This document discusses how social media can be used to facilitate personal learning networks for professional development, especially for novice teachers. It provides an overview of professional development in a technology-driven culture and examines how social tools like microblogging, RSS feeds, and social networks can help build support networks. The presentation explores specific tools like Twitter, RSS feeds, and Google+ and discusses how to use them to engage with other educators online. It encourages educators to use social media to educate themselves and engage in discussions to strengthen their personal learning networks.

1. Social Media and
Professional
Development
Building your personal
learning network with social
media
Crystal Rose
MNWE Conference
April 5, 2013
Bloomington, MN
Icons by Lokas Software

2. We will talk about…
• Overview of professional development in a
tech-driven culture
• Overview of social media tools
▫ Micro blogging
▫ RSS Feeds
▫ Social community platforms
• Implications for teachers
• Discussion

3. Questions to Consider
• What does professional development look like in
a tech-driven culture?
• How can novice teachers effectively make the
transition from student to teacher?
• How can social media contribute to building
effective support networks for (novice) teachers?

4. Professional Development
• Standards for Professional Learning (Learning Forward, 2011)
▫ Learning communities
 Continuous improvement
 Collective responsibility
 Goal alignment
• Connected learning model (Ito, et al., 2013)
▫ Equity
▫ Full participation
▫ Social connection
• Communities of Practice (Wenger, 1998)
▫ Joint enterprise
▫ Mutual engagement
▫ Shared resources

5. Personal Learning Networks
• Support networks (Brannan, 2012)
▫ Affective support
▫ Pragmatic support
• Collaboration
• Exposure to diverse voices within the field
• Ability to share your voice within the field
“Alone we are smart, together we are brilliant.”
▫ Steven W. Anderson, @web20classroom

6. Social Media Tools
• What are the benefits of using this tool?
• What are the drawbacks to using this tool?
• How can this tool help build my personal
learning network?

7. RSS Feeds

8. RSS Feeds

9. RSS Feeds

10. Microblogging

11. Twitter

12. TweetDeck

13. TweetChat

14. Social Community Platforms

15. Google +

16. Facebook

17. A typical day…
• Read RSS feed of subscriptions
▫ Open most interesting articles in new window
▫ Save and tag posts of interest via Diigo
▫ Share interesting posts via sharing tabs in reader
• Post interesting articles/posts on Twitter,
Facebook, and Google +
▫ Use relevant hashtags on Twitter
• Read Twitter posts & engage in
discussion/retweet posts of interest

18. What I’ve learned…
• People want to share their ideas.
• People want to share your ideas.
• Not all ideas are worth sharing.
• Not every idea is directly transferrable to the
classroom, but a lot are.
• These are just tools, the value is in how you use
them to meet your needs.

19. Challenge to educators…
• Educate yourselves
▫ Ask colleagues how they use social media in their
professional lives
▫ Seek information about creating your online
presence
• Don’t be afraid of making mistakes
▫ Spend some time observing how social media is
being used by others (lurking is ok!)
▫ Sign up for a new tool and try it out. If it’s not for
you, stop using it.
• Engage with online contacts

20. Discussion
• What might be some benefits of using social
media to facilitate personal learning networks in
your educational setting?
• What might be some challenges to using social
media to facilitate personal learning networks in
your educational setting?

21. “Social Media is simply a conduit for
connections...When educators are connected
to other educators the natural discussion is
education.”
▫ Tom Whitby, @tomwhitby

22. References
• Brannan, D., Bleistein, T. (2012). Novice ESOL Teachers’ Perceptions of
Social Support Networks. TESOL Quarterly, 46(3).
• Ito, Mizuko, Kris Gutiérrez, Sonia Livingstone, Bill Penuel, Jean Rhodes,
Katie Salen, Juliet Schor, Julian Sefton-Green, S. Craig Watkins. (2013).
Connected Learning: An Agenda for Research and Design. Irvine, CA:
Digital Media and Learning Research Hub.
• Learning Forward. (2011). Standards for Professional Learning. Oxford,
OH.
• Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning as a social system.
Systems Thinker, 9(5).