I use social media as a form of professional development, in particular, the NZ Primary Teachers Facebook page. I have gleaned many different ideas from there and find it useful for finding out what other schools are doing, giving or receiving advice on various matters about teaching, generally not about children, but more about teaching practice. I suppose one downfall of this is that ideas are not necessarily grounded in research but I think we all value our colleagues practices to varying degrees and take what we believe to be effective practice and leave what we don't. It is often valuable to get a new perspective and to try something new. .
I find it interesting the amount of people that do ask specifically about situations with children or difficult situations they might find themselves in with colleagues or management. I don't believe that this should be a forum for this type of talk but it seems some do. Maybe they don't feel they have the support or anyone within their school they are able to talk with, or maybe it is having a sense of collegiality that they think they will find within a group of teachers.
The other thing I find interesting about this page is the sheer stupidity of some people in regard to tolerance toward others, at times, I have questioned how some of these people are teachers as they seem to almost be trolling, the old adage "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all" springs to mind!
Having undertaken the study with the Mindlab I have enjoyed connecting with Professionals on Google + to discuss all sorts of aspects in teaching. During the course of our study I have far preferred the Face to Face lessons supported by online content over just the online component. Social media has certain supported my professional learning.
Children in my classroom have personal school blogs (which the school is the administrator of) to showcase their learning, these take the place of previous paper portfolios. Blogs give children the opportunity to showcase their learning in ways that are not possible such as video, voice recording and slideshows they have created.
The children also have Google accounts where they have the facility to comment to one another. Children must be taught safe practices on the internet, although our accounts that children use are managed by the school, it is still imperative that we teach safety on the internet, as it will not be long before many of these children are teens using Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and what ever else may have been invented. I think we all need to give more thought to the safety and vulnerability of youngsters on the internet.
I agree with you Sylvia, as professionals we need to be mindful what we say online and in which communities. I'd rather ask someone face to face about something I am not sure if it relates to basic teaching and learning, rather than ask online conversations. Maybe it's because I don't want to risk being ridiculed by others as I have seen it happen many times, often ending in tears. The online conversations on google+ are more research based and everyone involved is 'in the same boat' so it becomes an equal sharing community with people who have a similar focus.
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with you comments about the NZ Teachers Facebook page Sylvia. As much as I also enjoy the page to share resources and ideas it seems to have become a place to share concerns or problems in a teacher's school or practice. I find this can become unprofessional as this page can be seen by people involved in the situation and in some circumstances, parents. I have in the past had a parent (who is a teacher aide) post a question on the page concerning her sons learning (fortunately positive) which I then read. A site with the purpose of professional development should keep the line between personal and professional in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with enjoying the face to face part of this course more as it was nice to share ideas verbally with colleagues and you were able to create a more personal response.
YOu are so refreshing Sylvia! I appreciate your clarity when discussing the NZ Teachers Facebook Page on Facebook. Would they be saying those comments if they were face to face with the stranger? I have found the generosity of the teachers on NZ Teachers Facebook page and Pinterest remarkable. Mindshift is another inspirational website accessed through Facebook. I'm finding more and more my professional readings come via Facebook pages. Who would have thought 8 years ago when I joined to connect with friends that family that I would be gaining such knowledge from it today.
ReplyDeleteLove your work Sylvia!