Social Media in Learning and Teaching and Professional Development [Activity 7]

I currently use Virtual Learning Network, Twitter and the NZ Teachers facebook page to further develop my teaching practice.  These social network platforms allow me to ask questions that enable me to inquire into my teaching and allow me access to effective resources that have been widely used by other educators to promote further learning with our students.  They also help me build relationships with other educators locally and abroad, giving me insight into different teaching models and allowing me time to reflect on these.

Key features that I believe are beneficial to teaching and learning are, the potential to take learning beyond the classroom walls and provide connections to the far reaches of the world, the ability to have access to up to date resources, research, the ability to share and collaborate instantly through these platforms and developing agency and self-efficacy (Melhuish, 2003, p.24).

The New Zealand Teachers Council posted a video that reminds us to be aware of why we are using social media and asks us to question how we are interacting with young ones through this media.  We need to have goals and clear expectations as well as keeping the community aware of why we are using such media to ensure ideas. learning and teaching approaches are not misconstrued (New Zealand Teacher Council, 2012).  This will also provide a safe and effective method of approaching social media for our students.

Joosten (2013) cites one of their quotes in a slideshare which mentions social media is a virtual place where anybody can share anything they choose to.  This highlights the importance of teaching our learners how to be safe whilst using social media, as the open access could make them susceptible to strangers or counterfeit information.

Twitter Handle @Miss_Teening

Google Plus Community

Notifications about active threads in my VLN

References

Joosten, T.( 2013. October 22). Pearson: Social Media for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/tjoosten/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-27456257?ref=http://professorjoosten.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/pearson-social-media-for-teaching-and.html

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

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