Social Media Reflections

From LiteracyTentWiki

Subject: [PD 5012] Learning social media tools for professional practice
From: Jackie A. Taylor
Date: Mon Aug 2 09:35:39 EDT 2010

Good day or evening, all,

As you may know, many of us engaged in our own professional development this summer on learning social media tools for use in our professional practice. We began this exploration with a kickoff discussion on the PD List July 12-16. Then, July 19-30, about 80 list subscribers divided into various small groups (most everyone signed up for more than one group!) to explore a social media tool and whether it would be useful in meeting teaching or professional development goals.

Some of us did not join small groups, but through self-study, learned more about a particular social media tool. Some also attended webinars, chats, conference calls, and so forth, to work out the technical uses of social media and how it might be used in professional practice.

So what has the learning experience been like so far? No matter how (or the extent to which) you participated, please share your thoughts on any one or more of the following questions by emailing your response to professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov:

  • What were some successes you encountered learning and using the social media tool of your choice?
  • What were some considerations or challenges you faced?
  • What are your recommendations for using this tool in teaching or professional development?
  • For what purpose(s)-if any-do you plan to use this tool in your practice?

I look forward to hearing from you,

Jackie

Jackie Taylor
PD List Facilitator
Jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [PD 5013] Discussion LIsts as PD
From: Jayme Adelson-Goldstein
Date: Mon Aug 2 13:41:28 EDT 2010

Hello all,

I'm writing in response to Jackie's post last week and her post today as well. I'm Jayme Adelson-Goldstein. I've developed and delivered adult ESOL professional development under the auspices of Los Angeles Unified School District, CALPRO, OTAN, TESOL, and on my own as Lighthearted Learning. For many years now, I've worked with teachers throughout the U.S. and in the last few years, thanks to the Internet, I have had the opportunity to work with teachers from South America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. I'm one of the legion of PD list lurkers (someday we'll form a list by that name and then be forced out into the open ;-) and I thought I would share how the July's discussions served as meaningful professional development for me.

The Social Media discussion was a bit different for me than other discussions because it fell during a period when I was able to read the posts and jump to the links in real time (Jackie's point #1: Create awareness/generate interest). I played and practiced with each of the online tools that were discussed, focusing on the tips and questions that came up in the discussion (Jackie's points #2, 3: Build understanding. Support guided practice.). I then selected two tools I thought would be most meaningful for me to use at this time (Google Forms and Diigo) and refined my use of the tools (Jackie's point #4:Scaffold independent practice). I know that as I continue to use Diigo and Google Forms, I will find ways to apply them to different situations (point #5: Promote opportunities to apply and transfer prior learning to new situations/problems). All this was done without posting to discussions, although I did participate in the Google survey.

In choosing how to prioritize my time, I chose to work on mastery of the tasks rather than discussion posts. (However, if I'd had a question that I needed answered, or if I'd come up with something worth sharing, I would certainly have chimed in.) For me, the professional development experience was exactly what I needed. However, unless I tell you what I did or show you a product that resulted from the time spent on learning about the various tools, my PD process is not observable, even though it's alive and well. (I'm reminded of the time my mom stirred sugar into water to show me that some things could exist even though you couldn't see them--and that those unseen things could be pretty sweet to boot! )

I think that the key to the list being an observable source of transformative professional development are the posts on the part of the community members detailing how they were able to put certain concepts into play or, as I think will be the case with the small group work done this week and next, the posting of community members' collaborative work. However, I also think it's worth discovering the professional development moments that are going on behind the scenes by those of us who are hesitant to post because we may not be able to give the time to a back and forth discussion. Perhaps a Google Forms survey of the lurking members of the list would provide an observable snapshot--- with short comments on what we "lurkers" do with the information in any given discussion, as well as an option to attach or link to any products that were a result of our discussion reading.

One more thing the list may want to consider when thinking about PD in CoPs (that was fun to type) is the need to balance online and off-line life. For example, typically--thanks to my work schedule and my desire to spend a few hours a day offline (!) --I am not able to read all the posts in a discussion from start to finish. Instead, I have the digests of this list (and many others) come into my mail server. At the end of the day, or sometimes every couple of days, I look at each digest's topics list, and archive the digest to my hard drive, making it possible for me to search the archive for information and ideas as needs arise. Also, I am a member of a CoP through CALPRO and in order to fully participate in that community, I find it unrealistic for me to participate fully in other online CoPs right now. That said, when time allows, I gladly take advantage of any list's PD opportunity ("live" or archived) that relates to the needs of my participants or my professional interests.

