Initial Thoughts and Experience
I am currently enrolled in EDTECH 543 Social Network Learning as part of my graduate certificate program in Technology Coaching. As part of our initial course work we have been asked to set up Twitter, Diigo, and of course a blogging platform and reflect on how we feel about using them.
I have had Twitter, a blog (part of which has been archived), and Diigo (though I haven't used it much) since around 2012 as part of the COETAIL course that I took. My from that time remain the same.
Blogging, Tweeting, and Social Bookmarking have changed the ways in which educators learn from each other. No longer are educators limited to only the PD options from their schools and districts that are often cost prohibitive or aren't focused on the specifics of our roles or professional interests. Rather, now with a click of a button, I can find great PD ideas on topics we are interested in and for free. It is really empowering to see ideas for and resources being freely shared.
While I love being able to find resources using Social Networks, my difficulty has always been in the active participation on these platforms. At times I feel like my ideas are not worthy of sharing or that people wouldn't be interested. That being said, my attitude is changing. Since last Spring I have been an active participant on the Seesaw Facebook groups by asking and answering questions as well as providing ideas for increasing student voice.
I have had Twitter, a blog (part of which has been archived), and Diigo (though I haven't used it much) since around 2012 as part of the COETAIL course that I took. My from that time remain the same.
Blogging, Tweeting, and Social Bookmarking have changed the ways in which educators learn from each other. No longer are educators limited to only the PD options from their schools and districts that are often cost prohibitive or aren't focused on the specifics of our roles or professional interests. Rather, now with a click of a button, I can find great PD ideas on topics we are interested in and for free. It is really empowering to see ideas for and resources being freely shared.
While I love being able to find resources using Social Networks, my difficulty has always been in the active participation on these platforms. At times I feel like my ideas are not worthy of sharing or that people wouldn't be interested. That being said, my attitude is changing. Since last Spring I have been an active participant on the Seesaw Facebook groups by asking and answering questions as well as providing ideas for increasing student voice.
Using it as an instructional strategy
I work as an Educational Coach/Integrator in the Elementary division of my school. As many of the social media sites require students to be over the age of 13, which rules out my students. That being said there are platforms that we can use safely.
Last Spring we introduced Seesaw to our teachers and the majority have all created class blogs where students can add comments to each other's work. We also used Padlet as a way to showcase the Grade 5 Capstone and students were asked to leave comments on each other's work. It's small but it is a way to slowly introduce the ideas of social network learning along with digital citizenship.
For the teachers that I worked with, I often make recommendations to join various different groups based on their interests. I remember one instance where a teacher came to me excited about an idea they had found from one of the groups that I suggested and I couldn't help but grin as they were starting to see the power of using Social Media in this manner.
Last Spring we introduced Seesaw to our teachers and the majority have all created class blogs where students can add comments to each other's work. We also used Padlet as a way to showcase the Grade 5 Capstone and students were asked to leave comments on each other's work. It's small but it is a way to slowly introduce the ideas of social network learning along with digital citizenship.
For the teachers that I worked with, I often make recommendations to join various different groups based on their interests. I remember one instance where a teacher came to me excited about an idea they had found from one of the groups that I suggested and I couldn't help but grin as they were starting to see the power of using Social Media in this manner.
Course Expectations
As far as course expectations go, I suppose my biggest one would be developing strategies to increase my network and participation in Social Media and also tips for helping to manage social media. There is is much out there, that I need to learn how to best optimize my time so that I don't go down the rabbit hole and lose track of time.