Using social online networks in teaching and professional development

The idea of connected, future focused, 21^st century education without social media is a nonsense. The very definition of ‘connected’ in an educational sense can only truly be achieved with social contact, and for our modern learners, this is usually online.

This week’s readings stress the importance of developing activities and programmes that support collaboration, creativity, communication, connection and or sharing (Sharples et al, 2016; Melhuish, 2013). Many of the readings we have done in Mindlab over the last 30 weeks support these ideas.

I have been using social media in my classroom for nearly a decade. My arts integrated class read a story called The Gruesome Twosome. A wonderful story, but we were deadly disappointed with the ending. Via his website, we contacted the author in Scotland, Keith Brumpton, and shared our thoughts. He replied asking us to rewrite the ending, which we did, and a yearlong friendship ensued. We had regular Skype sessions where we would perform waiata for him and he would hold up his laptop and show us the 800 year embassy building outside and explain all the hideous things that had happened there throughout history. The kids in my decile 2 class absolutely loved it. For myself, the experience ignited a passion for creating authentic learning experiences and genuine connections for my students.

In my current 1:1 device class, we authentically integrate social media into our programmes on a daily basis.

One example of this is an online Literacy programme called Chapter Chat that uses Facebook, Twinkl, Flipgrid and Twitter (via Tweetdeck) as sharing platforms. This term there are approximately 3000 students all over New Zealand taking part in this programme. They read the same sections of the same book, compete the same tasks throughout the week and then share online on Friday. They ‘like’ and respectfully comment on each other’s work and respond to a set of Twitterchat questions in real time. This programme has been powerful in building understanding of how to post responsibly and respond appropriately when online. It also sets a quality benchmark for my students. They desperately strive to be among the chosen few pieces of work that Stephen chooses to be on his Facebook site at the end of each week.  As with our other work, we use Seesaw and Class Dojo to share our learning with our extended whanau and friends.

Professionally, we use Google+ of course, to share our Mindlab work. I belong to Facebook sites where sharing and professional interactions and conversations are commonplace. I also use Facebook and our school website to provide flipped music lessons for the various music groups I tutor.

Personally, I have Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and Pinterest accounts, but I rarely use them. I don’t find them as engaging as the other sites.

The challenges we face are in preparing our students for the negative behaviours that they will almost certainly encounter at some stage online. There is the potential for online predators, but more realistically, online bullying. Students must be prepared for how they will react if they are treated unfairly online, and indeed, how they will stop themselves from being the person who bullies. In last week’s blog on ethics, I commented that parents have a major influence on the way their children behave online, and a responsibility to ensure their children are using tools such as Snapchat and Google Hangouts fairly and responsibly.  Parents and teachers are now role modelling behaviours that our own parents and teachers could not have possibly contemplated.

As the Education Council informs us in their video, there is no reason teachers should stop using social media in their programmes, even though there are inherent challenges.

Addressing these challenges can be as straightforward as schools continuing to begin the year by revisiting the Digital Citizenship programmes available via providers like Netsafe. Schools and CoLs should continue to provide information evenings for teachers and parents with providers like John Parsons. Teachers will continually reinforce the messages of kindness and courtesy and encouragement, while trying to build students’ resilience when faced with negative social attention.

Education Council.(2012). Establishing safeguards.[video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49216520

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...

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