If I had been asked to consider how social media can be used to support my professional development a few years ago I would have been at a loss to comment. Up until a few years ago, I stayed away from social media, almost feeling that it was an intrusion of privacy, as well as being wary of exposing myself. I now recognise that I was in the late majority in adopting social media as a means of developing professionally (Robinson, 2009). How this has changed! The changes that have taken place occurred when I undertook more study. I have been exposed to and encouraged to seek out new research and learning to support my ongoing study. Use of socially networked professional learning as I experienced in a tertiary environment enabled me to build learning relationships (Steinfield, Ellison, & Lampe, 2008; Yu, Tian, Vogel & Chi-Wai Kwok, 2010, as cited in Melhuish, 2013). Having the opportunity to connect, collaborate, support and share opened up new possibilities and pathways to explore.
What I am using
We have a strong culture of using online social platforms to make connections, push our thinking and open up new possibilities. I predominantly use Facebook (10 education groups), Twitter and VLN as networks for professional development. These are used in a variety of ways, from ‘lurking’ (reading but not commenting) to making connections, posing questions, exploring resources, participating in discussions and collaborating with others to challenge and affirm practice. The use of social media in PD is an inexpensive way to access our ever-widening community of experienced and innovative teachers, especially in our very busy times and tightening school budgets.
Challenges
As you can see from the above Coogle, my use of social media is still quite limited. I am very aware of how the amount of content available can be overwhelming at times and that there is a need for having a clear purpose, identifying the benefits and how best these can be communicated (Connected Ed. Video, 2013). Sitting alongside this is the importance of social interaction and the need to develop relationships where you are actively engaged, both producing and consuming information/content; “prosumers” as Toffler, 1980, as cited in Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010 describes.
A challenge that arises when I use social media for my professional development is being able to critique content/practice/pedagogy - is there a research basis to what is being shared? How do I know? How do I find out more? Melhuish (2013) discusses the lack of unpacking theory and its place in practice when educators are engaging and networking, leading to the risk that ‘networking creates assimilation or affirmation of current practice without question” (p. 43).
Through my participation in further study both at Waikato University and Mindlab, I have developed social networks that I will continue to access to both challenge and refresh my pedagogy and practice. Honestly, I think my ongoing challenge is to stay an active, self-directed and self-organised learner (Schaffert & Hilzensauer, 2008) while balancing the increasing demands of teaching with family. To do this I need to critique what I access, the real purpose, who benefits and how this can be measured - there are so many ‘rabbit holes’ to disappear down!
References:
Melhuish, K. A. V. (2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning (Doctoral dissertation, University of Waikato)
Office of Ed Tech. (2013, Sep 18). Connected Educators. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=216&v=K4Vd4JP_DB8
Robinson, L. (2009). A summary of diffusion of innovations. Enabling change
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
Schaffert, S., & Hilzensauer, W. (2008). On the way towards Personal Learning Environments: Seven crucial aspects. Elearning papers, 9, 1-10.
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