Download to read offline
Uploaded byDebbie Fucoloro, Ph.D.
Educators' use of social media for informal professional learning
Educators increasingly use social media for informal professional learning. A study examined why educators participate in online professional networks and how their participation differs based on role, experience, and age. Key findings include: Educators are motivated by community, convenience, and improving practice. Younger classroom teachers found traditional PD less helpful than administrators. Participation decreased with age while value of PD increased. Recommendations support validating informal learning, differentiated self-directed PD, and encouraging PLNs to reduce isolation and increase integration.
More Related Content
![Powerpoint module 3 final - wilson [autosaved]](https://cdn.slidesharecdn.com/ss_thumbnails/powerpointmodule3-final-wilsonautosaved-160207012933-thumbnail.jpg?width=640&height=640&fit=bounds)
Similar to Educators' use of social media for informal professional learning
Educators' use of social media for informal professional learning
- 1. Educators’ use ofsocial media for informal professional learning Debbie Fucoloro, Ph.D. International Society for Technology in Education Conference June 29, 2014
- 2. ABOUT ME • Ph.D.in C & I, Saint Louis University, 2012 • B.A. & M.A.T. in Ed Tech, Webster University • 20 total years in education • Classroom teacher – • 3rd, 4th, 6th S.S., 7th Sci., and digital video to middle schoolers • Instructional Technology Specialist • Currently, Technology Coordinator
- 4. Computers are notbeing utilized as education tools as expected. Bauer and Kenton (2005), Toward Technology Integration in the Schools: Why It Isn’t Happening
- 6. Overriding sentiment: “It’s been30 years since the advent of the personal computer and we’re still struggling to get teachers and administrators to integrate digital technologies into their daily work in ways that are substantive and meaningful.” ~ Scott McLeod (2011)
- 7. Purpose Investigate educators whouse social media for informal professional learning. What motivates them: • to seek out and connect with other educators • to advance their professional learning • on their own time
- 8. Importance of theResearch filling the gap in literature http://globaltoynews.typepad.com/.a/6a0133ec87bd6d970b014e86e58ea8970d-500wi
- 9. So What? - shedlight on how to better support all educators professionally - nurture reluctant technology users - encouraging and mentoring their participation in these environments - increasing their ability to use best practices in technology integration in order to positively impact student learning
- 10. Conceptual Framework Evolution 1.How to encourage and support educators in technology integration when planning lessons? 2. Can use of social media for informal professional development increase technology integration and student learning? 3. However, first it is important to learn more about educators who currently use social media for informal professional development.
- 11. Foundation of ConceptualFramework • Paulo Freire – learning is a social act and dialogue is the heart of education
- 12. Foundation of ConceptualFramework ISTE Standards-S ISTE Standards-T ISTE Standards-C ISTE Standards-A ISTE Standards-CSE
- 13. Literature Review • AdultLearning Theory • Professional Development • Personal Learning Network
- 14. “Friends educating eachother” Basil Yeaxlee, 1925 Adult Learning Theories
- 15.
- 16. • Inclusion (givingvoice) • Empowerment (belongingness) • Opportunities to negotiate between and across cultures
- 17. CoPs enable adults tolearn with and from each other Adult Learning
- 18. Adult Learning Connectivism focuses onthe amplification of learning, knowledge, and understanding through the extension of a personal network via social media
- 19.
- 20. Professional Development • thecommunity concept (social media) and • the knowledge aspect (access to information) of learning
- 21.
- 22. PLN = “friendseducating each other” revived
- 24. Typical Teacher Network byAlec Couros
- 25.
- 26.
- 27. New Paradigm Suggested •Self-directed • Differentiated • Ongoing • Job embedded • Flexible • Encourages self-analysis and personal reflection
- 28. New Paradigm • PLNsshould be validated as a powerful professional development component • Not: Traditional vs Informal • But a mix of: traditional & emerging, formal & informal
- 29. Research Questions Q1 Whatare educators’ perceptions and reported behaviors associated with participation in informal, online professional development networks?
