Mindlab - Week 30
I am fundamentally of a cautious and nature and like many
teaching staff within the primary school in which I work, I have been reluctant
to use social media as a teaching tool without evidence of its effectiveness
and benefits. From this week’s readings I now understand that I am not alone in
this thinking. (Dwyer et al, 2009). It has been interesting to therefore read
the various blogs on this topic and discover a mixed range of views. Prior to
the Mindlab course I would have questioned the efficacy of using social media
within a primary school as a teaching tool. I have to admit though that over the course of
the last 30 weeks I been forced to question my hesitancy. Part of the reasoning
behind taking part in the course was to force me out of my comfort zone and to
leave the “dinosaur” age which my own children insist I belong to, behind. It
has been a long and hard journey but a very worthwhile one.
Being able to share ideas and experience with colleagues has
been invaluable. I still however find
the use of social media in teaching to be the biggest hurdle. I have issues and
questions around security, privacy and ensuring the use of these sites in a
responsible manner. This is where I think it is important to encourage students
to display empathy for their peers providing supportive feedback and critique
where necessary. I also have concerns regarding teaching students about
authenticity. Just because it’s posted on the internet doesn’t mean the
information is correct. I can see how these sites can be used to an advantage
in gaining different perspectives. Perhaps this is the ideal medium for
students who are more introverted, allowing for their voice to be heard in a less
obvious way.
Overall, I still feel that the use of social media would be
more beneficial in a secondary setting but I am happy to be convinced otherwise.
I fully acknowledge that the world is vastly different from it was even 10
years ago and that our children are growing up using these media platforms as
part of their normal everyday life activities. The biggest difference between
my views now as opposed to 8 months ago is that now I am open to change. Having
read some of the information shared by colleagues about their experiences with
use of social media platforms within their classrooms has given me the
confidence to consider trying some of the forums and apps suggested in my own
teaching practice.
The use of social media platforms in professional development
is something I do take active part in. I think there is a real benefit to these
forums where we can share and collaborate, inform and question. I have been
part of just such a forum for some time now and although it can be time
consuming and distracting it is also a fantastic way to keep up to date with
new innovations, share information and take advantage of the groups collective
wisdom.
The challenges I face in using these forums continues to be
lack of time and my self-consciousness. I still feel that I am more of a voyeur
than contributor and this is what will be my future goal. To take a more active
part in this and other forums. To be a more proactive participant. To use my
“voice” and become an active member of our CoL (Community of Learning).
References
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
Tvoparents.
(2013, May 21). Using Social Media in the Classroom.. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno
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