I am an avid user of social media in my personal life, being the social butterfly that I am, and it was only natural for me to also use it in my professional life. It helps that our Principal is also very connected and sees the importance and value of social networking as an educator.
I was inspired after watching the video "Connected Educators" as it articulated exactly what our Principal has been trying to push over the last few years in particular with regards to participating online to further our professional knowledge and connections.
As a Digital Team we have begun the journey with our staff toward becoming 21st century Educators so have shared some theory and practice ideas (baby steps). I am feeling, after doing the readings and watching the videos, that getting them connected online and participating more often could be a further step towards being a 21st century practitioner. In saying that, we already have some opportunities to connect digitally already.
As a staff we have taken part in a Webinar series for professional development and all have professional Portfolio's. We have a professional development Edmodo group where we post resources and videos and have discussions. Unfortunately this is not well used unless directed by the Principal. I'm not exactly sure why this is but my guess is the 'time' factor is the number one reason due to the already demanding workload of teachers. Also the lack of knowledge of how to use Edmodo could be a factor. Our school uses Twitter and Facebook pages to communitcate with the community and are currently trialing Seesaw to share students learning.
For my own practice I have used a variety of Social Media such as Edchat, VLN, Twitter, Google+ and Blogging to connect with other professionals nationally and internationally. I have foud I've used these more since starting Mind Lab firstly as a necessity for assignments, then more as I built connections with others.
In my classroom we have a class Blog and my students all have blogs to share their work. We have a Twitter account for our pet budgie that the children can tweet on his behalf. They are learning to be succinct when writing.
We have used Edmodo a lot since doing the NZReadAloud last year. The children enjoyed being able to safely and easily connect and collaborate with other stdents and teachers. From here we set up groups with an Ex teacher who was travelling and volunteering in Vietnam. Some of her students also used this portal to write to us. After the Wellington Earthquake we used Skype to talk to my nephew's class in Wellington, and from there set up a group to keep in contact and share learning. At present we are using it within our school te set up our own book chat group and also to connect with our sister school in Beach Haven NY.
The reasons I use social media in my practice for affirmation of my practice, for advice and mentorship when I have an issue that I'm having difficulty solving. I also use it to engage in learning through my studies but also as a life long learner for my own inquiries.
As 21st century learners, I believe that students need to be taught the skills necessary for them to be prepared for their futures. Like it or not, we live in an increasingly digital age and rather than turning a blind eye we must embrace it and harness the new learning opportunities it offers.
In my classroom the initial benefit of adding a social media component to the classroom programme is for my students to realise that their world does not have to be confined to our four walls or even our community. They have access to other students, teachers and experts anywhere in the world. Their connections and collaboration with these people and the motivation and engagement that it creates is another huge benefit. Teaching children to be aware of what they post on social media is a huge part of having these apps in use which is a benefit but can also be a challenge.
Ensuring that the students are using Social Media in a positive and appropriate way is an issue that has arisen. Hapara allows us to monitor Google apps but we have to physically monitor the children using Social media. We do this through checking the posts on the blogs and Edmodo and also vetting twitter posts before they go out. The majority of our students stick to the rules of engagement that we have set and those who don't are caught very quickly by teachers or other students.
Social Media, when used apporopriately, can be a most engaging and rewarding learning experience. The feedback possibilities and sharing of ideas creates exciting new learning communities.
References
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
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...
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