Week 30 Activity 6: Using social online networks in teaching and professional development
Create a blog post where you critically discuss the use of social media in YOUR teaching and professional development.
Following these steps might help
Think about your own practice. Some of you may already be an active social media user either in personal or professional purpose while others may prefer to be more precautious towards the potential exposure the social network tools can entail.
Either way, using these questions to guide your thoughts:
How much have you utilised the social media in your teaching practice? In what way?
I have used social media at times in my teaching practice. I have not used it extensively although I have used G-Suite, Moodle and other ICT/e-learning platforms to deliver content to my English classes. In the past I have been coordinator of a classroom which had available one-to-one iPads for students. I did use Twitter and a Facebook page to connect students with their learning as well as connecting with each other. I was aware that my Year 9 class were using some social networking sites to connect with each other. I was keen to harness this experience so that students could engage in conversations about their work and what they had found out when researching a topic. The Innovating Pedagogy (2016) site suggests that social media, “can offer a range of learning opportunities, to access expert advice,encounter challenges, defend opinions and amend ideas in the face of criticism” I certainly had these ideas as goals for our digital class and hoped that by using these tools we could be a model for other teachers who taught their subject in this class.
One way in which I used social media was through the Twitter platform. We used it for film study and I encouraged students to tweet each other about aspects of the film we were studying.
Create a blog post where you critically discuss the use of social media in YOUR teaching and professional development.
Following these steps might help
Think about your own practice. Some of you may already be an active social media user either in personal or professional purpose while others may prefer to be more precautious towards the potential exposure the social network tools can entail.
Either way, using these questions to guide your thoughts:
How much have you utilised the social media in your teaching practice? In what way?
I have used social media at times in my teaching practice. I have not used it extensively although I have used G-Suite, Moodle and other ICT/e-learning platforms to deliver content to my English classes. In the past I have been coordinator of a classroom which had available one-to-one iPads for students. I did use Twitter and a Facebook page to connect students with their learning as well as connecting with each other. I was aware that my Year 9 class were using some social networking sites to connect with each other. I was keen to harness this experience so that students could engage in conversations about their work and what they had found out when researching a topic. The Innovating Pedagogy (2016) site suggests that social media, “can offer a range of learning opportunities, to access expert advice,encounter challenges, defend opinions and amend ideas in the face of criticism” I certainly had these ideas as goals for our digital class and hoped that by using these tools we could be a model for other teachers who taught their subject in this class.
One way in which I used social media was through the Twitter platform. We used it for film study and I encouraged students to tweet each other about aspects of the film we were studying.
I imagined that students would embrace this platform enthusiastically. The reality was that students of this age and demographic needed to be taught the skills of online interaction when it came to school study. A number had experience of social networking but it was of the cryptic and sometimes abusive kind, therefore, we had to introduce into our cyber safety course how students should interact with each other in a social networking environment. The establishing safeguards clip from Netsafe points out that it is important that teachers establish a clear purpose for introducing social networking into a classroom. Once that is done then to ensure everyone, students and teacher, are clear about the aim of why social networking has been introduced into the lesson.
One area that I did have some success with, and whether this could be in the realms of social media, was the use of Google apps with teachers in my learning area. We began to use the Google docs for our meeting agenda and minutes. We shared resources, used shared folders and I started to make use of the Google Calendar and invited members of the department to meetings etc. However, this requires a strong commitment from the department to use these tools so that we all benefit from the technology. The use of G-Suite is also something that I encouraged and all teachers in the department are using this.
References
Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrived on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/han...
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.
One area that I did have some success with, and whether this could be in the realms of social media, was the use of Google apps with teachers in my learning area. We began to use the Google docs for our meeting agenda and minutes. We shared resources, used shared folders and I started to make use of the Google Calendar and invited members of the department to meetings etc. However, this requires a strong commitment from the department to use these tools so that we all benefit from the technology. The use of G-Suite is also something that I encouraged and all teachers in the department are using this.
References
Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrived on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/han...
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.
Hi Brian. I agree with your comment about having to teach students how to use online learning for educational purposes and how to interact safely and meaningfully. I started using Google + community pages late last year thinking my students would enjoy it and embrace it willingly, but this is not the case. I thought about it and realised that their lack of enthusiasm came from the obligation to then interact and contribute for their learning. They did not want to do that and once they joined the page they were then obliged to do so. I posed this question to them and they agreed!
ReplyDeleteYes online apps does require strong support and a commitment from all stakeholders to be successful, to be maintained and for it to use fully utilised in the ways it is designed for.
Great read Brian. I like the way you created a Facebook page to connect students with their learning as well as connecting with each other. I am looking at setting up my Year whanau group. I did ask if that was a good idea and they all agreed that it would benefit them and we could communicate things like ideas, homework and any panui(newletter) that might have forgotten about. So its abput keeping the link between myself and my students. Im interested on hearing your views on this seeing you set one up for them. Keeping in mind that we are bound to the code of ethics and a solid platform needs to put in place first. I am really looking forward to working with them on this- ethically and professionally. Yes we use google docs too and that is a brilliant tool and they can complete Assessment standards and submit at school or home for grading. Like wise we can peruse in the comfort of our own home. So well done.
ReplyDelete"I imagined that students would embrace this platform enthusiastically". That's how, possibly you articulated so well all (or most of ) the educators 'dreams'. Then in the subsequent line you so truly, identified our reality, fear. But I am hopeful and strongly align my thoughts with you, that we have to 'train' our students. Thanks for an interesting article.
ReplyDeleteGood comment Nazmui. I think that just because we introduce students to learning using apps they understand and use with their friends that somehow that will allow them to embrace a teaching and learning platform. This is not always the case. For some students, the internet and computers are compartmentalised into stuff we do out of school because we choose to as opposed to that which we as educators want them to do. Or require them to.
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