6) Social Media use in Teaching and Professional Development

As I drive to school I pass many students waiting for the bus. Invariably they have their heads bent down, engrossed in their devices. They are not talking to the peers alongside them. They are not seeing the real world around them. This always saddens me somewhat. They are connected certainly, but not necessarily to the real world around them. It also makes me wonder if they will have neck problems when they are older...

Voice my concerns to my teenage son, and I am immediately accused of being out-of-touch (true) and critical (not necessarily). It is what it is. Social media is here – and it has many benefits. So here are some thoughts about using it (for good) in our teaching practice.

Social Media in the Classroom

I haven’t gone there….. yet. It has been interesting to read some of the very cool ways social media has been used (e.g. the NASA social media sites¹ that provide multiple ways students can interact, including being involved in helping solve problems with crowd sourcing.) Clearly social media used in the right way (well co-ordinated and facilitated by those with enthusiasm & expertise)² can connect students with expertise and resources in a real-world, experiential way – using technology to transform learning. At present I do not feel I have the expertise or time to upskill, but would like in the future to work with other teachers to introduce some transformative learning through social media.

I was also impressed with the simple but effective use of social media by Kathy Cassidy³. I can see that using a blog as a reflective journal of learning has many benefits, not least that it can be easily shared with other students, parents etc. This I could do. As a secondary teacher of science, I could see that encouraging students to join social media groups with others around the world with similar interests in aspects of science, could really encourage inquiry, student-led learning.

Social Media in Professional Development

Having made connections with other teachers through social media (e.g. google+, Twitter, Pinterest) in part due to encouragement from the MindLab course, I can certainly see its benefits. We hear frequent complaints at our school that the PD is often irrelevant or does not help us, or our students, in the classroom. If schools provided more flexibility in PD and encouraged teachers to connect with teachers who were interested in the same thing/solving similar problems through social media, then this could really help. There is a vast resource of teachers doing similar things to us out there and it’s free and accessible. For inspiration watch the Connected Educators video⁴.

So let’s embrace social media and use it. But let’s also stop & take a break – look up, look around (stretch the neck) and see, smell, listen and experience the real world around us.

References:

¹NASA social media homepage https://www.nasa.gov/socialmedia

²Sharples, 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. p. 14. Retrieved from http://proxima.iet.open.ac.uk/public/innovating_pedagogy_2016.pdf

³Tvoparents. (2013, May 21). Using Social Media in the Classroom.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno

⁴Office of Ed Tech. (2013, Sep 18). Connected Educators. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=216&v=K4Vd4JP_DB8