I hope this peek into the lurking life is helpful.

Warmly,

Jayme


Lighthearted Learning
Jayme Adelson-Goldstein
ESL Curriculum Consultant
Professional Development Specialist
lightheartedlearning at gmail.com

Subject: [PD 5015] Re: Discussion LIsts as PD, a peek into lurking
From: Holly Dilatush
Date: Mon Aug 2 14:09:15 EDT 2010

Jayme, all,

Yes, yes, yes, this peek into lurking is helpful, very.

Thank you for making the time to share; I've added your post to my collection [I keep a collection of different listserv and CoPs posts' for future reflection provokers].

I need to scaffold more time for practice (but find that I tip my scale of online time more heavily into the discussions; they are so meaningful for/to me).

Holly

(Charlottesville, VA)

Subject: [PD 5020] FW: Cross post, Susan and Paul's summaries of small group discussions
From: Jackie A. Taylor
Date: Tue Aug 3 13:43:14 EDT 2010

Dear PD List,

Here are more reflections on learning social media; please see below.

From Paul:
I participated in the YouTube discussion which was very informative. There is no doubt that social media will play an increasing role in adult education.

I would llike to suggest that each group present a summary of the discussion along with a How To...use - You Tube, Skype, etc. What the benefits are, etc.

Paul Rogers

Adult Biliteracy: wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page
<http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page>

PUMAROSA.COM

From Susan:

I would like to chime in on Neil's and Jayme's observations. Our discussion from Picasa is on the Wiki at http://aalpdgroup.wikispaces.com/Picasa

If you click on the discussion tab, you can see the questions and answers and of course more questions. Some people tried the tool but lurked on the discussion. Some people have albums but would have to post their link for you on this discussion list if they want to share them. Others took an active role in the discussion. There were all types in our group and I learned from each and every one of them on how to teach about using "Social Media" tools as well as being an active user of them with my students. Thank you.

I co-facilitated both the Skype group and the Google Docs group as well. While this in itself was a daunting task (volunteering in three small groups and no ability to lurk), I learned that it is really really nice to have a co facilitator to bounce off of in a PD group. I think those groups were more productive that the Picasa group that I facilitated just by myself. Always bring a friend with you. That is what I learned.

Susan

Subject: [PD 5024] Reflections
From: Tracey Hosselkus
Date: Wed Aug 4 00:23:05 EDT 2010

  • What were some successes - I learned what the # signs meant and how to search for groups that I want to communicate with and learn from
  • What were some considerations or challenges you faced? - my biggest challenge was that I signed up for too many groups. It was good that I was on vacation last week or I would have not been able to do anything. The other problem with trying to learn multiple new skills is that I now have the programs confused. I am not able to use Facebook or Twitter from work so I will have to advocate for that before I can even think about how to use them.
  • What are your recommendations for using this tool in teaching or professional development? Get them unblocked.
  • For what purpose(s) - if any - do you plan to use this tool in your practice? Future maybe - right now communication with others in similar work.

Tracey Hosselkus, Education Director
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
Port Angeles, WA

Subject: [PD 5031] Re: Reflections
From: Tracey Hosselkus
Date: Wed Aug 4 11:35:56 EDT 2010

Just an addendum to what I wrote yesterday. I am using Facebook to connect with my Higher Ed Students and possible students to stay in touch and to get messages to them. They don't respond so well to phone, but do to Facebook messages. Only problem is that since it is blocked at work, I have to do it from home - sure extends my work day well into the evening - BUT it works!!!!

Tracey

Subject: [PD 5028] Reflecting on using social media tools with students
From: Debra Morris Smith
Date: Wed Aug 4 11:04:11 EDT 2010

I was in the Twitter, wikis, Ning/YouTube, Flickr, and Picasa groups. I had already seen or used each of them a little bit and hoped to get more experience and carve out the time to reflect intentionally on how and whether to use them in my advanced ESL class this year. Paradoxically the thing I ended up most excited about is Wiggio, which Nell used to facilitate our conversations about Twitter; we didn't have a Wiggio group at all.

Here are the issues I see around using technology in our classrooms:

Access. First, do students have access to fast, free Internet, and do they use it? (This applies both in and out of class; most of my program's class sites still don't have computers online because our hosts don't want to share their Internet access.) Second, if students and teachers can get online, do their hosts block social networking sites? The school district that does allow us Internet access blocks both Facebook and YouTube. (They let us use TeacherTube.) Another issue of access is that students have various means of accessing social networking tools. For those with mobile/texting only, we'd only be able to use Twitter, I think. For those with limited Internet access on some mobile phones, text-based applications would load faster and be more fully available. For those using the latest iPhone or a laptop at home, anything should be possible.

