social online networks

Professional Online Social Networks

There is a continuous debate about the role social media should play in education. Supporters point out the benefits that social media provides for today's digital learners while experts call for control and for eliminating social media from classes. Finding a middle ground has become a challenge.

Before and After

Before my Mindlab journey I would not have considered social media as a teaching tool.  Social network sites are often criticised for the lack of quality control, poorly thought through ideas, issues related to privacy and in general information overflow (Greenhow,2011). But I quickly realised today’s students arrive at school, fluent in Web and social networking technologies. Teachers can make use of this knowledge to enhance opportunities to learn.  With social media, teachers can promote cooperation and discussion, create meaningful conversation, exchange ideas, and boost student interaction.

Challenges of Social Media

Unfortunately, not all Primary children have a self-directed nature towards learning itself and towards the management of digital tools it is no different.  Only now I realise the best way to make social online learning successful is to have a facilitator with a clear purpose to initiate the learning project and to take on the task of filtering resources.  It is also important as a facilitator to discuss issues like cyberbullying and to intervene on minor incidents before they become more serious.  Another frustrating issue for facilitators to deal with is the distraction that arise from social media and how quickly children can be “off task” when using social media.  Then we have teachers who have not yet seen the potential for social media as a teaching resource.  Dwyer et al. (2009) argue that teachers will only embrace social network sites if there is evidence that they are effective for learning. 

What works for me

Study ladder and Onedrive improve interaction among learners and teachers. I respond to students’ questions, post homework assignments, send messages, set challenges, and share interesting Web sites. 

All ESOL students at my school have Blogs on which they post stories, videos and voice overs to share with families back home.  This way social media sites offer a way where, often geographically- separated, people can connect with each other. 

My syndicate enjoys using PrimaryPad where students and teachers can contribute to an online learning task.  We will often use PrimaryPad to work collaboratively with another class in a different part of school.  We are now exploring ways to communicate with our “buddy school” in the Corromandel. We use Social media to involve and draw on the experience of people around the world. 

How do I use social media to support my engagement with professional development?

The Mindlab Google Community is an extremely effective platform to interact, communicate and learn from.  It enables me to share ideas with people way smarter and more experienced than me!  In addition to the community page the webinars hosted by the Mindlab is a useful way to be introduced to new concepts and a way to connect with like- minded people. Twitter is a terrific media to connect and share ideas with people who have the same interest than me.

References

Innovative ICT Practices in Teaching and Learning (October 2012)

Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato.