Social media in learning and teaching and professional development.

• What are some key features of social media that you have identified as beneficial for teaching and learning?

My students have individual blogs and we have a class blog too. It is a great place for the students to share their learning with their families (both local and overseas). It is a massive part of my literacy programme where students read others blog posts and leave comments. One of the things my students love the most is the fact that they are writing for a real purpose, they know someone (other than their teacher) will read their writing, and give them feedback on it! As Angela Vermeulen (Core-ed, 2015) states, "the biggest purpose for blogging is for sharing learning, and student voice". It's about getting the students learning and ideas out there and making it public. 

• What are potential challenges that teachers need to be aware of when integrating social networking platforms into teaching activities?

One of the things we have discussed at a professional level with the staff in my setting is being aware of which social media outlets are appropriate for students, which legally allow primary age students to use them and how we manage this from an educational perspective. Rivett (n.d) also discusses the importance of keeping our students safe, we have a responsibility to model good social media use, growing learners who apply positive, respectful values in their interactions on social media platforms.

• How do/would you use social media to enhance your professional development?

Social media has played a huge role in my professional development, especially since starting out in a 1:1 classroom. Through blogs, Twitter and Facebook groups I have learned a great deal that I simply would not have been able to learn so quickly without these social media outlets as professional development. Rivett (n.d) also highlights the her use of un-conferences and #edchat as an alternative to waiting for professional development opportunities to come along.

References 

Core-ed.org. (2015). Blogging - True Portal for Learning. CORE Education. Retrieved from http://www.core-ed.org/thought-leadership/podcast/blogging-true-portal-learning-part-1-2 on 1 August 2015.

Rivett, K (Rivett, K. (n.d.). Teachers & Social Media | Social media and my classroom. Retrieved from http://www.teachersandsocialmedia.co.nz/your-stories/positive-case-studies/social-media-and-my-classroom