Privacy. So many of our students have privacy concerns -- I'm sure I don't need to tick off for this community the various kinds of reasons ABE/ASE or ESL students wouldn't want someone else to be able to find them online. We would have to be very careful about uploading photos with recognizable faces, names in captions, blog posts, tweets, etc. And privacy issues seem to be constantly shifting, so that a student on Facebook would have to be exceptionally attentive to FB's changing policies, for example. Privacy would be an issue from the program side too, as administrators would want to protect students and also protect their organizations. To have a policy that would stay up with the technology would be a daunting task. At the very least, we'd probably need to add cautions about technology to our orientation process and perhaps permission forms to use recognizable photos or mention names. (Does anyone have experience with this? Do you think we are getting away from a permission-slip culture with the photomania and tagging ability on sites like Facebook?) Then there's teacher privacy: Do I want to set up a separate FB account for being friends with my students? Probably not -- I'm already careful -- but it's something to think about.

Cost/benefit ratio. As so many of us have said, there are so many tools and so much to learn about each one. And we -- for the most part -- are the more technologically oriented people in our organizations. Some social networking tools are simpler and/or more intuitive than others (but this could be a learning style preference and we might not agree which tools are easier to use!). To try to use many of them in a class would involve a lot of time bringing people on board and helping them see how to use the technology. Is what we get for that effort worth the learning curve? And even then, probably not all students would be able to access what we created. I love using this stuff, but I have to ask myself, What problem does this solve? about each tool, or at least, What new opportunity does this offer that will support my students' learning goals and needs? Mostly the answer is ummm, well.... hmmm. (At the same time, I have to acknowledge that facility with technology and the language of technology is in itself a highly appropriate goal in adult education for both native and nonnative speakers of English.)

I've been an administrator for a few years but am returning to the classroom this year. I'm enjoying looking at using technology with fresh eyes. Here's what I hope to do:

1. Talk with my students about what web-based social networking they already do. Talk with them about what they want to learn, how they think it will help them, what concerns they might have about using these tools. I'll bring up privacy if they don't. This (ongoing) conversation will determine how much of the rest of this stuff we actually do.

2. Create a class blog, which we'll use for daily group writing. We'll post what we did in class, with links to online listenings or readings we did that day for review at home or access by people who had to miss class.

3. Possibly set up a class account on Flickr or Picasa where students can upload photos they want to share with the class. This will take some negotiation with both students and the administration of our organization to set privacy policy.

4. Encourage students to use YouTube, wikis, Google sites, and photo sites (etc.) to create presentations when I ask for their responses to a unit we've been doing, with whatever cautions about privacy and permissions our administration requires.

5. Possibly encourage students to follow me on Twitter and add reminders about class closings or special plans to my tweets. I still have to think about whether to use an application that would let me send certain tweets only to certain followers. (If I'm going to do that, I might as well just email, right? except that tweets can be received as texts, so more students could receive them.)

6. I'm hoping to use Wiggio for staff communications. Currently we use Nicenet, but Wiggio offers more ability to format text, more options, and easier navigation, I think. The downside is getting the whole staff to make the move; technology doesn't come easy to a lot of our teachers, and they are used to Nicenet. Ning would be nice here, but it's less user-friendly up front than Wiggio, and I am unclear how to access the free mini version for educators and don't want to give them a credit card number.

Sorry, Jackie, that I'm not answering the follow-up questions exactly. This post represents more my own sorting out of what the small groups have helped me see and think about than anything, and I'd be grateful for listers to point out gaps in my thinking or disagreements with it and so forth. I do appreciate the extended opportunity on the PD list for thinking through the opportunities social networking tools bring us -- many thanks to all the facilitators!

Debbie Smith
Parkway Area AEL
St. Louis County, MO

Subject: [PD 5040] Re: Reflecting on using social media tools with students
From: Steve Quann
Date: Wed Aug 4 13:36:51 EDT 2010

What an excellent post, Debra! I love how you moved from your reflections to a plan. I'd like to think I take this step, at least in my mind, but I think with these tools there is a tendency to collect the ones you intend to use and put them in a "toolbox", whether in a document or mentally. But we can forget that extra step of associating them with a plan of specifically how WE can/will use them.

