This document summarizes a study exploring the use of social media to engage education students in authentic discussions about educational issues. The researchers used self-study methodology and collected data from reflective journals, conversations with colleagues, a focus group, and observations of social media activity. They found that blogging and discussion threads on a faculty networking site engaged students in deep discussions and connected them to others outside their courses. However, some students raised privacy concerns. The researchers plan to continue experimenting with social media and addressing issues that arise to enhance learning conversations.

1. Critical
Friends
Collaboration
Objective
The goal of this long-term
self-study project is to explore and
determine sustainable methods for
engaging pre-service and in-
service education students in au-
thentic
discussions about educational is-
sues using social media.
Methodology
Self-study methodology,
afforded us an opportunity
for critical reflection on the
use of social media tools as
part of our pedagogical
practices.
This choice of methodology
is considered an appropriate
way to investigate such
programmatic changes within
teacher education programs
(Dinkleman, 2003).
Data Sources
 reflective journals,
 personal conversations as
critical friends (Schuck and
Russell, 2005),
 a focus group from a re-
lated study, and
 observations of activity on
the various
platforms we utilized.
Using Social Media
to Engage Educators
in Learning
References
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Dinkleman, T. (2003). Self-study in teacher education: A
means and ends tool for promoting reflective
teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(1), 6-
18.
Gray, C. & Smyth, K. (2011). Social not-working?
Evaluating and building an online learning
community. In P. Balcaen (Ed.), Proceedings of
the 6th International Conference on e-Learning,
University of British Columbia, Okanagan
Campus, Canada, 27-28 June. Academic
Conferences International, pp. 137-147.
Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning:
Legitimate peripheral participation. New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press.
Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human
development. New York, NY: Oxford University
Press.
Schuck S., & Russell, T. (2005). Self-study, critical
friendship, and the complexities of teacher
education. Studying Teacher Education, 1, 107-
121.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of
higher psychological processes. M. Cole, V. John
-Steiner, S. Scribner, E. Souberman (Eds.).
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
By Michael Nantais and Jacqueline Kirk
Findings
 Each of the various platforms has advantages and disadvantages for learning.
 Students were engaged in deep, thoughtful discussions about educational issues.
 From this perspective, blogging and discussion threads on our faculty Ning network seemed to be
most successful.
 Both of these platforms were more open than the LMS, which allowed the discussion to include
people outside of the specific courses. For example, graduate students (who are primarily practic-
ing teachers and school administrators) and Department of Education consultants joined discus-
sions in the undergrad class groups, adding their authentic experiences and knowledge to the dis-
cussion.
 We each took a different approach to the discussion threads, one of us provided prompts for the
discussion, while the other had students initiate the discussions. Each approach worked to varying
degrees.
 Some issues arose, including some students’ concerns about privacy and the problem of “multiple
spaces” (Gray and Smyth, 2011).
 In addition to the enhanced conversations, students have found creative ways to use and connect
using social media. These have opened up exciting opportunities and connections for our students.
Future Work
 This self-study is by no means complete, we will continue to experiment, share, debate, and push
one another as we explore this area.
 We also continue to explore ways to address issues that arise in the use of various social media
platforms.
 An extension of this work will be to employ different methodologies that extend the self-reflective
nature of self-study into other types of data collection. In this way our learning can grow with more
and different perspectives.