viewing Joosten’s presentation (2013, October 22), I gleaned that as teachers we need to be mindful that ‘face-to-face’ interaction is important for developing social skills in our students. Finding a healthy balance between that, and ‘online social skills’ is key.
References
Darling-Hammond, L., Chung-Wei, R., Andree, A., Richardson, N., & Orphanos, S. (2009). Professional learning in the learning profession: A status report on teacher development in the U.S. and abroad. National Staff Development Council, Stanford University: California, US. Retrieved from http://www.learningforward.org/docs/pdf/nsdcstudy2009.pdf
Joosten, T.( 2013. October 22). Pearson: Social Media for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/tjoosten/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-27456257?ref=http://professorjoosten.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/pearson-social-media-for-teaching-and.html
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2011). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Oxford, England: Elsevier Inc.
Melhuish, K. (2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato.
Office of Ed Tech. (2013, Sep 18). Connected Educators. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=216&v=K4Vd4JP_DB8
Social Media For Kids (2014, Aug 15) Social Media For Kids® The Social Media Education Experts.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2rOekhi20E
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