Week 30 The Use of Social Media in My Teaching.

Week 30 The Use of Social Media in My Teaching.

A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.

Jim Watkins

Ha ha! What a joke.

I am the follower. Ever cautious of something new that I am not sure how to control. I follow all sorts of sites and love the interactions. I love trying new things for myself – but hesitate about using them in my practice.

Running scared. That’s me. What if something gets on social media and I can’t control where it goes? What if a parent complains? What if the work students present is not up to standard? What if…? What if….? What if….?

 What if I try it and it works? There’s a novel idea.

I currently use Class Dojo which has been extremely effective when communicating with parents who have English as a second language. Not sure why, but I think it is because they have time to process information and respond in writing. Anyway – that is successful.

  I have been on Google+ for ages. Not sure why, because until I hit Mind Lab it was just a site I occasionally browsed. Now I feel as though I am a connected educator who finds food for thought and issues to debate with a wide range of collaborators. It has been a revelation to find so may like minded people who willingly share their ideas and find value in my ideas and opinions. The use of Pinterest and the NZ teacher page on Facebook are a regular source of inspiration and resourcing as well as a great place to share ideas. This use of social media is defined by Melhuish (2013) as the hook for teachers. The way that I currently use social media supports my professional development. I can connect with experts and other educators with interests that match mine. I can share ideas and collaborate to plan, explore and find new ways to present information. This is incredibly empowering and strengthens my understanding of differing viewpoints. Problems can be addressed and solutions found with the rapid sharing that occurs.

So why can’t I do this with the kids? They can make connections and be motivated by others with like minds and interests. They can be connected and find, or offer, solutions and ideas to others. The world view they have can be expanded and informed through interactions with students from other places. Empathy for others could develop as connectedness causes students to realise the impact of events on people they know and communicate with.

We have a class blog in the tentative teacher controlled phase that most class blogs begin with. Definitely time to amp it up and allow our students voice and control. There are plenty of experts we can call on to help us past the nervous beginnings. That is ‘teacher nervous’ beginnings as we know our kids will be all over it – mistakes and all.

 Growth mindset has been a huge factor in our teacher inquiry with a particular focus on maths. It has spilled over into all other aspects of our classroom learning and now it needs to hit us between the eyeballs. Time to practice what we preach. Growth mindset for teachers.

Time to face the dragon. Time to harness the use of digital technology that is a real and present part of our students lives and use it to engage and motivate their learning.

 So why do I still hesitate? Because, like many before me, and as pointed out by Seaman et al (2013)., I have high levels of concern with multiple aspects of privacy. I worry about my students being safe digital citizens who are aware of the scope of their digital footprint.

 I know that I need to be transparent and open about these concerns and learn with my students. I need to utilise Netsafe and other digital safety programmes and face my fears.

Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/han...

Seaman, J., & Tinti-Kane, H. (2013). Social media for teaching and learning. Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved fromhttp://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-2013-report.pdf