Week 29
Using social online networks in teaching or professional development
An explanation of what what social media is.
Step 1 (Descriptive stage):
1. In teaching I have
to admit I see very little social media come into to the primary school
classrooms. In my school, social media such as Facebook, twitter and snapchat has
a block on it, but as for Youtube it is a different story, most teachers use it as a
teaching tool and use it for various teaching applications from Science,
Maths, Te reo to Dance, Physical Education and Webinars.
Step 2 (Comparative stage):
The use of a wide
range of positive social media applications in our school and it does have a
big budget because it require it. A lot of classroom work is on computer and
children have their own school blogsite. The students uploaded work to their blog
and share it with their families.
Social media in teaching
I think without a
doubt that using the some types of social media as a teaching tool is necessary
in today’s classroom. Social media has saved many hours of photo copying and
drawing on white boards or blackboards if you can remember using one. Digital data
can be stored and retrieved at will so this is a time save device essential for
the classrooms of the 21st Century.
Social media – webinars
and conferencing online means we can have a Professional Development training session
in the staffroom.
Does it tick all
the boxes – no not for the face-to-face team building that is, from time to
time, needed with teachers.
Social networking allows
its members to have that individual input where you can load on or off in your
own time.
I believe we as
teachers are time restricted and social network with social media allows us to
save time and participate. Community networks take time and build relationships
Step 3 (critical reflection):
Using the Reflecting
on reflective practices by Gibbs allows you the participant focus on the event
and describe what happened, it is important to do this when things are fresh in
your mind.
I was a little
surprised and at the importance the emotional / feeling play apart in this
process and when I reflected on this, I realised that our senses do help us
make decision. With this model, the action plan was a major key in making those
positive changes – If it happened again, what you would do; this is the most
powerful part of the reflection process.
We all want our children
and class to be a safe learning environment so use technology wisely and be
wise, smart and diligent. Watch the video clip before you show it and don’t use
the technology as a baby sitter. Teach you class social media etiquette and set
a positive tone for learning on computers.
References
Gibbs, G (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning
methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic
Melhuish, K.(2013). Online
social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional
learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved on 05
May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/han…
NZ Education Council.
(n.d.). What is social media . Retrieved June 16, 2017
from http://teachersandsocialmedia.co.nz/what-social-me...
Seaman, J., &
Tinti-Kane, H. (2013). Social media for teaching and learning.
Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved from http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-2013-report.pdf
Sharples, M., de
Roock , R., Ferguson, R., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Koh, E., Kukulska-Hulme,
A., Looi,C-K, McAndrew, P., Rienties, B., Weller, M., Wong, L. H. (2016). Innovating
pedagogy 2016: Open University Innovation Report 5. Milton Keynes: The Open
University. Retrieved from http://proxima.iet.open.ac.uk/public/innovating_pedagogy_2016.pdf
Silius, K.,
Miilumäki, T.,Huhtamäki, J.,Tebest, T., Meriläinen, J., & Pohjolainen,
S.(2010) ‘Students’ motivations for social media enhanced studying and
learning.’ Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International
Journal, 2, (1). Retrieved on 7th May,2015 from http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-p.
New Zealand Teachers Council discusses the importance of
establishing a clear purpose of social media use in one’s practice.
Source: Education
Council.(2012). Establishing safeguards.[video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49216520
Hi Paul, you raise some interesting comments in this blog entry around social media.
ReplyDeleteYes you are right about teachers being restricted by time and social media does allow us to take time to stop and communicate with others at a time that suits us and isn't restrictive of work hours. This gives us the flexibility to 'catch up' with others for professional discussion that isn't reliant on us all being their at the same time.
I also think you raise some interesting questions around 'face to face' contact and I also think that sometimes social media allows us to hide behind the protection of our computer screen and sometimes behind the anonymity of a user name. Both of which can have great advantages as well as disadvantages. Are we as honest or reflective as we can be if we are aware of the potential issues surrounding on line material, especially in light of the email from NZEI recently around ensuring we are professional with on online content and sharing.
Lots to think about.
Amanda
You bring up quite a few good points about social media Paul.
ReplyDeleteFace to face time is very important especially as those people usually work in the same environment and share the same problems. Using social media to share ideas with people you know and who cannot be in the same physical space is great too
Hey Paul. Thanks for your blog entry - it resonated with me in so many ways. In my school we have access to Facebook and Youtube, however a lot of other sites are blocked by N4L i.e. Mindlab readings and videos which is extremely frustrating. As part of being a reflective teacher, I want to make sure the children in my class have the skills necessary to access and use 21st Century learning. We are just about to embark on the exciting journey of introducing Google Classrooms to our senior school and this will enable them to create their own blogs and share their learning with others. However, for this to occur I need to undertake my own learning and I will do this online. Why? because as you mentioned Teachers are time poor and need to have the ability to communicate with a wider group of educators on topics that are important to them. You are however right when you state that face-to-face is important - however I believe that as teachers we are constantly discussing matters with the fellow teachers in our schools. Online learning however enables each person to access information about their needs and interests from people all over the world.
ReplyDelete+Paul Davies. I really enjoyed reading your blog as you mentioned many points that got me reflecting on my own practice regarding social media and how I use it. Similar to you, my school has many sites blocked that cannot be accessed, such as Mindlab. However, Facebook and YouTube can be accessed by teachers, which is very helpful for resource gathering, research, and in-class learning.
ReplyDeleteWe are currently in the process of implementing Google Classroom for Years 3-6 in our school. Our problem is that we do not have enough devices (iPads or computers) for our senior syndicate, as we have poor ratio of students per device (roughly 1:4) in comparison to our junior syndicate (roughly 1:2). Although still possible with careful management, this already presents a difficulty when incorporating social media into our learning. We will soon be setting up our children with a new social media platform, Google+ (within Google Classroom), which will allow children to share their in-class learning with others (parents, friends, etc) through blogs, will allow teachers to monitor children’s online behaviours, as well as a multitude of other possibilities. This links well with the 21st century skills of ‘collaboration’, ‘skilled communication’, and ‘the use of ICT for learning’ (Voogt & Roblin, 2010).
It is good to see that you have highlighted positives about social media. I like the fact that we can share ideas and find new ideas so we don’t have to ‘reinvent the wheel’ when creating templates and resources. It also enables us (teachers) to quickly communicate with people who have experience or expertise in an area we need. This also connects to the 21st century learning skills of ‘collaboration’ and ‘communication’, which we are expected to teach our children.
You mentioned ‘face-to-face’ time being important. I agree with this as we tend to gravitate to online ‘echo-chambers’ of our own thoughts and beliefs. It’s easier to find people who agree with you and not change what you do. When participating in online communities I feel that we need to expose ourselves to thoughts that may differ from our own, and participate in a respectful way. It is also useful to have our thoughts and beliefs challenged so we can improve as educators. We expect children to have their thoughts and beliefs challenged, why not us too?
References:
Voogt, J. & Roblin, N. (2010). 21st Century Skills Discussion paper. University of Twente. Retrieved from http://opite.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/61995295/White%20Paper%2021stCS_Final_ENG_def2.pdf