Reflecting on current use of Social Media in my Professional Development using the Jay & Johnson's Reflective Model (2002)
DESCRIPTIVE: I, truly started using Social Media, or collaborative technology to support my Professional Development 2 years ago. Historically, I engaged in Professional Development as part of a staff or leadership team, where most of the learning was initiated by the Facilitator running the Course. This has 'turned on its head' in the last 2 years with my engagement of the Mindlab, where I am beginning to understand the potential of Networking when learning. Currently, I use Google Docs to share and access new learning and/or conversation around learning. I am also beginning to use the Google + Community and a Blog to collaborate with like minded people. I would love to be a part of a community like 'Twitter' to engage in more of these conversations. I am still not sure how I can do this and commit to this genuinely.
COMPARATIVE: I am part of a community of learners who are embracing this technological innovation, and the impact that this will have on our learners, and as they embark into the 21st Century. While my colleagues are aware of these changes, there is still a high level of anxiety related to learning new technology and 'keeping up' with the students, and the place of pen and paper. According to Whitaker et. al. (2015) our students need to know that school learning is not separate to their learning in life outside of school, and that it is essential that we (Teachers) find ways to include aspects of their social lives in the school setting. Magette (2014) also confirms that Social Media will play a critical part in this learning, and we need to be able to support our learners to become 'Digital Citizens', in order to be innovators in this exciting period in time. Our Community has also identified the pros of being part of more social networks through Social Media (i.e. Twitter). Currently, there are several staff members who are not engaged and/or supportive of this direction, due to their knowledge of the technology and their belief regarding using 'pencil & paper. As part of the Leadership Team at our School, I am in the position to support our staff through this process, and seek feedback about dilemma that staff may have. This information, will become key to framing the Professional Development to support this uptake. We will also need to support all staff to create and engage in Social Communities, in groups, to support engagement collaboratively.
CRITICAL REFLECTION: After synthesising the main information in both Readings (Whitaker et. al. (2015) and Magette (2014), it is clear to see that we need to embrace social media as professionals. The evidence regarding the benefits for all members, makes it a definite area to inquire into further. We need to urge Teachers not to be focused on keeping pace with our students, due to different types of social media, but to continue to model the skills required to engage effectively using said media. We have already begun to notice the benefits for us (as learners during Mindlab) due to being part of a community of learners who are able to feedback to each other and suggest further learning. This Professional Learning Network will enhance what we already know, as we share this with others members further a field, but also provide the catalyst for modelling this learning for our students, when arranging and planning for their learning. This reflective progress has only served to further my 'hunch' that creating and engaging as part of a social learning community/network will serve our goal to 'exponentially' increase our understanding of how to support learning in the 21st Century.
REFERENCE:
Magette, K. (2014). Embracing social media : a practical guide to manage risk and leverage opportunity. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.(Available in Unitec library).
Whitaker, T., Zoul, J., & Casas, J. (2015). What connected educators do differently. New York, NY: Routledge.
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