- 30. Research Sub-Questions Q1a motivation Q1btypes Q1c specific
- 31. Q2 Do educator’sperceptions and reported behaviors differ based on: • current assignment • years in education • age Research Questions
- 32. Methodology “Unless researchers firstgenerate an accurate description of an educational phenomenon as it exists, they lack a firm basis for explaining or changing it.” ~ Gall, Gall & Borg
- 33. Instrumentation • 1st Demographics •2nd Traditional Professional Development and Technology Integration • 3rd Using Social Media/Networks to Meet Professional Development Needs
- 34. • establish abaseline description of knowledge regarding educators who use social media for professional development • lay the groundwork for further in-depth studies based on the findings
- 35. Variables 1. Current assignment– grade level, position, subject area, and school setting 2. Years in education--categories included 1-10 years, 11-20 years, and 21+ years 3. Respondent’s age included a drop-down box for exact age
- 36. Population Sample • Pre-Kthrough higher education • Teachers, administrators, librarians and media specialists, specialists (Art, Music, P.E., Foreign Language) • Instructional support personnel (Technology Specialists, Special Ed., Counselors, Gifted Ed., Language acquisition) • Education industry (retirees, consultants, bloggers, authors)
- 37. Population • Snowball samplingmethod to access approximately 16,900 educators via Twitter and Nings • 1,000 Twitter followers • 10,000 members of Educator’s PLN Ning • 6,000 members of ISTE Community Ning
- 38.
- 39. Demographic Sample • 4,950visited survey • 147 began • 14 dropped out before end of demographic info and were excluded • 133 participants
- 40.
- 41.
- 42.
- 43.
- 44.
- 45.
- 46.
- 48. Findings Favorite social mediaapplication to use for informal professional development: http://bettergraphic.com/free-and-paid-fonts-used-in-logos-of-popular- brands/
- 49. Findings Open-ended Themes -Why Twitter? • Community • Convenience • Sharing • Informal learning • Professional improvement • Isolation reduction
- 50. Open-ended Themes -Why Twitter? Community & Convenience “It is the modern equivalent of the 18th century coffeehouse—a place teaming with ideas, opinions, research, discussion, collaboration, and bold vision.” http://blog.songcastmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/twitter-community-600.jpg
- 51. Open-ended Themes -Why Twitter? Community & Convenience
- 52. Open-ended Themes –Why Twitter? Informal Learning & Sharing “I have created a PLN that I feel meets my needs by providing resources, ideas, and challenges to improve learning for my students.” http://images.wisegeek.com/people-independently-working-in-a-cafe.jpg
- 53. Open-ended Themes –Why Twitter? Informal Learning & Sharing
- 54. Open-ended Themes –Why Twitter? Professional Improvement “I have developed more as a professional since participating in #edchat than I did in the last five years.” http://appliedsimplicity.org/files/u2/group_3w.jpg
- 55. Open-ended Themes –Why Twitter? Professional Improvement
- 56. Open-ended Themes –Why Twitter? Isolation Reduction* “The largest difference is that I no longer feel alone in the classroom. I think it is hard for those outside of education to realize how isolated teachers were before social media.”
- 57. Open-ended Themes –Why Twitter? Isolation Reduction*
- 58. Findings How well dideach of the following prepare you to make effective use of technology for instruction?
- 59. *Remember average age is43 years old.
- 60. “School districts needto provide opportunities for teachers to find professional development that matches their needs, not a cookie cutter approach that everyone is in the same place.”
- 61. "I learn morein an hour long Twitter chat than most full day workshops I've attended."
- 62.
- 63. Administrators vs ClassroomTeachers http://leadershipfreak.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/disagreeement.jpg
- 64. Current Assignment -Position • Administrators perceived that employers used more methods to support technology integration than classroom teachers. • Administrators had a more positive view of the effectiveness of PD in educational technology provided by school, district, or campus than classroom teachers.
- 65.
- 66. "Social media hasfilled a gap in my professional development between the required district pd and the individualized learning I want."
- 67. As age increased: •confidence using technology decreased • PD activities made respondents feel more prepared • use of social media decreased
- 68.
- 69. Findings • Educators (99%)believed they should take personal responsibility for continued professional growth and improvement.
- 71. "It has allowed meto find my passion for teaching again and I do not know where I would be without it."
- 72. "Being able to participatein conferences that I can't attend in person is simply mind-blowing!"
- 73. "Being connected with educatorsin a variety of settings and content areas allow me to find resources I might not otherwise know of."
- 74. "Establishing my PLN hasopened up new worlds to integrate tech and reexamine my teaching goals."
- 75. "I believe that throughthe use of social media a teacher can greatly increase their development/advanc ement as a professional."
- 76. "I am onthe computer every night searching for new technologies to use in my classroom and learning from my PLN."
- 77. ? "I wish mydistrict acknowledged all the time I spend learning via informal professional development networks such as Twitter."
