The Pearson's survey shows that there is an ever increasing number of teachers who are using social media in their classrooms as a learning platform. This increase is also reinforced by Silius (2010) who states that learners are now motivated and engaged in their learning through social media, but there is research that also believes that social media can be distracting for learners rather than helpful. (Seaman & Tinti-Kane, 2013)
Personally I have adapted to the use of technology at home through the use of Facebook, online communities and messenger. As my confidence has grown in using social media I have started to implement it in my learning environment.
I started with blogger, using this as a platform that my students can access. The children access the classroom blog so they have access to blendspace which houses links to websites and youtube that help or reinforce what they have been learning in class in all literacy and maths. From there I gained the confidence to use Twitter weekly on a Friday where my students were part of Chapter Chat NZ programme. This allowed the children to show case their work to other students, not just in their class or school, but with children all around Aotearoa. We use Seesaw to communicate and connect with family and whanau, so they can view and have an input in the learning of my tamariki.
I see the benefits of using social media as huge. The connection and communication is instance, it is up to date, it is relevant and it helps our tamariki to expand their learning and knowledge from a variety of sources.
A challenge is to teach the importance of cyber safety and to ensure that the children are safe at all times. My school also has nanny nets and other security nets in order to protect the children and what they view.
I engage with social media on a regular basis to enhance my own professional development. I view youtube clips, use pinterest, twitter, google plus and facebook communities to gather ideas, share resources and further my learning. At times this can help me but at other times it can be a totally time waster. It all depends how you look at it!
A challenge is to teach the importance of cyber safety and to ensure that the children are safe at all times. My school also has nanny nets and other security nets in order to protect the children and what they view.
I engage with social media on a regular basis to enhance my own professional development. I view youtube clips, use pinterest, twitter, google plus and facebook communities to gather ideas, share resources and further my learning. At times this can help me but at other times it can be a totally time waster. It all depends how you look at it!
Seaman, J., & Tinti-Kane, H. (2013). Social media for teaching and learning. Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved fromhttp://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-2013-report.pdf
Silius, K., Miilumäki, T.,Huhtamäki, J.,Tebest, T., Meriläinen, J., & Pohjolainen, S.(2010) ‘Students’ motivations for social media enhanced studying and learning.’ Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal, 2, (1). Retrieved on 7th May,2015 from http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-p.
No comments:
Post a Comment