In this world of constantly growing interconnectedness it is
inevitable that social media will increasingly make its way into the classroom,
whether we like it or not. While social media for personal use is the most
common trend, using it for professional development is fast becoming just as
important. It is also gaining favour within the classroom although many
educators are still wary of this for a number of reasons (Seaman, 2013).
I use social media personally and professionally via a
variety of forums on a regular basis. From a professional stand point I find
Facebook, Twitter and Youtube useful forums for professional reading/viewing and
information; Facebook in particular often has articles worth sharing with
colleagues and I follow a couple of education based groups. Through the Mind
Lab course this year I have also used Google+, Google Hangouts and
Blogger. VLN Network is another
professional online group I access on occasion. I find there is a wealth of
information on Twitter (although I rarely ‘tweet’) and Facebook and the
TEDEd/TEDx/TEDTalks channel on Youtube is well worth a look for ideas that
challenge and expand the horizons. All of the above offer a valuable “pooling
of expertise” (Melhuish, 2013, p. 171) and an arena for sharing ideas and
experiences as well as academic learning. In particular I like the fact that I
can connect and share ideas with teachers all over the world at a time of day
that suits me.
As for using social media in my teaching, I haven’t really
pursued this to any great lengths - although I do manage a school sports team
Facebook page with a colleague and am a member of my Y13 House group in my role
as House staff leader. Really the only way in which I currently communicate
with my classes online is via Google Classroom or email. While I would like to
learn how to effectively incorporate it into my classes, access at school to
all social media was blocked for students earlier this year. A new social media
policy for staff has also restricted our ability to use it with students,
although I hope this can be changed at some point.
While I feel I would
need professional development as to how I might utilise social media
effectively in my teaching, there are both definite advantages and
disadvantages that I can see to this. Some of the ‘pros’ would be the ability
to better engage students with their learning in ways that are familiar to
them, challenging them to lift the standard of their online submissions as they
would be posting to a much wider audience than previously. Using social media
is a part of life now for most people so why not add it to the tools we use for
teaching and learning? Blogger is one platform I would like to use in class as
a means for students to share their work with their peers and families and receive
feedback from them. Youtube and Twitter I could also see myself using in class.
The drawbacks to using social media in my teaching (apart
from the current block to all social media at my school) include the potential
for online bullying and abuse, the ‘open all hours’ aspect of being constantly
available to students unless this is well managed and the fact that the sheer
amount of online engagement can be overwhelming. During term breaks there are
days when I literally switch off and refuse to engage in any social media. I
need to do this for my own sanity! For me to implement using social media in my
teaching will take careful planning, professional development, and time
management. In time I’m sure I’ll do this as it will become more and more
important for teaching in the 21st century.
“Get connected, grow your networks, accelerate your
learning.” (Office of Ed Tech, 2013).
References
Source: Office of Ed Tech (2013, September 18). Connected
Educators. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=216&v=K4Vd4JP_DB8
Melhuish, K. A. V. (2013). Online social networking and
its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning (Doctoral
dissertation, University of Waikato). Retrieved on 30 October, 2017 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/
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
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