- 79. New Paradigm Suggested •Self-directed • Differentiated • Ongoing • Job embedded • Flexible • Encourages self-analysis and personal reflection
- 80. New Paradigm • PLNsshould be validated as a powerful professional development component • Not: Traditional vs Informal • But a mix of: traditional & emerging, formal & informal
- 81. Key Recommendations &Implications • Researchers • Educational leaders • Teachers
- 82. Key Recommendations to FutureResearchers 1. Examine successful programs currently supporting the use of, and giving credit to and recognizing educators for participation in informal, online professional development networks.
- 83. Key Recommendations to FutureResearchers 2. Is there a correlation between participation in informal, online professional development and: - Improved practice - Increased student learning - Increased technology integration - Increased confidence in tech integration and lesson planning - Increased feeling of belongingness—less isolation - Increased satisfaction with personal professional development
- 84. Key Recommendations to FutureResearchers 3. Conduct longitudinal studies to investigate: - quality of teacher education programs - employer-provided professional development on the integration of technology for instruction
- 85. Key Implications for EducationLeaders 1. Make technology integration a priority. Focus on sound pedagogy and lesson planning rather than just tools and application use.
- 86.
- 87. Key Implications for EducationLeaders 2. Allow educators input regarding professional development: - differentiated - self-directed - example – unconference and edcamp models, cMOOCs, Twitter chats and/or GHOs
- 88. Key Implications for EducationLeaders 3. Provide professional development that is ongoing and job embedded. 4. Encourage (don’t demand) participation in informal professional development networks and support development of PLNs.
- 89. Key Implications for EducationLeaders 5. Explore ways that would support, honor, and give credit for time spent in informal, online professional development. 6. Administrators need to lead by example by modeling effective use of technology—for example, in communicating with students, parents, and staff.
- 90. Key Implications for EducationLeaders 7. Teacher education programs should focus on teaching pedagogical aspects of effective technology integration.
- 91. Implications for Educators 1. Participatein informal, online professional development by starting your own PLN built on your needs and passions—start small, find mentors, be patient. 1. Take responsibility for your own professional growth and improvement.
- 92. Implications for Educators 3. Advocatefor the legitimacy and recognition of time spent participating in informal, online professional development networks. 4. Advocate for professional development that is self-directed, differentiated, ongoing, and job embedded.
- 93. Implications for Educators 5. Bebold and share what you learn in these environments and encourage others to join in the conversation. 6. Model lifelong learning by staying as up to date as possible regarding technology integration.
- 94. The next bestthing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are. ~ C. S. Lewis
- 95.
- 96. Find me at: Twitter:@debbiefuco Blog: The Educators’ Café Email: [email protected]
Editor's Notes
- #9 Literature review found little on the topic Those studies that were available were conducted on closed or managed networks constructed for research purposes Lack of in-depth research available on topic of study
- #11 How do we encourage and support educators to incorporate best practices in technology integration when planning lessons? Can educator use of social media for informal professional development increase technology integration and, in turn, student learning? However, first it is important to learn more about educators who currently use social media for informal professional development.
- #14 Literature Review: Adult Learning Theory Professional Development PLN
- #24 We need to take a step back and consider how things have changed.
- #32 RQ2
- #40 Demographic sample
- #42 Average age – 43 years-old
- #50 Why Twitter? Open-ended themes: community, convenience, sharing, informal learning, professional improvement, isolation reduction
- #52 Open-ended Quotes Twitter – Community “It is the modern equivalent of the 18th century coffeehouse—a place teaming with ideas, opinions, research, discussion, collaboration, and bold vision.” “…it allows me to get ideas and feedback almost instantly…”
- #55 Open-ended Quotes Twitter – Improve practice “I have developed more as a professional since participating in #edchat than I did in the last five years.”
- #65 Conflict worth exploring
- #75 Social media helped me: Improve my ability to plan technology enhanced lessons/projects. "Establishing my PLN has opened up new worlds to integrate tech and reexamine my teaching goals."
- #78 My school/district/campus gives me continuing education credit for the time I spend participating in informal professional development. "I wish my district acknowledged all the time I spend learning via informal professional development networks such as Twitter.” Bottom line. Why not? How? Badges? Proof of learning?
- #85 Future researchers
- #88 Edu Leaders Differentiated Allows for self-direction Unconference and edcamp models. cMOOCs, Twitter chats and/or GHOs