Community Communications go Beyond Blogs and Social Media Shares, How Does a PLN Help and Hinder the Development of Thoughts and Ideas in Education Discourse?
A PLN can help develop the thoughts and ideas in educational discourse in many ways, and can also hinder it in a few. One of the main ways that it can help is through connectedness to likeminded, as well as diversely thinking peers and colleagues. In the reading this week, “Designing for Open and Social Learning”, the importance of social interaction and networked learning through the use of digital technologies was emphasized. Digital technologies can help through the ease and consistency of online communications, and can open up spaces for educators to provide their ideas, solve problems, discuss future plans and build relationships online. As I mentioned in the learning pods this week, similar relationships can also be build through our PLNs offline. I used the example of my mom, as she is a teacher, and has told me about how often her peers and colleagues would share information, resources, lesson plans and classroom decorations with each other. Even though she did not know all of these other teachers directly, this was able to happen through overlapping spheres of PLNs, as friends of friends can connect through their mutual relationships, allowing for more knowledge to be spread. It can also occur through district wide learning conferences for teachers, where they are provided with a physical space to learn, develop, share and build connections. This aspect of PLNs was also discussed in the reading, as it was stated that “social capital and connections contribute to the development and facilitation of a personal learning environment”(Veletsianos, 2016). This development could be hindered based on the time that it takes to form these relationships and have discourse. Especially in the educational field, I know that free time for teachers can be extremely limited, as their days do not end when the children leave their classrooms, and often start much earlier than the beginning of the school day. Due to tasks such as marking assignments, setting up and rearranging classrooms, and lesson planning, many teachers are not left with much time to build the connections with their peers that allow for the transfer of information.
What is the Role of Social Media in Education?
Social media can be an extremely useful tool in education, and can be utilized in many different classroom settings. For example, educational youtube videos can be shown to add substance and uniqueness to a lesson, that provides students with a fun and entertaining way to retaining the course material. Video channels such as “Crash Course” with Hank Green were often shown in my high school and middle school classes as they were funny, animated clips that provided quick facts on many topics including history, art and science. Social media is also a great way for students to communicate with each other about the class. I know for many of my classes there have been discords set up by students so that we can all communicate, ask questions, make study groups and provide insight to others. It is also a great way to make friends in large lecture style class settings. Social media can also be used as an engaging way for students to complete assignments, by filming and posting an educational TikTok or Youtube video about a certain subject they have researched. This can be way more exciting to students than simply writing a paragraph response on a topic, they may feel more inclined to learn more information, and it may stick better in their heads because of the increased engagement.
What are Some Problems with Social Media Communications in Educational Settings?
One of the biggest problems of the use of social media communications in educational settings is that it can be a major distractor for students. Especially with scrolling apps such as TikTok and Instagram, and social apps such as snapchat, children may be more inclined to use social media during class time instead of focusing and retaining the lesson at hand, or using social media productively. Another may be that lower income students might not have access to personal devices and may not have the ability to create a social media account.
When working with the Vulnerable Sector, how Does Social Media fit Into Professionalism and Regulations?
One of the biggest ways social media fits into professionalism and regulations when working within the vulnerable sector is the importance of remaining strictly confidential. Especially with how pervasive social media is now adays, it is very common that individuals working in the vulnerable sector may feel inclined to snap pictures or update their friends as they go about their work day. However, this could cause a slip up in which a patient or client’s confidential information is accidentally exposed or publicized, violating these boundaries for safety. Even things that may seem trivial like a patient’s name could be a confidentiality breach. It is also important to make sure that if pictures are being taken purposefully for reasons such as marketing, everyone in the image has given consent to having their picture not only taken but posted to social media.
References:
Veletsianos, G. (2016). chapter Nine: Designing for Open and Social Learning. In Emergence and innovation in Digital Learning: Foundations and Applications. essay, AU Press.