I also thought that your point was it worth the "time it takes bringing people on board and helping them see how to use the technology." I think that is a very valid concern that needs to be addressed. I would like ask others to what extent (for those that have them) are computer labs or technology in the classroom actually being used. Do most teachers and students really think it is worth the extra time spent using (or learning how to use) technology in class? (Funny how that word time creeps into a lot of this.) And if not, why not? What can/should be done about this?

Steve Quann
World Education
Boston, MA

[PD 5042] Re: Reflecting on using social media tools with students
Holly Dilatush
Wed Aug 4 15:06:18 EDT 2010

Great post, Debbie.

The sentence that caught my attention and "nodding in agreement" was this:

(At the same time, I have to acknowledge that facility with technology and the language of technology is in itself a highly appropriate goal in adult education for both native and nonnative speakers of English.)

I find these lengthier, detailed, reflective posts very helpful in my personal professional development journey. [but confess that some days/weeks I skim and/or delete; time and priority-shifting is definitely a factor]

Holly
Charlottesville, VA

Subject: [PD 5046] Reflections
From: Jackie A. Taylor
Date: Thu Aug 5 09:39:25 EDT 2010

Dear PD List,

Thanks to all for sharing your reflections and thoughtful planning for using these tools. What an excellent job this summer!! We have accomplished beyond what we've set out to do with any other guest event we've previously held:

We've held a dynamic discussion, worked together for two weeks in 8 small groups and created multiple projects, and launched into independent study and program-based exploration of social media tools. We've been analyzing how these tools will advance learning goals, and with thanks to the Lesson Repository group, we're developing a teaching and PD tool that will be useful to us for planning in the future. Several of us have already begun advocating for change within our programs that will better support the integration of technology in teaching and professional development. This is all outstanding!! I'm very proud of what we've accomplished together that we otherwise may not have accomplished alone.

Here are my reflections:

Pluses (What I liked)

  • I loved the interactivity of Weeks 1-3! The guests were fabulous, and small group leaders were very supportive and generous with their time. When things would get quiet for brief periods, I found myself missing the interaction.
  • We have several new forums (Wikispaces, Ning - though we may lose the Ning due to cost structure - Blogger, Google Groups, photo and video sharing accounts, PBWiki, and others).
  • The new small group forums contain a wealth of information on how to get started with each tool (Goes to the question for us to post "how to use" each tool, please see: http://aalpdgroup.wikispaces.com/.)
  • These places contain samples of accounts and projects, many of which will continue to move forward at their own pace.
  • I really enjoyed the synchronous opportunities in which I was able to take part, the chat, the Google groups, etc. We've never really experienced that before as an online community.
  • I found that the smaller the "learning chunk" the more manageable it was; thus more of us were able to participate. Ex: Twitter chats, Google webinars, and so forth.
  • The overall project itself was manageable due to the help of our guests, small group facilitators, AALPD and ALTN.
  • I learned a great deal from everyone and my social media knowledge grew with the group's knowledge. In particular, I plan to explore the uses of video in my practice.
  • This was a new format for the NIFL lists. I loved the opportunity to benefit from our expertise and learning together in new and meaningful ways.
  • I like Paul's suggestion for a decision tree. I think an early part of that tree should be a step where one reflects on the goals set with respect to (paid/unpaid) time.

Delta (What I would change)

  • I think we should not be hard on ourselves in thinking about what can be accomplished in two weeks, esp. given the fact that we weren't taking off of work (like attending an institute or conference) but instead working our PD in and around our day jobs.
  • I would like to see us advocate early on, before a planned online PD opportunity, for our supervisors to allow us to carve out professional development release time to participate. That said, we may also consider ways to capture documentation of our learning so that our supervisors can more readily see how it will be time well spent. (I'd love to see Missouri's

materials on this! Tapped In may be a resource for us as well.)

  • Also, as co-managing the overall process, I would like to keep my schedule more nimble so that I could better respond to the unexpected. (With apologies to my Flickr group!)
  • The small groups were not online courses. But in the future, I would like to spend more time with guests in scaffolding the transition from large to small groups, and build in time for participants to get to know one another. This group dynamic occurs (to greater or lesser extents) whether one plans for it or not, so why not make time for it. This time will also allow folks to become comfortable with whatever technology is involved.

I welcome any reflections on my thinking above. Thanks again to everyone - hats off to a job well done! How will we keep the momentum going?

Yours,

Jackie

Jackie Taylor PD List Facilitator Jackie at jataylor.net

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