For the purpose of this reflection I will be using Gibbs' Reflective Model, as cited in Dye (2011, p. 230). This model has some similarities with the Teaching-as-Inquiry model from the Ministry of Education (2009).
Description
I have used social media tools extensively in my teaching practise and as a professional development tool, this includes a range of blogging platforms (Class Blogmeister, Blogger, Weebly and Wordpress) as well as Facebook and Twitter. Twitter has become my social media tool of choice for professional development.
Feelings
Over the years I have built up a meaningful collaborative network with ground breaking and innovative educators and I find that the power of hashtags throughout global conferences and events that many of these educators keynote at, enables me to 'attend' virtually and to have an insight into the content shared and this provides new learning opportunities for me. I feel connected and can comment and contribute even though I am remotely situated. This feature could benefit teaching and learning across Aotearoa as our geographical position is no longer a barrier to accessing high quality professional learning and rigorous critique and conversation. Twitter also provides me with an insight into global trends and technological advances.
Evaluation
In the “Using Social Media in the Classroom” (2013) video, Kathy Cassidy shared how she uses social media in a classroom. I particularly related to her comments about Twitter and how this platform enabled her learners to consider what was the same and what was different about classrooms around the globe. I wonder how many teachers have considered using Social media as a way to teach empathy?
Analysis
I have used blogging platforms for sharing students work and progress and as a platform to share my professional practice but have only used Twitter as a professional sharing and development tool, never with students. I hold my global relationships formed through Twitter in such high regard and see them as essential for me to keep at the forefront of education and when considering this and the impact this tool has had on students in classes such as Kathy's I would like to introduce this to our staff as a way to broaden our students perspectives, to build relationships and to encourage global connections.
Conclusion
When embedding new tools and moving through an ever evolving digital landscape I realise that I have become proficient at using the tools myself and in many chances es take them for granted but as my role inn schools has changed and I have moved into a management role I have missed the step of sharing and transferring these powerful tools onto our tamariki. I now have the ability to build teacher capacity and to empower our teachers to take on this challenge.
Action Plan
I am aware very few of our staff use Twitter for their own professional practice. Also knowing our staff I would introduce a video such as Kathy's as this shows how social media can have a direct impact on student outcomes and with our every increasing workloads and demands on our time I can see many of our teachers using Twitter in class to improve student outcomes rather than in their own time to improve their own, which is somewhat of a contradiction.
References
Dye, V. (2011) ‘Reflection, Reflection, Reflection. I’m thinking all the time, why do I need a theory or model of reflection?’, in McGregor, D. and Cartwright, L. (ed.) Developing Reflective Practice: A guide for beginning teachers. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education (pp. 217-234).
Ministry of Education.(2009). Teaching as Inquiry. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-stories/Case-studies/Teachers-as-learners-Inquiry/Teaching-as-inquiry
Tvoparents. (2013, May 21). Using Social Media in the Classroom.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno
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