using social media for Professional Development

using social media for Professional Development

• 1.
  Digital Futures inEducation Michael Payton-Greene Wales High School http://whsteachingandlearning.wordpress.com
• 2.
  Some context .. . • MA APSE at the University of Sheffield, exploring digital literacy • Dissertation accepted that social networking and the collaborative phase of the internet (Web 2.0) could change the way we think, learn and behave. • The study aimed to explore if social networking could be used to help the way students learn, enabling them to make learning easier and help them make better progress. • The study worked on the assumption that the way we are literate is increasingly important; in particular, the need to be digitally literate is increasingly important for the current market place and to be socially active as a digital citizen.
• 3.
  The Dissertation • Teachersat WHS participated in a pilot focussed on sharing and reflecting on good practice. • VI form Economics and English Literature students were set and submitted homework on Facebook, contributed to online dialogues with their peers/teachers, shared their own content and read articles/watched clips that contributed to further discussion in lessons. • The study found that Web 2.0 platforms had the powerful potential to: - enhance communication - increase engagement - use cognitive processes that were enabled by being ‘digitally literate’ in a digital space.
• 4.
  Designing a casestudy - Digital Literacy - OERs - What about a teacher focussed case study?
• 5.
  WALES HIGH SCHOOL •Outstanding 2006 – no OFSTED inspection since • Senior Management Team - Chief Executive 20yrs, Head teacher 42yrs, Deputy Heads – at least 12years service, 50% of staff 20 years + service at WHS. • Key Measure – 5A*-C (inc. English and Maths) = 58% 2012 – compared with 80% with neighbouring schools with similar cohorts. CONTEXT • Departments work independently • No mechanisms for sharing good practice across the school • Outstanding and Good practice in areas of the school, but not seen by those outside the department. • SCHOOL PRIORITY – Improving Teaching and Learning
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  What DfT wanted: -Digital Literacy - OERs What WHS wanted: - Improved teaching and learning - Professional Dialogues and sharing good practice - Foundations for a system of collaboration
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  THE SPACE
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  THE SPACE
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  ‘The class seemedto THE SPACE enjoy experimenting with different equations and it made a dry topic a little bit more fun’
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  THE SPACE
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  QR CODE GENERATORS • Write information about your area of school • On a laptop create a QR code • Test it using an ipods • Print it • Try them out! Group 1: PE / Group 2: Reception / Group 3: Library / Group 4: Dinner Hall / Group 5: HOY / PSA Group 6: Learning Support Group 7: Digital Day / Group 8: Digital Day
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  Student tasks :
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  HOW WILL WE BE SUCCESSFUL?
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  TODAY YOU WILL CREATE ANESSAY
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  • Easy touse – similar to a normal website or Open Educational Resource already used by staff. • Professional Dialogues take place which enable and encourage the sharing of good practice – the collaborative element enhances cognitive approaches to pedagogy and practice. • Easy to access resources using the drop down menu. The ability to ‘categorise’ and ‘tag’ resources is key – resources are easy to use and find. • The benefit of comments attached to resources is valuable; it enhances the resources with guidance about how it may be used, and, enables different perspectives that make the outcome of the resource clear. • Enables teachers to explore the benefits of digital literacy themselves. • Provides possibility for wider access – i.e. primary schools, learning community partners, Universities etc
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  • Difficult toinitially get signed up to. An external website, separate to the main VLE and website. • Not placed in a prominent place to enable more traffic to the space. The majority of users will be those directed or encouraged to go to the site. • Any resources or videos etc need to be on a separate share filing website – i.e. slideshare. This is problematic in terms of being re-directed if items need to be printed etc. There are also issues related to aspects of safeguarding. • Student work, videos and pictures are not currently on the space, but it would make the sharing of good practice much more fruitful.
• 19.
  TO BE DEVELOPEDFURTHER AT WALES . . . • to widen participation so that every department has a representative to contribute towards the blog; • to have half-termly ideas/strategies/policies posted on to the space and used/reviewed by departmental areas; • to work with NQT/ITT students to help their professional practice via the online space; • to enable the blog to be used as a performance management / coaching tool, as required; • to share student work and lessons using photos/videos; • to focus content on school priorities and important moments i.e. literacy, T&L policies, creative approaches during Arts Week, drama approaches during school performance period, lesson observation week resources, 6th form teaching strategies etc. • to create a termly magazine in paper and electronic format highlighting good practice to share with staff, highlighting best practice. • to explore ways to improve the digital literacy skills of students and staff through workshops and INSET exploring digital learning tools and applications.