Activity 7

Activity 7

Social Media in Learning and teaching and professional development.

How do/would you use social media to enhance your professional development?

Social media has changed the face of professional development for teachers in New Zealand. Through the online Facebook groups such as NZ Teachers page and The Writing Book by Sheena Cameron, teachers can have ideas, pedagogy, resources and country wide moderation within seconds.

I have asked questions on the NZ teachers Facebook page and responded to posts to help others. I believe these sites are a huge benefit to our profession and I have seen a shift in my teaching practice because of some topics and trends that have been posted.

An amazing example of this Facebook page what during ANZAC day celebrations. There was a trend in ANZAC posts of people looking for ideas. We then created a google slide where everyone could upload a ideas or concept to teach on ANZAC. You could then go through and select ideas that suited your class and run your programme from there. This was a powerful way to show how social media can enhance your teaching practice and outcomes for students.

Twitter is another new way to support professional development. I used twitter at the GAFE Summit. This allowed me to connect with others and learn about sessions that I did not attend. I found twitter to be a great way to follow learning institutes such as Mindlab and presenters such as Karen Boyes.

What are some key features of social media that you have identified as beneficial for teaching and learning? 

Collaboration- This is the biggest feature and benefit of social media. Through social media teachers from all over the country can connect and work together. Through google drive and slides educators have created whole units of work without even meeting each other. This has extended thinking, created new ideas and grown a range concepts and ideas.

New Ideas- Through social media teachers can pick up in trends in education and adapt their teaching to suit. It allows teachers to share ideas and displays in bluff and that can change an outcome for a child in KeriKeri. Social media has changed the way I plan and teach.

Tolerance - I have grown tolerance for the people I teach alongside. There are many posts that are just shameful. Like what books should I read to Year 5's. It has made some people lazy and I feel they whip up a post in the NZ Teachers page rather than doing a good google search.

Aware of how advanced I am- Through social media and some of the comments/posts that are uploaded It has made me aware of what I know. For example Angela Lee has just started a online 4 week blog course for beginners. Within 4 minutes she has 100 teachers signed up to learn how to set up a blog. Blogging has been around for about 20 years and I have always had a blog for the different class I run each year.

What are some of the potential issues that teachers need to be aware of when integrating social networking platforms into teaching activities? 

1- Teacher need to be aware that what they post or say on teh NZ teachers Facebook page is seen by 80% of the teaching community of New Zealand. I would be so embarrassed if one of my staff posted what book should I read to 5 years olds, or something like that. I am aware that my boss see what I post and I would hate him to see me being lazy or flat out dumb. What you post is a reflection of who you are as a teacher.

2- Teachers need to be aware that when they vent about their day, it is seen by the peers, community and maybe even parents. You can't comment on how your school day was because you are not the only person concerned, but you maybe the only adult; so be careful.

3- Posting pictures of your class on your personal social media. Just last week a follow teacher posted a farewell comment and a picture of her class on her facebook page. This is a breach of confidentiality. Yes the parents consented to media displays for teaching and learning on school based sites but not personal Facebook.

4-I use Instagram to connect with my parents. By posting live pictures of our days allows parents to be connected to their kids learning. I have has huge success with this.

5- School Facebook pages also allows parents to stay connected to the school. We post our news letters on there and link our classroom blogs to the facebook page. We have seen higher blog visits from parents and now use them as a learning tool for homework.

What teachers need to be aware of is, When do we switch off. When can we go on facebook and just let go of your day and school. It is important that teachers are aware of their social media and how that effects their lives but also the schools and students.

If using social media with older kids such as twitter for reviewing a text, teachers need to be aware of online bullying and citizenship of the students they are exposing it to.